MATERNAL ADJUSTMENT OF EGG SIZE ORGANIZES ALTERNATIVE ESCAPE BEHAVIORS, PROMOTING ADAPTIVE PHENOTYPIC INTEGRATION
Bibliographic record
Abstract
Numerous integrated traits contribute to any aspect of organismal performance, but favorable trait combinations are difficult to maintain in the face of genetic recombination. We investigated the role of maternal effects in promoting integration of alternative reproductive strategies (throat colors) with antipredator traits (escape behaviors and dorsal patterns) in the side-blotched lizard (Uta stansburiana). Previously, we reported that maternally derived estradiol adaptively pairs dorsal patterns with progeny throat colors. Here we show adaptive maternal effects on escape behaviors within each throat color morph. Specifically, yellow-throated females and all females mated to yellow-throated sires lay larger eggs. Larger eggs produce stockier offspring, who remain stockier throughout life. Stockiness promotes evasive escape behaviors (e.g., reversals), which are adaptive in barred, yellow-throated offspring. Orange-throated females lay smaller eggs, producing leaner hatchlings who perform vertical escape behaviors (e.g., jumping). Vertical behaviors enhance survival in striped, orange-throated progeny. Escape behavior was not heritable, but was organized by natural or experimental egg size variation. Maternal effects on adaptive phenotypic integration are likely common in polymorphic species, because recombination otherwise breaks apart beneficial trait combinations. Furthermore, our results provide insight into the role of body shape in organizing (and constraining) evolution of integrated reproductive and antipredator strategies.
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How this classification was reachedexpand
Full frame machine prediction
Teacher imitationNot calibrated prevalence, not ground truth. Human validation pending. The Gemma side is a direct model label for every work in the frame, read from the title-only record. The Codex side is a classifier learned from the 10,348 direct Codex labels and calibrated to design-weighted sample rates; fields without enough sample support carry no Codex call. Candidate is the union of the two sides; consensus is their intersection. These outputs are machine_predicted_unvalidated and are not human labels.
Distilled classifier scores by category (both heads)
| Category | Codex | Gemma |
|---|---|---|
| Metaresearch | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Meta-epidemiology (narrow) | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Meta-epidemiology (broad) | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Bibliometrics | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Science and technology studies | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Scholarly communication | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Open science | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Research integrity | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Insufficient payload (model declined to judge) | 0.001 | 0.000 |
Machine scores (provisional)
The two teacher heads of the student model, read on this work. A score orders the frame for review; it never asserts a category, and the validation status ships verbatim with every row.
Baseline scores from an immature model (maturity gate not passed, 7 training rounds). Scores rank; they never assert a category.
score_only:v0-immature-baseline · verbatim from the scoring run: score_only means the number may rank works, and no category label ships from itClassification
machine, unvalidatedMachine predicted; a candidate call from one source (direct Gemma or distilled Codex), not a consensus.
How this classification was reached, model by model and score by score, is at the end of the page under "How this classification was reached".