Journal article
Obligate versus rich patch opportunism: Evolution and endocrine mechanisms
General and comparative endocrinology, Vol.190, pp.76-80
09/01/2013
Handle:
https://hdl.handle.net/2376/116780
PMID: 23612018
Abstract
•We describe two strategies of opportunism: rich patch exploiter and obligate.•Obligate opportunists (OBO) breed in response to unpredictable and rare resource pulses.•Rich patch exploiters (RPE) are highly mobile and move between resource patches.•RPE are predicted to invest more heavily in survival (e.g. HPA sensitivity in crossbills).•OBO are predicted to maintain reproductive readiness (e.g. HPG activity in zebra finch).
Opportunistic breeding has been hypothesized to evolve in response to rare or unpredictable resource pulses. In this traditional view of opportunism, individuals invest heavily in reproduction whenever conditions are permissive for breeding, perhaps at the expense of investment in survival. We term this strategy ‘obligate opportunism’ (OBO). We also present an additional strategy that could account for the evolution of opportunism. High mobility may allow individuals to move between rich patches of resources that are spatially or temporally unpredictable, reducing exposure to food scarcity and taking advantage of breeding opportunities. This strategy, which we term ‘rich patch exploiter’ (RPE), predicts that investment in survival-enhancing processes may occur at the expense of reproduction despite high resource availability. We review examples to determine which opportunists better match predictions from the OBO strategy or the RPE strategy and then review endocrine profiles in the context of the two strategies.
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Details
- Title
- Obligate versus rich patch opportunism: Evolution and endocrine mechanisms
- Creators
- J.M Cornelius - Department of Neurobiology, Physiology and Behavior, University of California-Davis, One Shields Avenue, Davis, CA 95616, United StatesH.E Watts - Department of Biology, Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles, CA 90045, United StatesH Dingle - Emeritus of Entomology, University of California-Davis, One Shields Avenue, Davis, CA 95616, United StatesT.P Hahn - Department of Neurobiology, Physiology and Behavior, University of California-Davis, One Shields Avenue, Davis, CA 95616, United States
- Publication Details
- General and comparative endocrinology, Vol.190, pp.76-80
- Publisher
- Elsevier Inc
- Identifiers
- 99900574385101842
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Journal article