Samþætting vist-, þróunar- og þroskunarfræðilegra þátta rýmisgreindar og persónuleika samsvæða bleikjuafbrigða (Salvelinus alpinus) - verkefni lokið

Fréttatilkynning verkefnisstjóra

27.5.2024

We compared five morphs of Arctic charr (Salvelinus alpinus), displaying an evolutionary gradient of genetic divergence from the ancestral population, and occupying a wide range of ecological niches. Juvenile charr from each morph were raised in common gardens, half in plain tanks and half in tanks enriched with plants and volcanic rocks, and were then individually tested in behavioral arenas for boldness and spatial cognitive abilities. Results obtained so far show that the more diverged the morph is, the bolder it is and the more time it takes to learn spatial tasks. The structural complexity of the environment did not influence boldness development but led to slower spatial learning overall. We found that the different aspects of personality traits at the group level (mean, variances, repeatability, plasticity) evolve and develop independently from each other. Finally, we found that gene expression patterns in the brain of tested fish are not influenced by structural complexity, but differ between morphs and between brain regions, and we are currently analyzing how this relates to personality and spatial cognition. This study, besides being the first one investigating Arctic charr cognition, shows that the already-known within-species diversity displayed by the Arctic charr, in terms of morphology and ecology, also extends to behavior and cognition, two traits that could very well play a role in speciation phenomena, leading to global biodiversity. This diversity is nevertheless fragile. In a drastically changing world under human-induced disturbances, behavior is the most immediate response for wildlife to adapt to rapid modifications of the environment. Our results are a first step for the charachterization of those behaviors and their adaptability, hinting towards leads of improvement in conservation policy of wild populations of charr.

Information on how the results will be applied:
This project is fundamentally innovative, as it is the very first to study cognition in Arctic charr and importantly also the first to address cognition in combination with personality along gradients of evolutionary and ecological divergence in sympatric morphs of the same species.
Fundamental research – this project develops a highly original and interdisciplinary approach, merging ethology, neurology, molecular biology and evolutionary ecology: the findings of this project will hence be of interest to a broad scientific audience. This multidisciplinary approach, in extensive common-garden laboratory experiments, on such a remarkable biological system in which young populations (~10Kyr) diverge in sympatry in the wild, is essential to understand at fine scale which eco-evolutionary mechanisms and brain structure(s) act on the emergence of behavioral plasticity, a strong driver of speciation processes.
Conservation – current human-driven disturbances in nature apply constant pressures on wildlife to adapt to rapid modifications of the environment. On the one hand, spatial cognition might be a key animal ability to respond to environmental changes. Indeed, every individual depends on spatial cognition to locate food, retrieve reproductive grounds, avoid high predation-risk zones, etc. On the other hand, personality traits (behaviours that are consistent among individuals over time and/or contexts) are thought to be involved in a lot of eco-evolutionary processes such as population dynamics, habitat use, sexual selection, etc. Personality traits have been shown to correlate with cognitive abilities, which might constrain the behavioural and cognitive adaptability of individuals. Hence, as rapid habitat changes might literally disorient animals, determining spatial cognitive abilities, personality traits, their plasticity and their interplays, in threatened species is an important step to assess their adaptability, and implement adapted conservation policies. This is of particular concern for the Arctic charr, one of the only seven species of freshwater fish in Iceland, that represents an emblematic species of the country’s cultural and natural heritage.

A list of the project’s outputs:
This project produced a list of 18 genes primers specific to the Arctic charr, adapted to the analysis of the expression of genes linked with major physiological pathways (neurogenesis and its epigenetics, stress regulation, monoamines). Cf “Publications” paragraph for the scientific communications.

Scientific articles published in peer-reviewed journals:
Dellinger, M., Steele, S. E., Sprockel, E., Philip, J., Pálsson, A., & Benhaïm, D. (2023). Variation in personality shaped by evolutionary history, genotype and developmental plasticity in response to feeding modalities in the Arctic charr. Proceedings of the Royal Society B, 290, 20232302. https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2023.2302

Dellinger, M., Caperaa, M., Le Clech, R., Queru, J., Benhaïm, D. (in prep.) Do personality components independently evolve and develop in response to environmental complexity?
In accordance with IRF’s open access policy, the data, analyses script and supplemental material for the published article are openly accessible through the Dryad digital repository platform (https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.4f4qrfjk2), so will those of the article in preparation. The PhD thesis will be submitted to the University of Iceland this semester. Other publications and conferences related to the project will be submitted after the PhD defense (June 2024).

Oral presentations in scientific congresses and conferences:
International Society for Behavioral Ecology Conference, July 28th-August 2nd, Stockholm, Sweden -
Dellinger, M., Le Clech, R., Benhaïm, D. (2022). ‘Same same but different’: Eco-Evo-Devo patterns of personality compared between two sympatric morphs of Arctic charr.

Fisheries Society of British Isles Symposium, July 25-29th 2022, Nottingham, England -
Philip, J., Dellinger, M., Benhaïm, D. (2022). Among-individual variation of risk-taking behaviour in group and solitary context is uncorrelated but independently repeatable in juvenile Arctic charr (Salvelinus alpinus).

Icelandic Ecological Society Vistís Conference, April 28th 2022, Reykjavík, Iceland -
Vanhussel, M., Dellinger, M., Ladurée, G., Benhaïm, D. (2022). Are environment and personality impacting the learning abilities of a wild anadromous Arctic charr population (Salvelinus alpinus)?

Icelandic Ecological Society Vistís Conference, April 28th 2022, Reykjavík, Iceland - Lobligeois, S., Dellinger, M., Vanhussel, M., Benhaïm, D. (2022). How is spatial cognition shaped in sympatric morphs of Arctic charr from Vatnshlíðarvatn?

Conference on Biology (IceBio2021), October 14th-16th 2021, Reykjavík, Iceland -
Dellinger, M., Del Ben, P., Caperaa, M., Suret, L., Benhaïm, D. (2021). The evolution of preferences in the Arctic charr (Salvelinus alpinus): towards population- and environment-specific rewards for spatial cognitive tests?

Ecological and Evolutionary Ethology of Fishes Conference, July 12-14th 2021, Online -
Dellinger, M., Choblet, M., Ladurée, G., Suret, L., Philip, J., Benhaïm, D. (2021). Influence of ecology, evolution and rearing environment on spatial cognition in offspring of wild-caught Arctic charr (Salvelinus alpinus): a comparison of two populations. Awarded the « David L. G. Noakes price » for outstanding student presentation in behavioral development.

Icelandic Ecological Society Vistís Conference, April 16-17th 2021, Online - Dellinger, M., Choblet, M., Ladurée, G., Philip, J., Benhaïm, D. (2021). Characterization and influence of the rearing environment on spatial cognitive abilities in offspring of wild-caught Arctic charr (Salvelinus alpinus).

Icelandic Ecological Society Vistís Conference, April 16-17th 2021, Online - Prat, A., Philip, J., Dellinger, M., Benhaïm, D. (2021). Effect of physical enrichment on brain morphology in juvenile Arctic charr.

Icelandic Ecological Society Vistís Conference, April 16-17th 2021, Online - Philip, J., Prat, A., Dellinger, M., Maguinness, R., Benhaïm, D. (2021). Effect of physical environmental factor on personality, brain development and their interaction in Arctic charr (Salvelinus alpinus).

Icelandic Ecological Society Vistís Conference, April 16-17th 2021, Online - Lafouasse, M., Dellinger, M., Prat, A., Philip, J., Benhaïm, D. (2021). Impact of enriched environment on brain morphology in the Arctic charr large benthic morph of Þingvallavatn.

Icelandic Ecological Society Vistís Conference, April 16-17th 2021, Online - Vandroux, M., Dellinger, M., Jónsson, Z., O., Cousin, X., Benhaïm, D. (2021). Study of Arctic charr brain gene expression linked with behaviour.

Icelandic Ecological Society Vistís Conference, April 16-17th 2021, Online - Maguinness, R., Philip, J., Dellinger, M., Benhaïm, D. (2021). Environmental enrichment influences behavioural syndrome in juvenile Arctic charr (Salvelinus alpinus).

Icelandic Ecological Society Vistís Conference, April 16-17th 2021, Online - Benhaïm, D., Dellinger, M., Philip, J., Jozet-Alves, C., Cousin, X., Bégout, M-L., Jónsson, Z., O., Leblanc, C., Kristjánsson, B., K. (2021). First insight into Arctic charr (Salvelinus alpinus) cognition and personality: impact of environmental factors and eco-evolutionary context.

Nordic Society Oikos Conference, March 3-5th 2020, Reykjavík, Iceland - Oral presentation
Dellinger, M., Sprockel, E., Philip, J., Steele, S., Pálsson, A., Benhaïm, D. (2020). Tell me how you eat, I’ll tell you who you are: how does feeding modalities affect personality distribution in the Arctic charr (Salvelinus alpinus)?

Poster presentations in scientific congresses and conferences:
Icelandic Ecological Society Vistís Conference, April 28th 2022, Reykjavík, Iceland - Poirier, Y., Gourlaouen, A., Dellinger, M., Lafouasse, L., Benhaïm, D. (2022). Methodology for studying geometric morphometrics of Arctic charr brains.

Icelandic Ecological Society Vistís Conference, April 16-17th 2021, Online - Ladurée, G., Dellinger, M., Suret, L., Choblet, M., Philip, J., Jozet-Alves, C., Benhaïm, D. (2021). How to study spatial cognition in the Arctic charr (Salvelinus alpinus).

Icelandic Ecological Society Vistís Conference, April 16-17th 2021, Online - Del Ben, P., Dellinger, M., Caperaa, M., Philip, J., Benhaïm, D. (2021). What reward for spatial cognition tests in Arctic charr (Salvelinus alpinus) ? Comparison of different ecologically meaningful stimulus between two morphs.

Others:
I was guest lecturer for 5 scientific seminars (Fishlab Seminars (2), Oregon State University Seminars, Askja Seminars (2)) presenting the PhD project and results to international audiences. Among the students supervised, six defended their MSc thesis, and one defended his BSc thesis, in their home country, based on the research work they accomplished within this project (final year internships).
Heiti verkefnis: Samþætting vist-, þróunar- og þroskunarfræðilegra þátta rýmisgreindar og persónuleika samsvæða bleikjuafbrigða (Salvelinus alpinus)/Eco-Evo-Devo patterns of spatial cognition and personality in sympatric morphs of Arctic charr (Salvelinus alpinus)

Verkefnisstjóri: Marion Dellinger, Háskóla Íslands
Tegund styrks: Doktorsnemastyrkur
Styrktímabil: 2022
Fjárhæð styrks kr. 7.714.000
Tilvísunarnúmer Rannís: 228515