Sea level rise and the evolution of aggression on islands
Year: 2024
Type: article
Abstract: Why aggressive traits evolve in some species but not in others is poorly understood. We modeled the population dynamics of the extinct Mauritius dodo and Rodrigues solitaire to examine divergent pathways in the evolution of aggression. Whereas the dodo conformed to island syndrome predictions of tameness, its sister-taxon the solitaire evolved strong sexual dimorphism and aggressive traits. We computed rates of change in island size from sea level modeling and connected island size change to population dynamics by integrating a Hawk-Dove game theory model for territory competition with a population model. We find that the rapid rate of decrease in island size likely was an important trigger for the onset of aggressive behavior and that aggressive behavior becomes fixed if a tipping point is reached where island size falls below a critical threshold.
Source: iScience
Institutions: University of Amsterdam, Natural History Museum, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier, Institut National Polytechnique de Toulouse, Institut de Recherche pour le Développement, Centre de Recherche sur la Biodiversité et l'Environnement, Université de Toulouse, Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, Naturalis Biodiversity Center, École Pratique des Hautes Études, Sorbonne Université, Institut de Systématique, Évolution, Biodiversité, Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, Maastricht University
Language: English
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $3,150
OpenAlex ID: W4403634287