BIOL3045 Lecture Notes - Lecture 10: Phenotypic Plasticity, Abseiling, Circulatory System
3 Jul 2018
School
Department
Course
Professor
Animal Ecological Physiology BIOL3045 460381099
Lecture 10: Developmental plasticity and thermal performance.
• Developmental plasticity shows
warm developed males perform better
in warm temperatures, compared to
cold developed males.
• Thermal acclimation shifts optimal
physiological temperature toward the
environmental temperature.
• Could a link between
developmental plasticity and
acclimation lead to modified thermal
performance curves?
• The interaction between acclimation and developmental plasticity can be seen in (example)
guppies. Where swimming performance is greatest in individuals with Test T = Developed T =
Acclimated T. For example, cold developed males have a greater capacity for cold acclimation,
vice versa.
• Can this interaction, monitor ecological traits such as dispersal (the ability to leave a habitat,
travel, and settle in a new environment).
o Between populations: Sparrows with low food availability have high dispersal rates
at high temperature and high population size.
o Within populations: Spiders where offspring developed at different temperatures
have different dispersal strategies of rappelling and ballooning. Long-distance
ballooning occurred more frequently under cooler, spring-like conditions and short-
distance rappelling under warmer, summer-like conditions. thermal conditions
during development match spider’s dispersal strategy to their future environment.
• Therefore, dispersal is greatest when developmental, acclimation and acute temperatures
match.
Read: Hans and Rainer, Climate change effects marine fishes. Science 315, 95-97, 2007.
• What is the “oxygen limitation of thermal tolerance” hypothesis? High temperature leads to
greater oxygen demands, as oxygen concentrations in water decrease as temperature becomes
warmer. The capacity of the cardiovascular system to supply oxygen decreases at high
temperatures
• How does it relate to phenotypic plasticity, and acclimation in particular? Plasticity can change
oxygen use and delivery dynamics.
