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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jul 6, 2026

Daily Transfers, Archiving Populations, and Measuring Fitness in the Long-Term Evolution Experiment with Escherichia coli

Daily Transfers, Archiving Populations, and Measuring Fitness in the Long-Term Evolution Experiment with Escherichia coli

Published on: August 18, 2023

Testing the evolution of increased competitive ability (EICA) hypothesis in a novel framework.

Richard J Handley¹, Thomas Steinger, Urs A Treier

¹Department of Biology, Unit of Ecology and Evolution, University of Fribourg, Fribourg, Switzerland.

|April 16, 2008

Summary

The evolution of increased competitive ability (EICA) hypothesis was tested in Senecio vulgaris. Contrary to predictions, longer exposure to rust did not increase resistance, and fitness costs of resistance were observed.

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Area of Science:

Evolutionary biology
Plant pathology
Ecology

Background:

The evolution of increased competitive ability (EICA) hypothesis suggests reduced defenses in invasive species due to enemy release.
This can redirect resources to growth and performance, enhancing competitiveness.

Purpose of the Study:

To test the EICA hypothesis using a novel framework where the natural enemy follows the host.
To investigate the relationship between host exposure history to a natural enemy and defense/fitness traits.

Main Methods:

Greenhouse experiment using Senecio vulgaris populations from North America, Europe, and Australia with varying exposure to rust fungus Puccinia lagenophorae.
Assessed rust resistance, fecundity, and vegetative vigor (secondary branching, growth rate).
Compared population differentiation in quantitative traits with amplified fragment length polymorphic (AFLP) markers.

Main Results:

No evidence of increased rust resistance in populations with longer rust exposure history (Australia).
No evidence of reduced fecundity in long-exposure populations, but vegetative vigor was lower.
High rust resistance was maintained even in populations with no or short exposure, despite apparent fitness costs.

Conclusions:

The EICA hypothesis was not supported in this study system.
Fitness-related traits appear to be under divergent selection among populations.
The proposed framework is applicable to other systems investigating enemy-induced evolutionary changes.