Local adaptation of timing of reproduction: females are in the driver's seat
2009
Caro, Samuel P. | Charmantier, Anne | Lambrechts, Marcel M. | Blondel, Jacques | Balthazart, Jacques | Williams, Tony | Université de Liège = University of Liège = Universiteit van Luik = Universität Lüttich (ULiège) | Centre d’Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Evolutive (CEFE) ; Université Paul-Valéry - Montpellier 3 (UPVM)-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-Centre international d'études supérieures en sciences agronomiques (Montpellier SupAgro)-École Pratique des Hautes Études (EPHE) ; Université Paris Sciences et Lettres (PSL)-Université Paris Sciences et Lettres (PSL)-Université de Montpellier (UM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD [Occitanie])-Institut national d’études supérieures agronomiques de Montpellier (Montpellier SupAgro) | Center for Cellular and Molecular Neurobiology ; Université de Liège = University of Liège = Universiteit van Luik = Universität Lüttich (ULiège)-CNCM-Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Sart Tilman (CHU Sart Tilman) ; Université de Liège = University of Liège = Universiteit van Luik = Universität Lüttich (ULiège)-Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Liège (CHU-Liège)-Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Liège (CHU-Liège) | Simon Fraser University = Université Simon Fraser (SFU.ca)
International audience
Show more [+] Less [-]English. 1. Breeding at the right time of the year is crucial for many temperate zone organisms, as any mismatch with their optimal breeding period leads to a reduction in fitness. The roles of the breeding partners in these adaptive decisions have, however, only rarely been studied. 2. In blue tits (Cyanistes caeruleus) that breed in heterogenous Mediterranean habitats, nearby populations show up to 1-month differences in breeding time. This difference is adaptive as the optimal time for breeding varies by the same amount due to habitat characteristics. But which sex is determining this large difference in timing? 3. We show here that the seasonal development of female reproductive activity (yolk precursor production) closely matches the local optimal breeding time in these two highly contrasted landscapes, while previous studies have demonstrated that male gonadal development does not. In accordance with this, quantitative genetic analyses reveal that timing for breeding is determined by the female only, with no evidence for an additive genetic male effect on laying date. 4. Our results strongly suggest that the adaptive inter-population difference in the laying periods has been driven by females. The central role of females in the determination of breeding period needs to be included when studying how micro-evolutionary processes are affected by global climate change.
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