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Local adaptation of antipredator behaviors in populations of a temperate reef fish

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Abstract

The temperament of animals can vary among individuals and among populations, but it is often unclear whether spatial variation in temperament is the result of acclimation to local environmental conditions or genetic adaptation to spatial differences in natural selection. This study tested whether populations of a marine fish that experience different levels of mortality and fishing exhibited local adaptation in behaviors related to predator avoidance and evasion. First, we measured variation in reactivity to perceived risk in wild populations of black surfperch (Embiotoca jacksoni). We compared flight initiation distances (FID) between populations with significantly different mortality rates. After finding that FID values were substantially lower in the low-risk locations, we tested for local adaptation by rearing lab-born offspring from both high- and low-risk populations in a common environment before measuring their behavior. Lab-reared offspring from high- and low-risk populations exhibited significant differences in several behaviors related to reactivity. Between 23 and 43% of the total variation in behaviors we measured could be attributed to source population. These results thus suggest that a substantial amount of spatial variation in behaviors related to predator evasion may represent local adaptation. In addition, behaviors we measured had an average, broad-sense heritability of 0.24, suggesting that the behavioral tendencies of these populations have some capacity to evolve further in response to any changes in selection.

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Acknowledgements

We thank the many people who helped in the field and lab, especially Brian Stirling, Yvette Ralph, Janelle Paz and Bailey McCann. We are grateful for the reviews and comments from Chris Lowe, Mark Steele, and Peter Wainwright. This research was conducted with support from the California State University Council on Ocean Affairs, Science and Technology (award # COAST-GDP-2017-004), the Southern California Academy of Sciences, and the Department of Biological Sciences and the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs, California State University, Long Beach.

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DRS and DWJ conceived and designed this study. DRS and DWJ were responsible for field collection, statistical analysis, and writing of the manuscript. DRS was responsible for data collection, animal husbandry, and design of figures.

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Correspondence to Darien Satterfield.

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All applicable institutional and/or national guidelines for the care and use of animals were followed.

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Communicated by Aaron J. Wirsing.

Populations of animals that are separated in space often exhibit consistent differences in behavior, but the degree to which these differences represent genetic adaptation to local environments is often unclear. In this study we found locally-adapted temperament that likely resulted from a combination of heritable variation in behaviors and spatial variation in selection via fishing mortality. Our results emphasize that predation, including fishing mortality, can be a strong force shaping the evolution of behavior and that local adaptation in temperament may be prevalent in the wild.

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Satterfield, D., Johnson, D.W. Local adaptation of antipredator behaviors in populations of a temperate reef fish. Oecologia 194, 571–584 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-020-04757-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-020-04757-y

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