Restricted Research - Award List, Note/Discussion Page
Fiscal Year: 2023
1524 The University of Texas at Arlington (143412)
Principal Investigator: Matthew Walsh,matthew.walsh@uta.edu,(817) 272-1546
Total Amount of Contract, Award, or Gift (Annual before 2011): $ 686,321
Exceeds $250,000 (Is it flagged?): Yes
Start and End Dates: 3/15/23 - 2/28/26
Restricted Research: YES
Academic Discipline: Department of Biology
Department, Center, School, or Institute: none
Title of Contract, Award, or Gift: The evolution of anticipatory maternal effects versus maternal condition transfer effects in Trinidadian killifish
Name of Granting or Contracting Agency/Entity:
National Science Foundation (NSF)
CFDA Link: NSF
47.074
Program Title:
Division of Environmental Biology
CFDA Linked: Biological Sciences
Note:
(SAM Category 1.1.1.) It is now established that the environment can induce non-genetic changes that span multiple generations. The link between environmental quality and shifts in maternal provisioning of offspring, or 'maternal effects', represent a classic form of a multi-generation response. Much research has explored whether mothers respond to predictable shifts in environmental signals by modifying offspring phenotypes to best match future conditions. However, the generality of such 'anticipatory maternal effects' remains unclear. Many organisms experience conditions that theory predicts should favor the evolution of anticipatory maternal effects, but such predictions have received limited empirical support. 'Maternal condition transfer effects' represents an alternative to anticipatory effects that occur when the environment experienced by females during development influences offspring fitness. They are not driven by external signals but are instead a byproduct of past environmental quality. Condition transfer effects have received far less attention that anticipatory effects and are likely more widespread than is currently appreciated. But little work has considered the conditions that favor the evolution condition transfer vs. anticipatory effects. Trinidadian killifish (Rivulus hartii) are found in localities with and without the presence of a piscivorous predators. Rivulus experience predictable shifts in environmental conditions each year that influence per capita food availability in a divergent manner between fish communities. Resource availability is predicted to be an important determinant of selection for condition-transfer vs. anticipatory maternal effects. We will use a multifaceted approach to test three central aims: First, we will determine if predator-mediated divergence in resource availability favors evolutionary shifts in maternal effects (i.e., condition transfer vs. anticipatory effects). Second, we will test the connection between divergent natural selection, maternal condition, and offspring fitness via ‘offspring outplant experiments’. Finally, we will experimentally test the influence of resource availability on the evolution of maternal effects via long-term canopy manipulations performed in natural streams.
Discussion: No discussion notes