Résumé

Organisms can gain information about predation risks from their parents, their own personal experience, and their conspecifics and adjust their behavior to alleviate these risks. These different sources of information can, however, provide conflicting information due to spatial and temporal variation of the environment. This raises the question of how these cues are integrated to produce adaptive antipredator behavior. We investigated how common lizards (Zootoca vivipara) adjust the use of conspecific cues about predation risk depending on whether the information is maternally or personally acquired. We experimentally manipulated the presence of predator scent in gestating mothers and their offspring in a full-crossed design. We then tested the consequences for social information use by monitoring offspring social response to conspecifics previously exposed to predator cues or not. Lizards were more attracted to the scent of conspecifics having experienced predation cues when they had themselves no personal information about predation risk. In contrast, they were more repulsed by conspecific scent when they had personally obtained information about predation risk. However, the addition of maternal information about predation risk canceled out this interactive effect between personal and social information: lizards were slightly more attracted to conspecific scent when these two sources of information about predation risk were in agreement. A chemical analysis of lizard scent revealed that exposure to predator cues modified the chemical composition of lizard scents, a change that might underlie lizards’ use of social information. Our results highlight the importance of considering multiple sources of information while studying antipredator defenses.

Auteurs, date et publication :

Auteurs Laurane Winandy , Lucie Di Gesu , Marion Lemoine , Staffan Jacob , José Martin , Christine Ducamp , Michèle Huet , Delphine Legrand , Julien Cote

Publication : Behavioral Ecology

Date : 2021

Issue : araa151

Catégorie(s)

#ANR-Citation #CNRS #Metatron terrestre

Résumé

Predation is a strong selective pressure generating morphological, physiological and behavioural responses in organisms. As predation risk is often higher during juvenile stages, antipredator defences expressed early in life are paramount to survival. Maternal effects are an efficient pathway to produce such defences. We investigated whether maternal exposure to predator cues during gestation affected juvenile morphology, behaviour and dispersal in common lizards (Zootoca vivipara). We exposed 21 gravid females to saurophagous snake cues for one month while 21 females remained unexposed (i.e. control). We measured body size, preferred temperature and activity level for each neonate, and released them into semi-natural enclosures connected to corridors in order to measure dispersal. Offspring from exposed mothers grew longer tails, selected lower temperatures and dispersed thrice more than offspring from unexposed mothers. Because both tail autotomy and altered thermoregulatory behaviour are common antipredator tactics in lizards, these results suggest that mothers adjusted offspring phenotype to risky natal environments (tail length) or increased risk avoidance (dispersal). Although maternal effects can be passive consequences of maternal stress, our results strongly militate for them to be an adaptive antipredator response that may increase offspring survival prospects.

Auteurs, date et publication :

Auteurs Elvire Bestion , Aimeric Teyssier , Fabien Aubret , Jean Clobert , Julien Cote

Publication : Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences

Date : 2025

Volume : 281

Issue : 1792

Catégorie(s)

#CNRS #Metatron terrestre

Résumé

Locating food in heterogeneous environments is a core survival challenge. The distribution of resources shapes foraging strategies, imposing demands on perception, learning and memory, and associated brain structures. Indeed, selection for foraging efficiency is linked to brain expansion in diverse taxa, from primates1 to Hymenopterans2. Among butterflies, Heliconius have a unique dietary adaptation, actively collecting and feeding on pollen, providing a source of essential amino acids as adults, negating reproductive senescence and facilitating an extended longevity3. Several lines of evidence suggest that Heliconius learn the spatial location of pollen resources within an individual’s home range4, and spatial learning may be more pronounced at these large spatial scales. However, experimental evidence of spatial learning in Heliconius, or any other butterfly, is so far absent. We therefore tested the ability of Heliconius to learn the spatial location of food rewards at three ecologically-relevant spatial scales, representing multiple flowers on a single plant, multiple plants within a locality, and multiple localities. Heliconius were able to learn spatial information at all three scales, consistent with this ability being an important component of their natural foraging behaviour.

Auteurs, date et publication :

Auteurs Priscila A. Moura , Fletcher J. Young , Monica Monllor , Marcio Z. Cardoso , Stephen H. Montgomery

Publication : Current Biology

Date : 2023

Volume : 33

Issue : 15

Pages : R797-R798

Catégorie(s)

#CNRS #Metatron terrestre

Résumé

Warmer climates accelerate the pace of life of lizards and this demographic change leads to a strong decrease in population growth rate that may ultimately result in population extinctions.

Auteurs, date et publication :

Auteurs Elvire Bestion , Aimeric Teyssier , Murielle Richard , Jean Clobert , Julien Cote

Publication : PLoS Biology

Date : 2015

Volume : 13

Issue : 10

Pages : e1002281

Catégorie(s)

#CNRS #Metatron terrestre

Résumé

In fragmented landscapes, the reduced connectivity among patches drives the evolution of movement strategies through an increase of transience costs. Reduced movements may further alter heterogeneity in biotic and abiotic conditions experienced by individuals. The joint action of local conditions and matrix permeability may shape emigration decisions. Here, we tested the interactive effects of predation risk and matrix permeability on movement propensity, movement costs and movers’ phenotype in the common toad Bufo bufo. In a full-crossed experimental design, we assessed the movement propensity of juveniles in three connectivity treatments (from poorly to highly permeable matrix), with or without predation risk in their living patch. We also assessed the relationships between movement propensity and morphological traits (i.e. body and leg length) and how it affected the movement cost (i.e. mass loss). Movement propensity increased in presence of predation risk, while matrix permeability had no effect. However, matrix permeability interacted with predation risk to influence movers’ phenotype and the physiological cost they endured while moving. In particular, a wellknown movement syndrome in toads (i.e. movement propensity positively related to longer legs) depended on the interaction between matrix permeability and predation risk and resulted in differences in mass loss among matrix types. Movers lost more mass on average than residents except when they also displayed longer legs or when they crossed the most permeable matrix in the presence of predation risk. Our results show that matrix permeability shapes the physiological cost of dispersal by changing the identity of individuals moving away from local conditions. As the movers’ phenotype can importantly alter (meta)population dynamics, context-dependency of dispersal syndromes should be considered in studies predicting the functioning of human-altered natural systems.

Auteurs, date et publication :

Auteurs Laurane Winandy , Julien Cote , Lucie Di Gesu , Félix Pellerin , Audrey Trochet , Delphine Legrand

Publication : Oikos

Date : 2025

Volume : 128

Issue : 10

Pages : 1402-1412

Catégorie(s)

#CNRS #Metatron terrestre

Résumé

Climate warming and landscape fragmentation are both factors well known to threaten biodiversity and to generate species responses and adaptation. However, the impact of warming and fragmentation interplay on organismal responses remains largely under-explored, especially when it comes to gut symbionts, which may play a key role in essential host functions and traits by extending its functional and genetic repertoire. Here, we experimentally examined the combined effects of climate warming and habitat connectivity on the gut bacterial communities of the common lizard (Zootoca vivipara) over three years. While the strength of effects varied over the years, we found that a 2°C warmer climate decreases lizard gut microbiome diversity in isolated habitats. However, enabling connectivity among habitats with warmer and cooler climates offset or even reversed warming effects. The warming effects and the association between host dispersal behaviour and microbiome diversity appear to be a potential driver of this interplay. This study suggests that preserving habitat connectivity will play a key role in mitigating climate change impacts, including the diversity of the gut microbiome, and calls for more studies combining multiple anthropogenic stressors when predicting the persistence of species and communities through global changes.

Auteurs, date et publication :

Auteurs Emma Fromm , Lucie Zinger , Félix Pellerin , Lucie Di Gesu , Staffan Jacob , Laurane Winandy , Robin Aguilée , Nathalie Parthuisot , Amaia Iribar , Joël White , Elvire Bestion , Julien Cote

Publication : Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences

Date : 2024

Volume : 291

Issue : 2021

Pages : 20240220

Catégorie(s)

#CNRS #Metatron terrestre

Résumé

Although animal dispersal is known to play key roles in ecological and evolutionary processes such as colonization, population extinction and local adaptation, little is known about its genetic basis, particularly in vertebrates. Untapping the genetic basis of dispersal should deepen our understanding of how dispersal behaviour evolves, the molecular mechanisms that regulate it and link it to other phenotypic aspects in order to form the so-called dispersal syndromes. Here, we comprehensively combined quantitative genetics, genome-wide sequencing and transcriptome sequencing to investigate the genetic basis of natal dispersal in a known ecological and evolutionary model of vertebrate dispersal: the common lizard, Zootoca vivipara. Our study supports the heritability of dispersal in semi-natural populations, with less variation attributable to maternal and natal environment effects. In addition, we found an association between natal dispersal and both variation in the carbonic anhydrase (CA10) gene, and in the expression of several genes (TGFB2, SLC6A4, NOS1) involved in central nervous system functioning. These findings suggest that neurotransmitters (serotonin and nitric oxide) are involved in the regulation of dispersal and shaping dispersal syndromes. Several genes from the circadian clock (CRY2, KCTD21) were also differentially expressed between disperser and resident lizards, supporting that the circadian rhythm, known to be involved in long-distance migration in other taxa, might affect dispersal as well. Since neuronal and circadian pathways are relatively well conserved across vertebrates, our results are likely to be generalisable, and we therefore encourage future studies to further investigate the role of these pathways in shaping dispersal in vertebrates.

Auteurs, date et publication :

Auteurs Luis M. San-Jose , Elvire Bestion , Félix Pellerin , Murielle Richard , Lucie Di Gesu , Jordi Salmona , Laurane Winandy , Delphine Legrand , Camille Bonneaud , Olivier Guillaume , Olivier Calvez , Kathryn R. Elmer , Andrey A. Yurchenko , Hans Recknagel , Jean Clobert , Julien Cote

Publication : Molecular Ecology

Date : 2025

Volume : 32

Issue : 12

Pages : 3060-3075

Catégorie(s)

#CNRS #Metatron terrestre

Résumé

Climate change and habitat fragmentation exert considerable pressures on biodiversity. The spatial distribution of microclimatic refuges in the landscape can influence species responses to warming climates.

Auteurs, date et publication :

Auteurs Laurane Winandy , Félix Pellerin , Lucie Di Gesu , Delphine Legrand , Julien Cote

Publication : Landscape Ecology

Date : 2023

Catégorie(s)

#CNRS #Metatron terrestre

Résumé

We conducted an analysis of global forest cover to reveal that 70% of remaining forest is within 1 km of the forest's edge, subject to the degrading effects of fragmentation. A synthesis of fragmentation experiments spanning multiple biomes and scales, five continents, and 35 years demonstrates that habitat fragmentation reduces biodiversity by 13 to 75% and impairs key ecosystem functions by decreasing biomass and altering nutrient cycles. Effects are greatest in the smallest and most isolated fragments, and they magnify with the passage of time. These findings indicate an urgent need for conservation and restoration measures to improve landscape connectivity, which will reduce extinction rates and help maintain ecosystem services.

Auteurs, date et publication :

Auteurs Nick M. Haddad , Lars A. Brudvig , Jean Clobert , Kendi F. Davies , Andrew Gonzalez , Robert D. Holt , Thomas E. Lovejoy , Joseph O. Sexton , Mike P. Austin , Cathy D. Collins , William M. Cook , Ellen I. Damschen , Robert M. Ewers , Bryan L. Foster , Clinton N. Jenkins , Andrew J. King , William F. Laurance , Douglas J. Levey , Chris R. Margules , Brett A. Melbourne

Publication : SCIENCE ADVANCES

Date : 2015

Volume : 1

Issue : 2

Catégorie(s)

#ANR-Citation #CNRS #Metatron terrestre

Résumé

Spatial heterogeneity in the distribution of phenotypes among populations is of major importance for species evolution and ecosystem functioning. Dispersal has long been assumed to homogenise populations in structured landscapes by generating maladapted gene flows, making spatial heterogeneity of phenotypes traditionally considered resulting from local adaptation or plasticity. However, there is accumulating evidence that individuals, instead of dispersing randomly in the landscapes, adjust their dispersal decisions according to their phenotype and the environmental conditions. Specifically, individuals might move in the landscape to find and settle in the environmental conditions that best match their phenotype, therefore maximizing their fitness, a hypothesis named habitat matching. Although habitat matching and associated non-random gene flows can produce spatial phenotypic heterogeneity, their potential consequences for metapopulation and metacommunity functioning are still poorly understood. Here, we discuss evidence for intra and interspecific drivers of habitat matching, and highlight the potential consequences of this process for metapopulation and metacommunity functioning. We conclude that habitat matching might deeply affect the eco-evolutionary dynamics of meta-systems, pointing out the need for further empirical and theoretical research on its incidence and implications for species and communities evolution under environmental changes.

Auteurs, date et publication :

Auteurs Staffan Jacob , Elvire Bestion , Delphine Legrand , Jean Clobert , Julien Cote

Publication : EVOLUTIONARY ECOLOGY

Date : 2015

Volume : 29

Issue : 6, SI

Pages : 851-871

Catégorie(s)

#ANR-Citation #CNRS #Metatron terrestre