Recommended Citation
Postprint version. Published in Population Ecology, Volume 145, Issue 3, July 23, 2005, pages 394-403.
NOTE: At the time of publication, the author Benjamin Ruttenberg was not yet affiliated with Cal Poly.
The definitive version is available at https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-005-0150-0.
Abstract
Many species vary in their ecology across their geographic ranges in response to gradients in environmental conditions. Such variation, which can influence life history traits and subsequent demography of populations, usually occurs over large spatial scales. However, describing and understanding the causes of such variation is difficult precisely because it occurs over such large spatial scales. In this study, we document spatial variation in the ecology of a common reef fish, Stegastes beebei, in the Gala´pagos Islands and test a number of potential causal mechanisms. The pattern resembles that seen in latitudinal variation: individuals are larger, occur in higher densities, and live longer in the coldest region of the islands than those in the warmest region. However, in this system, demography varies among regional populations separated bytemperature, despite differences in the gross magnitude and timing of reproduction in different regions. A model of reproductive output suggests that fish in the warmest region are allocating a greater proportion of available energy to reproduction, resulting in apparent regional life history tradeoffs. Our data suggest that regional demographic differences in S. beebei may be driven by a combination of variation in food availability and an environmentally mediated life history tradeoff.
Disciplines
Biology
Copyright
2005 Springer
URL: https://digitalcommons.calpoly.edu/bio_fac/456