Meeting Abstract
The impact of invasive species on native populations has become a growing concern in conservation. Not only can invasive species drive native population extinction events, but novel predatory species have been shown to alter the evolutionary trajectories of prey population behavior by introducing strong, novel selective pressures. Often, prey rely on suites of antipredator behaviors as a means of defense against predation threat. Thus, it is important to ask how the expression of antipredator behaviors evolves. Predatory Northern pike, Esox lucius, have invaded freshwater lakes in Southcentral Alaska. Native to these lakes are populations of threespine stickleback, Gasterosteus aculeatus, which serve as prey for pike. Previous research reveals that threespine stickleback antipredator behavior is likely a plastic trait. Our study investigates whether these antipredator behavioral patterns result from differing developmental environments, specifically developmental stress related to predation threats. Fish from both pike-invaded and pike-free populations were reared in lab either with or without simulated predation throughout development. These fish were compared with wild-caught fish from the same populations. Through these comparisons, we aim to assess whether or not the stress treatment imposed on lab-reared fish during development triggers plastic differences in phenotype analogous to those observed in wild populations. Our results in activity measures suggest interactions between population and developmental environment. This presentation in full unveils further insights into the role novel predation stress plays in acting as the mechanism underlying the plasticity of antipredator behavior phenotype expression.
