Toli Elisavet A, Noreikiene Kristina, DeFaveri Jacquelin, Merilä Juha
Molecular Ecology & Conservation Genetics Lab Department of Biological Applications & Technology University of Ioannina Ioannina Greece; Ecological Genetics Research Unit Department of Biosciences University of Helsinki Helsinki Finland.
Ecological Genetics Research Unit Department of Biosciences University of Helsinki Helsinki Finland.
Ecol Evol. 2017 Feb 12;7(6):1691-1698. doi: 10.1002/ece3.2717. eCollection 2017 Mar.
Evidence for phenotypic plasticity in brain size and the size of different brain parts is widespread, but experimental investigations into this effect remain scarce and are usually conducted using individuals from a single population. As the costs and benefits of plasticity may differ among populations, the extent of brain plasticity may also differ from one population to another. In a common garden experiment conducted with three-spined sticklebacks () originating from four different populations, we investigated whether environmental enrichment (aquaria provided with structural complexity) caused an increase in the brain size or size of different brain parts compared to controls (bare aquaria). We found no evidence for a positive effect of environmental enrichment on brain size or size of different brain parts in either of the sexes in any of the populations. However, in all populations, males had larger brains than females, and the degree of sexual size dimorphism (SSD) in relative brain size ranged from 5.1 to 11.6% across the populations. Evidence was also found for genetically based differences in relative brain size among populations, as well as for plasticity in the size of different brain parts, as evidenced by consistent size differences among replicate blocks that differed in their temperature.
大脑大小及不同脑区大小存在表型可塑性的证据广泛存在,但针对这种效应的实验研究仍然稀缺,且通常使用来自单一群体的个体进行。由于可塑性的成本和收益在不同群体中可能存在差异,大脑可塑性的程度在不同群体之间也可能有所不同。在一项针对来自四个不同群体的三刺鱼进行的共同花园实验中,我们研究了与对照组(裸鱼缸)相比,环境富集(配备有结构复杂性的水族箱)是否会导致大脑大小或不同脑区大小增加。我们没有发现任何证据表明环境富集对任何群体中任一性别的大脑大小或不同脑区大小有积极影响。然而,在所有群体中,雄性的大脑都比雌性大,并且相对脑大小的两性异形程度(SSD)在各群体中从5.1%到11.6%不等。还发现了各群体间相对脑大小存在基于遗传的差异的证据以及不同脑区大小存在可塑性的证据,这一点由温度不同的重复区块之间一致的大小差异所证明。