Fisheries-induced evolution of the circadian system and collective personality traits

Abstract

Intensive and trait-selective harvesting of fish and wildlife can cause evolutionary changes in a range of life-history and behavioural traits. These changes might in turn alter the circadian system both at behavioral and molecular levels, with knock-on effects on daily physiological processes and behavioural outputs. We examined the evolutionary impact of size-selective mortality on collective risk-taking behavior and the circadian system in a model fish species. We exposed zebrafish (Danio rerio) to either large or small size-selective mortality relative to a control over five generations, followed by eight generations during which harvesting halted to remove maternal effects. Large size-selective mortality typical of many fisheries and specialized predators targeting larger size classes decreased collective risk-taking behavior compared to controls. The opposite occurred in response to small size-selective mortality typical of specialized fisheries and most gape-limited predators. The evolutionary changes in risk-taking behavior were linked to daily activity rhythms in response to small size-selective mortality, while no changes were observed in response to large size-selective mortality. We also found changes in the molecular circadian core clockwork in response to both size selective mortality treatments. These changes disappeared in the clock output pathway, resulting in similar transcription profiles of both size-selected lines. The results suggest a switch downstream to the molecular circadian core clockwork, leading to overall similar daily activity patterns across selection lines. Our experimental harvest left an evolutionary legacy in collective risktaking behavior and relatedly in the circadian system, both at behavioral and molecular levels. Changes to risk-sensitive behavior of exploited organisms can have far-reaching consequences for how space and time is used and may also affect catchability and natural predation.