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Natal departure timing from spatially varying environments is dependent of individual ontogenetic status

Naturwissenschaften volume 100, pages 761–768 (2013)Cite this article

Abstract

Natal departure timing represents one of the first crucial decisions for juveniles born in spatially varying environments that ultimately disappear, but our knowledge on its determinants is limited. The present study aimed at understanding the determinants of juvenile natal departure by releasing individually tagged juvenile pike (Esox lucius L.) with variable body size and trophic position in a temporary flooded grassland. Specifically, we investigated whether natal departure depends on individual competitive status (‘competition hypothesis’), physiological tolerance to environmental conditions (‘physiological hypothesis’) or individual trophic position and the spatial heterogeneity of trophic resources (‘trophic hypothesis’). The results indicated that departure timing was negatively correlated with body size at release, showing that the dominance status among competing individuals was not the main trigger of juvenile departure. A positive correlation between departure timing and individual body size at departure was observed, suggesting that inter-individual variability in physiological tolerance did not explain departure patterns. While individual growth performances were similar irrespective of the timing of natal departure, stable isotope analyses revealed that juveniles with higher trophic position departed significantly earlier than individuals with lower trophic position. Therefore, the trade-off driving the use of spatially varying environments was most likely dependent upon the benefits associated with energetic returns than the costs associated with inter-individual competition or physiological stress. This result highlighted how ontogeny, and particularly ontogenetic niche shift, can play a central role in juvenile’s decision to depart from natal habitats in a predatory species.

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Acknowledgments

We thank the Parc naturel régional de Brière (PnrB) for logistic support and the PnrB, FEDER, DIREN (MEDD), Région Pays de la Loire, Agence de l’Eau from Loire-Bretagne for financial support. We are especially grateful to D. Huteau, F. Marchand, J.-P. Damien, M. Buoro, V. Thoby, J. Tremblay, E. Le Mitouard and A. Carpentier for assistance during field and laboratory work. JC was supported by an “ERG Marie Curie” grant (PERG08-GA-2010-276969) in the lab EDB, part of the Laboratoire d’Excellence (LABEX) entitled TULIP (ANR -10-LABX-41).

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Affiliations

  1. UMR 5174 EDB (Laboratoire Évolution & Diversité Biologique), CNRS, Université Paul Sabatier, ENFA, 118 route de Narbonne, 31062, Toulouse, France

    Julien Cucherousset

  2. UMR 5174 EDB, Université Toulouse 3 Paul Sabatier, CNRS, 31062, Toulouse, France

    Julien Cucherousset

  3. UMR 6553 ECOBIO CNRS—Université de Rennes 1, Campus de Beaulieu, Avenue Général Leclerc, 35042, Rennes cedex, France

    Jean-Marc Paillisson

  4. INRA, UMR 985 Ecologie et Santé des Ecosystèmes, 35042, Rennes, France

    Jean-Marc Roussel

Authors
  1. Julien Cucherousset
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  2. Jean-Marc Paillisson
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  3. Jean-Marc Roussel
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Correspondence to Julien Cucherousset.

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Communicated by: Sven Thatje

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Cucherousset, J., Paillisson, JM. & Roussel, JM. Natal departure timing from spatially varying environments is dependent of individual ontogenetic status. Naturwissenschaften 100, 761–768 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00114-013-1073-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00114-013-1073-y

Keywords

  • Temporary waters
  • Dispersion
  • Inter-individual variability
  • Stable isotope analyses
  • Ontogenetic niche shift