Sex-specific heritabilities for length at maturity among Pacific salmonids and their consequences for evolution in response to artificial selection.

Artificial selection, whether intentional or coincidental, is a common result of conservation policies and natural resource management. To reduce unintended consequences of artificial selection, conservation practitioners must understand both artificial selection gradients on traits of interest and how those traits are correlated with others that may affect population growth and resilience. We investigate how artificial selection on male body size in Pacific salmon ( spp.

Ecological rules for global species distribution also predict performance variation in Ironman triathletes.

Bergmann's and Allen's rules predict changes in body size and appendage length across temperature gradients for species with broad geographic distributions. Larger bodies and longer limbs facilitate cooling whereas smaller bodies and compact limbs limit heat loss. Although these patterns are highly repeatable (hence "rules" of ecology) the patterns and underlying mechanisms are less-well understood in humans.

Individual contributions to group chorus dynamics influence access to mating opportunities in wood frogs.

A limitation in bioacoustic studies has been the inability to differentiate individual sonic contributions from group-level dynamics. We present a novel application of acoustic camera technology to investigate how individual wood frogs' calls influence chorus properties, and how variation influences mating opportunities. We recorded mating calls and used playback trials to gauge preference for different chorus types in the laboratory.

A potential role for restricted intertactical heritability in preventing intralocus conflict.

Intralocus sexual conflict, which arises when the same trait has different fitness optima in males and females, reduces population growth rates. Recently, evolutionary biologists have recognized that intralocus conflict can occur between morphs or reproductive tactics within a sex and that intralocus tactical conflict might constrain tactical dimorphism and population growth rates just as intralocus sexual conflict constrains sexual dimorphism and population growth rates. However, research has only recently focused on sexual and tactical intralocus conflict simultaneously, and there is no formal theory connecting the two.

Reproductive trade-offs and phenotypic selection change with body condition, but not with predation regime, across island lizard populations.

Trade-offs between reproduction and survival are central to life-history theory and are expected to shape patterns of phenotypic selection, but the ecological factors structuring these trade-offs and resultant patterns of selection are generally unknown. We manipulated reproductive investment and predation regime in island populations of brown anole lizards (Anolis sagrei) to test (1) whether previously documented increases in the survival of experimentally non-reproductive females (OVX = ovariectomy) reflect the greater susceptibility of reproductive females (SHAM = control) to predation and (2) whether phenotypic selection differs as a function of reproductive investment and predation regime. OVX females exceeded SHAM controls in growth, mass gain and body condition, indicating pronounced energetic costs of reproduction.