Eco-evolutionary dynamics

In a rapidly changing world, animals are constantly adapting. Human-induced selection gradients, like intense size-selective harvest, can alter the evolutionary trajectories of important fish life history traits, including growth or size- and age-at-maturation. We use experimental work, simulation modeling, and field studies to disentangle the relative effects of plasticity and evolution on these vital life history parameters.

Fisheries-induced evolution is rarely studied in inland waters. We have been able to examine possible patterns of harvest-induced FIE in commercially-harvested yellow perch in the Great Lakes, shedding light on how and whether FIE played a role in the collapse of the Lake Michigan yellow perch fishery. In addition, through a number of experiments and field studies, we’ve documented the strength of maternal effects on egg size, including how relationships between maternal size, environmental conditions like winter temperature, and maternal condition can influence egg quality with ramifications for population recruitment. We continue our research by integrating genomic tools to begin to unravel the genetic underpinnings of phenotypic plasticity in life history.
Photo: Spawning yellow perch. Credit: Zach Feiner.

Relevant publications

Wszola, L.S., Z.S. Feiner, C.J. Chizinski, J.B. Poletto, and J.P. Delong. 2022. Fishing regulations, sexual dimorphism, and the life history of harvest. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 79: 1590-1604. doi: 10.1139/cjfas-2021-0248.

Larson, W.A., D.A. Isermann, and Z.S. Feiner. 2020. Incomplete bioinformatic filtering and inadequate age and growth analysis lead to an incorrect inference of harvest-induced changes: a comment on Bowles et al. (2020). Evolutionary Applications 14: 278-289.

Feiner, Z.S., S.L. Shaw, and G.G. Sass. 2019. Influences of female body condition on recruitment success of walleye (Sander vitreus) in Wisconsin lakes. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 75: 2131-2144.

Dunlop, E.S., Z.S. Feiner, and T.O. Höök. 2018. Potential for fisheries-induced evolution in the Laurentian Great Lakes. Journal of Great Lakes Research 44: 735-744.

Feiner, Z.S., R.K. Swihart, D.P. Coulter, and T.O. Höök. 2018. Fatty acids in yellow perch: variable complexity, identity, and phenotypic correlates. Canadian Journal of Zoology 96: 859-868.

Feiner, Z.S., T.D. Malinich, and T.O. Höök. 2017. Interacting effects of identity, size, and winter severity determine temporal consistency of offspring phenotype. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 75: 1337-1345.

Feiner, Z.S., S.C. Chong, D.G. Fielder, J.A. Hoyle, C. Knight, T.E. Lauer, M.V. Thomas, J.T. Tyson, and T.O. Höök. 2017. Sex-based tradeoffs between growth, mortality, and maturation in Great lakes yellow perch stocks. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 74: 2059-2072.

Feiner, Z.S., J.A. DeWoody, J.E. Breck, and T.O. Höök. 2017. Influence of multilocus heterozygosity on size during early life. Ecology and Evolution 7: 2142-2154.

Feiner, Z.S., H.-Y. Wang, D.W. Einhouse, J.R. Jackson, E.S. Rutherford, C. Schelb, C.S. Vandergoot, T.G. Zorn, and T.O. Höök. 2016. Thermal environment and maternal effects shape egg size in a freshwater fish. Ecosphere 7(5). doi: 10.1002/ecs2.1304.

Feiner, Z.S., D.P. Coulter, S.C. Guffey, and T.O. Höök. 2016. Does overwinter temperature regulate egg quality and maternal condition in yellow perch? Journal of Fish Biology 88: 1524-1543.

Feiner, Z.S., S.C. Chong, C.T. Knight, T.E. Lauer, M.V. Thomas, J.T. Tyson, and T.O. Höök. 2015. Rapidly shifting maturation schedules following reduced commercial harvest in a freshwater fish. Evolutionary Applications 8: 724-737.

Andree, S.R., Z.S. Feiner, J. Bledsoe, A. Cragun, and T.O. Höök. 2014. Ontogenetic variability of maternal effects in an iteroparous fish. Ecology of Freshwater Fish 24: 384-396.

Feiner, Z.S., D.D. Aday, and J.A. Rice. 2012. Phenotypic shifts in white perch life history strategy across stages of invasion. Biological Invasions 11: 2315-2329.