Adaptive effects of parental and developmental environments on offspring survival, growth, and phenotype

Phenotypic adjustments to environmental variation are particularly relevant to cope with putative environmental mismatches often imposed by natal dispersal.
We used an inter-generational cross-transplant field-based experiment to evaluate the morphological and physiological effects of parental and post-settlement water flow environments on the orange-fin anemonefish Amphiprion chrysopterus through ontogeny (at pre- and post-settlement stages).
Offspring born from parents under high water flow had an 18% higher caudal fin aspect ratio (a compound measure of shape) at the pre-settlement stage, 10% slower growth after settlement, and 55% lower survival after settlement compared to offspring from low-water-flow parents. At the pre-settlement stage, caudal fin length was determined by parental caudal fin length. At the post-settlement stage, fish survived equally well with similar phenotypes in both high- and low-developmental-flow environments. However, results suggest potential development...