Data from: Experimental evolution of bet hedging in rotifer diapause traits as a response to environmental unpredictability

The adaptive response of organisms to unpredictable environments is increasingly recognized as a central topic in fundamental and applied evolutionary ecology. Selection due to environmental unpredictability can act on multiple traits of an organism's life cycle to reduce the impact of high environmental variance. The aim of this research was to study how unpredictability selects for diapause traits: (1) the timing of sex (a proxy of the timing of diapausing egg production), and (2) the diapausing egg hatching fraction (a proxy of diapause duration). We used an experimental evolution approach with the facultative sexual rotifer Brachionus plicatilis. Laboratory populations experiencing two contrasting regimes of environmental fluctuation (predictable vs. unpredictable) evolved divergently over a short time span (< 77 days). The populations under the unpredictable regime showed an earlier initiation of sexual reproduction and a lower hatching fraction of diapausing eggs than populations under the predictable regime. These findings demonstrate empirically the existence of bet-hedging strategies in B. plicatilis regarding both traits, consistent with theoretical predictions of bet-hedging evolution under conditions of unpredictable environmental variance. Given that scenarios of increased environmental variability are expected to occur in the near future, a comprehensive understanding of the role of bet-hedging strategies is necessary for predicting population responses to environmental change.

生物体对不可预测环境的适应性响应，正日益成为基础与应用进化生态学领域的核心研究议题。环境不可预测性所引发的选择压力，可作用于生物体生命周期的多个性状，以削弱高环境方差造成的冲击。本研究旨在探究不可预测环境如何对滞育相关性状施加选择压力：其一为有性生殖时机（可作为滞育卵产生时机的替代指标），其二为滞育卵孵化比例（可作为滞育时长的替代指标）。本研究以兼性有性生殖的褶皱臂尾轮虫（Brachionus plicatilis）为实验对象，采用实验进化研究方法。在实验室条件下，经历两种截然不同环境波动处理组（可预测vs不可预测）的种群，在短短77天内便出现了分化进化。相较于可预测处理组的种群，不可预测处理组的种群更早启动有性生殖，且滞育卵的孵化比例更低。本研究结果从实验层面证实，褶皱臂尾轮虫在这两类性状上均存在风险分摊（bet-hedging）策略，与不可预测环境方差条件下风险分摊进化的理论预测相一致。鉴于未来环境波动加剧的情景或将出现，全面阐明风险分摊策略的作用机制，对于预测种群对环境变化的响应至关重要。

搜集汇总

背景与挑战

背景概述

该数据集基于一项实验进化研究，探究环境不可预测性如何影响轮虫Brachionus plicatilis的滞育性状，包括性繁殖启动时间和滞育卵孵化比例。研究发现，在不可预测环境下，种群在短期内进化出更早的性繁殖和更低的孵化比例，体现了赌注对冲策略，与理论预测一致。数据集为理解生物应对环境变化的适应性进化提供了实证支持。