INTERATING DEFENCES

Facing multiple predators - phenotypic integration in multiple antipredator traits

Coordinatore	THE UNIVERSITY OF SHEFFIELD    more  Organization address address: FIRTH COURT WESTERN BANK city: SHEFFIELD postcode: S10 2TN contact info Titolo: Ms. Nome: Joanne Cognome: Watson Email: send email Telefono: +44 114 222 4754 Fax: +44 114 222 1452
Nazionalità Coordinatore	United Kingdom [UK]
Totale costo	168˙823 €
EC contributo	168˙823 €
Programma	FP7-PEOPLE Specific programme "People" implementing the Seventh Framework Programme of the European Community for research, technological development and demonstration activities (2007 to 2013)
Code Call	FP7-PEOPLE-2007-2-1-IEF
Funding Scheme	MC-IEF
Anno di inizio	2009
Periodo (anno-mese-giorno)	2009-05-01   -   2011-04-30

 Partecipanti

#	participant	country	role	EC contrib. [€]
1	THE UNIVERSITY OF SHEFFIELD  Organization address address: FIRTH COURT WESTERN BANK city: SHEFFIELD postcode: S10 2TN contact info Titolo: Ms. Nome: Joanne Cognome: Watson Email: send email Telefono: +44 114 222 4754 Fax: +44 114 222 1452	UK (SHEFFIELD)	coordinator	0.00

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 Obiettivo del progetto (Objective)

'Phenotypic plasticity, the flexibility of organisms to adjust their phenotypes to changing environments, remains an exciting research area for scientist studying developmental biology, ecology and evolution. A recently emerging area of studying phenotypic plasticity is how prey integrate their response of suites of phenotypic traits across multiple environments. Because predation is a strong selective agent biasing the distribution, abundance and evolution of species, predator induced phenotypic plasticity has been highlighted by multitudes of publications over the last decades. However, our knowledge about trait integration in prey across multiple predator environments is still extremely narrow. In nature, species face multiple predators both in space and time and apply suites of different antipredator traits to repel predators. Consequently, achieving the integration of suites of different antipredator traits among multiple predator environments must be a procedure of balancing multiple costs and benefits. Here, I propose to examine the integration of behavioural, morphological and life history antipredator traits across multiple predator threats in the three model daphnid species (water fleas) Daphnia longispina, D. magna and D. pulex. This involves studying prey trait integration within and between predator regimes, under multiple predator regimes and under multiple but sequential predator regimes. In controlled laboratory experiments using several clones of all three species, I will investigate trade-offs among defensive strategies in prey facing multiple predators and the interplay of phenotypic and genotypic integration. Results of this project will provide important insights how prey organisms deal with multiple predator environments and integrate multiple defences to build a complex organism.'