Environmental effects on the detection of adaptation

• Published in: Journal of evolutionary biology Vol. 24; no. 12; pp. 2653 - 2662
• Main Authors: MAGALHÃES, S., BLANCHET, E., EGAS, M., OLIVIERI, I.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford, UK Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.12.2011
• Subjects: Adaptation; Adaptation, Physiological; Animals; Capsicum - parasitology; cost of adaptation; Cucumis sativus - parasitology; Environment; Environmental conditions; environmental maternal effects; Evolutionary biology; experimental evolution; Female; Host Specificity; Insects; Life Cycle Stages; Longevity; Lycopersicon esculentum - parasitology; Oviposition; Phenotype; phenotypic plasticity; Plant Diseases - parasitology; specialization; Survival Analysis; Tetranychidae - growth & development; Tetranychidae - physiology; Time Factors
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1420-9101.2011.02388.x
• ISSN: 1010-061X

Detecting adaptation involves comparing the performance of populations evolving in different environments. This detection may be confounded by effects due to the environment experienced by organisms prior to the test. We tested whether such confounding effects occur, using spider‐mite selection lines on two novel hosts and one ancestral host, after 15 generations of selection. Mites were either sampled directly from the selection lines or subjected to a common juvenile or to a common maternal environment, mimicking the most frequent environmental manipulations. These environments strongly affected all life‐history traits. Moreover, the detection of adaptation and correlated responses on the ancestral host was inconsistent among environments in almost 20% of the cases. Indeed, we did not detect responses unambiguously for any life‐history trait. This inconsistency was due to differential environmental effects on lines from different selection regimes. Therefore, the detection of adaptation requires a careful control of these environmental effects.