@article{MazzaDammhahnLoescheetal.2020,
  author    = {Mazza, Valeria and Dammhahn, Melanie and L{\"o}sche, Elisa and Eccard, Jana},
  title     = {Small mammals in the big city},
  series = {Global change biology},
  volume    = {26},
  journal   = {Global change biology},
  number    = {11},
  publisher = {Wiley},
  address   = {Hoboken},
  issn      = {1354-1013},
  doi       = {10.1111/gcb.15304},
  pages     = {6326 -- 6337},
  year      = {2020},
  abstract  = {A fundamental focus of current ecological and evolutionary research is to illuminate the drivers of animals' success in coping with human-induced rapid environmental change (HIREC). Behavioural adaptations are likely to play a major role in coping with HIREC because behaviour largely determines how individuals interact with their surroundings. A substantial body of research reports behavioural modifications in urban dwellers compared to rural conspecifics. However, it is often unknown whether the observed phenotypic divergence is due to phenotypic plasticity or the product of genetic adaptations. Here, we aimed at investigating (a) whether behavioural differences arise also between rural and urban populations of non-commensal rodents; and (b) whether these differences result from behavioural flexibility or from intrinsic behavioural characteristics, such as genetic or maternal effects. We captured and kept under common environment conditions 42 rural and 52 urban adult common voles (Microtus arvalis) from seven subpopulations along a rural-urban gradient. We investigated individual variation in behavioural responses associated with risk-taking and exploration, in situ at the time of capture in the field and ex situ after 3 months in captivity. Urban dwellers were bolder and more explorative than rural conspecifics at the time of capture in their respective sites (in situ). However, when tested under common environmental conditions ex situ, rural individuals showed little change in their behavioural responses whereas urban individuals altered their behaviour considerably and were consistently shyer and less explorative than when tested in situ. The combination of elevated risk-taking and exploration with high behavioural flexibility might allow urban populations to successfully cope with the challenges of HIREC. Investigating whether the observed differences in behavioural flexibility are adaptive and how they are shaped by additive and interactive effects of genetic make-up and past environmental conditions will help illuminate eco-evolutionary dynamics under HIREC and predict persistence of populations under urban conditions.},
  language  = {en}
}
@article{SommerKalbeEkstrometal.2014,
  author    = {Sommer, Robert S. and Kalbe, Johannes and Ekstrom, Jonas and Benecke, Norbert and Liljegren, Ronnie},
  title     = {Range dynamics of the reindeer in Europe during the last 25,000 years},
  series = {Journal of biogeography},
  volume    = {41},
  journal   = {Journal of biogeography},
  number    = {2},
  publisher = {Wiley-Blackwell},
  address   = {Hoboken},
  issn      = {0305-0270},
  doi       = {10.1111/jbi.12193},
  pages     = {298 -- 306},
  year      = {2014},
  abstract  = {Aim To understand the role and significance of the reindeer, Rangifer tarandus (Linnaeus, 1758), as a specific indicator in terms of late Quaternary biogeography and to determine the effects of global climate change on its range and local extinction dynamics at the end of the Ice Age. Location Late Pleistocene/early Holocene range of reindeer over all of central and western Europe, including southern Scandinavia and northern Iberia, but excluding Russia, Belarus and the Ukraine. Methods Radiocarbon-dated subfossil records of R. tarandus from both archaeological and natural deposits younger than 25,000 years were assembled in a database. The distribution area was divided into six representative regions. The C-14 dates were calibrated and plotted chronologically in maps in order to compare presence and absence and regional extinction patterns from one region to another. Main conclusions The late Quaternary record for reindeer in Europe during the last 25 kyr shows a climate-driven dispersal and retreat in response to climate change, with regional variations. The collapse of the mammoth steppe biome did not lead to the local extinction in Europe, as in the case of other megafaunal species. Rangifer tarandus co-existed for about 3000 years during the Late Glacial and early Holocene with typical temperate species such as red deer and roe deer in non-analogue faunal communities. The regional extinction at the end of the Pleistocene coincides with the transition from light open birch/pine forests to pine/deciduous forests.},
  language  = {en}
}
@article{KaunathEccard2022,
  author    = {Kaunath, Vera and Eccard, Jana},
  title     = {Light Attraction in Carabid Beetles},
  series = {Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution},
  volume    = {10},
  journal   = {Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution},
  publisher = {Frontiers Media},
  address   = {Lausanne, Schweiz},
  issn      = {2296-701X},
  doi       = {10.3389/fevo.2022.751288},
  pages     = {10},
  year      = {2022},
  abstract  = {Artificial light at night (ALAN) is altering the behaviour of nocturnal animals in a manifold of ways. Nocturnal invertebrates are particularly affected, due to their fatal attraction to ALAN. This selective pressure has the potential to reduce the strength of the flight-to-light response in insects, as shown recently in a moth species. Here we investigated light attraction of ground beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae).We compared among animals (three genera) from a highly light polluted (HLP) grassland in the centre of Berlin and animals collected at a low-polluted area in a Dark Sky Reserve (DSR), captured using odour bait. In an arena setting tested at night time, HLP beetles (n = 75 across all genera) showed a reduced attraction towards ALAN. Tested during daytime, HLP beetles were less active in an open field test (measured as latency to start moving), compared to DSR (n = 143). However, we did not observe a reduced attraction towards ALAN within the species most common at both sides, Calathus fuscipes (HLP = 37, DSR = 118 individuals) indicating that not all species may be equally affected by ALAN. Reduced attraction to ALAN in urban beetles may either be a result of phenotypic selection in each generation removing HLP individuals that are attracted to light, or an indication for ongoing evolutionary differentiation among city and rural populations in their light response. Reduced attraction to light sources may directly enhance survival and reproductive success of urban individuals. However, decrease in mobility may negatively influence dispersal, reproduction and foraging success, highlighting the selective pressure that light pollution may have on fitness, by shaping and modifying the behaviour of insects.},
  language  = {en}
}
@article{RomeroMujalliRochowKahletal.2021,
  author    = {Romero-Mujalli, Daniel and Rochow, Markus and Kahl, Sandra M. and Paraskevopoulou, Sofia and Folkertsma, Remco and Jeltsch, Florian and Tiedemann, Ralph},
  title     = {Adaptive and nonadaptive plasticity in changing environments: Implications for sexual species with different life history strategies},
  series = {Ecology and Evolution},
  volume    = {11},
  journal   = {Ecology and Evolution},
  number    = {11},
  publisher = {John Wiley \& Sons, Inc.},
  address   = {New Jersey},
  issn      = {2045-7758},
  pages     = {17},
  year      = {2021},
  abstract  = {Populations adapt to novel environmental conditions by genetic changes or phenotypic plasticity. Plastic responses are generally faster and can buffer fitness losses under variable conditions. Plasticity is typically modeled as random noise and linear reaction norms that assume simple one-to- one genotype-phenotype maps and no limits to the phenotypic response. Most studies on plasticity have focused on its effect on population viability. However, it is not clear, whether the advantage of plasticity depends solely on environmental fluctuations or also on the genetic and demographic properties (life histories) of populations. Here we present an individual-based model and study the relative importance of adaptive and nonadaptive plasticity for populations of sexual species with different life histories experiencing directional stochastic climate change. Environmental fluctuations were simulated using differentially autocorrelated climatic stochasticity or noise color, and scenarios of directiona climate change. Nonadaptive plasticity was simulated as a random environmental effect on trait development, while adaptive plasticity as a linear, saturating, or sinusoidal reaction norm. The last two imposed limits to the plastic response and emphasized flexible interactions of the genotype with the environment. Interestingly, this assumption led to (a) smaller phenotypic than genotypic variance in the population (many-to- one genotype-phenotype map) and the coexistence of polymorphisms, and (b) the maintenance of higher genetic variation—compared to linear reaction norms and genetic determinism—even when the population was exposed to a constant environment for several generations. Limits to plasticity led to genetic accommodation, when costs were negligible, and to the appearance of cryptic variation when limits were exceeded. We found that adaptive plasticity promoted population persistence under red environmental noise and was particularly important for life histories with low fecundity. Populations produing more offspring could cope with environmental fluctuations solely by genetic changes or random plasticity, unless environmental change was too fast.},
  language  = {en}
}