Niche occupation limits adaptive radiation in experimental microcosms

Area of Science:

• Evolutionary biology
• Microbial ecology

Background:

• Adaptive radiation is a major driver of biological diversity.
• Ecological niche availability, influenced by resident community diversity, impacts invading lineages' adaptive radiation.
• High resident diversity can either inhibit or promote adaptive radiation by filling niches or driving niche partitioning.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the effect of resident community diversity on the adaptive radiation of an invading bacterial lineage.

Main Methods:

• Experimental evolution using Pseudomonas fluorescens.
• Invasion of resident communities with varying niche specialist diversity by an undiversified strain.
• Quantification of the breadth of adaptive radiation in the invading lineage.

Main Results:

• The breadth of adaptive radiation in the invading lineage decreased as the niche occupation by the resident community increased.
• Niche occupation by resident species acts as a significant constraint on the diversification of invading lineages.

Conclusions:

• Resident community structure, specifically niche occupation, is a critical factor limiting the adaptive radiation potential of new species.
• Understanding niche occupation dynamics is essential for predicting evolutionary trajectories and biodiversity patterns.