Search

Sex allocation theory is often hailed as the most successful area of evolutionary theory due to its striking success as a predictor of empirical observations [1]. Most naturally occurring sex ratios can be explained by the principle of equal investment in the sexes [2-4] or by cases of "extraordinary" sex allocation [5]. Deviations from the expected sex ratio are often correlated with weak selection or low environmental predictability (e.g., [6, 7]); true cases of aberrant sex allocation are surprisingly rare [8]. Here, we present a case of long-lasting maladaptive sex allocation, which we discovered in invasive populations of the exclusively sexual brine shrimp Artemia franciscana. A. franciscana was introduced to Southern France roughly 500 generations ago [9]; since then, it has coexisted with the native asexual species Artemia parthenogenetica [10]. Although we expect A. franciscana to produce balanced offspring sex ratios, we regularly observed extremely male-biased sex ratios in invasive A. franciscana, which were significantly correlated to the proportion of asexuals in the overall population. We experimentally proved that both invasive- and native-range A. franciscana overproduced sons when exposed to excess females, without distinguishing between conspecific and asexual females. We conclude that A. franciscana adjust their offspring sex ratio in function of the adult sex ratio but are information limited in the presence of asexual females. Their facultative adjustment trait, which is presumably adaptive in their native range, has thus become maladaptive in the invasive range where asexuals occur. Despite this, it has persisted unchanged for hundreds of generations., (Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Animal personalities range from individuals that are shy, cautious, and easily stressed (a "reactive" personality type) to individuals that are bold, innovative, and quick to learn novel tasks, but also prone to routine formation (a "proactive" personality type). Although personality differences should have important consequences for fitness, their underlying mechanisms remain poorly understood. Here, we investigated how genetic variation in brain size affects personality. We put selection lines of large- and small-brained guppies (Poecilia reticulata), with known differences in cognitive ability, through three standard personality assays. First, we found that large-brained animals were faster to habituate to, and more exploratory in, open field tests. Large-brained females were also bolder. Second, large-brained animals excreted less cortisol in a stressful situation (confinement). Third, large-brained animals were slower to feed from a novel food source, which we interpret as being caused by reduced behavioral flexibility rather than lack of innovation in the large-brained lines. Overall, the results point toward a more proactive personality type in large-brained animals. Thus, this study provides the first experimental evidence linking brain size and personality, an interaction that may affect important fitness-related aspects of ecology such as dispersal and niche exploration., (© 2013 The Authors. Evolution published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of The Society for the Study of Evolution.)

Grouping behaviours (e.g. schooling, shoaling and swarming) are commonly explicated through adaptive hypotheses such as protection against predation, access to mates or improved foraging. However, the hypothesis that aggregation can result from manipulation by parasites to increase their transmission has never been demonstrated. We investigated this hypothesis using natural populations of two crustacean hosts (Artemia franciscana and Artemia parthenogenetica) infected with one cestode and two microsporidian parasites. We found that swarming propensity increased in cestode-infected hosts and that red colour intensity was higher in swarming compared with non-swarming infected hosts. These effects likely result in increased cestode transmission to its final avian host. Furthermore, we found that microsporidian-infected hosts had both increased swarming propensity and surfacing behaviour. Finally, we demonstrated using experimental infections that these concurrent manipulations result in increased spore transmission to new hosts. Hence, this study suggests that parasites can play a prominent role in host grouping behaviours., (© 2013 Blackwell Publishing Ltd/CNRS.)