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A Real-Time Interactive System for Studying Confrontational Pursuit Behavior in Rodents
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Ecological conditions affect evolutionary trajectory in a predator-prey system.

Romain Gallet1, Thomas Tully, Margaret E K Evans

  • 1Laboratoire parasitologie évolutive, CNRS UMR 7103, Université Pierre et Marie Curie, Bat. A, 7ème et., CC 237, 7 quai St. Bernard, F-75252 Paris Cedex 05, France. rgallet@gmail.com

Evolution; International Journal of Organic Evolution
|January 22, 2009
PubMed
Summary

Ecological conditions shape predator-prey coevolution. Experiments show prey evolve extreme resistance or moderate resistance with predator adaptation, demonstrating how environment influences evolutionary paths.

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Area of Science:

  • Evolutionary biology
  • Microbial ecology
  • Coevolutionary dynamics

Background:

  • Antagonistic coevolution between predators and prey drives adaptation and diversity.
  • Experimental evidence for predator-prey coevolution, particularly its ecological influences, is limited.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate predator-prey coevolutionary trajectories under varying ecological conditions.
  • To document the impact of disturbance regimes on the evolutionary pathways of interacting bacteria.

Main Methods:

  • Long-term experiment using the predatory bacterium *Bdellovibrio bacteriovorus* and the prey bacterium *Pseudomonas fluorescens*.
  • Manipulation of experimental disturbance regimes to observe differential evolutionary responses.
  • Analysis of prey morphs (SM, FS, WS) and predator counter-adaptation.

Main Results:

  • Two distinct evolutionary trajectories were observed based on disturbance regimes.
  • Prey evolved either extreme resistance (SM morph) without predator counter-adaptation or moderate resistance (FS morph) with coevolution.
  • Costs of resistance were evident in the FS morph, while extreme resistance in the SM morph appeared unconstrained.

Conclusions:

  • Ecological conditions, specifically disturbance regimes, significantly shape predator-prey evolutionary trajectories.
  • Demonstrates empirical evidence of how environmental factors can direct coevolutionary outcomes.
  • Highlights the varied adaptive strategies prey can employ in response to predation pressure.