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Sea level rise and the evolution of aggression on islands
Rijsdijk, K.F.; Croll, J.C.; Hume, J.P.; Janoo, A.; Aguilée, R.; De Groeve, J.; Kentie, R.; Schilthuizen, M.; Warren, B.H.; Claessens, L.P.A.M. (2024). Sea level rise and the evolution of aggression on islands. iScience 27(11): 111236. https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.isci.2024.111236
In: iScience. Cell Press: Cambridge. e-ISSN 2589-0042, more
Peer reviewed article  

Available in  Authors 

Author keywords

    Ecology; Zoology; Evolutionary biology


Authors  Top 
  • Rijsdijk, K.F.
  • Croll, J.C.
  • Hume, J.P.
  • Janoo, A.
  • Aguilée, R.
  • De Groeve, J.
  • Kentie, R., more
  • Schilthuizen, M.
  • Warren, B.H.
  • Claessens, L.P.A.M.

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.

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