Integrating physiological, ecological and evolutionary change: a Price equation approach

Area of Science:

• Quantitative biology
• Ecology
• Evolutionary biology

Background:

• Phenotypic responses to environmental change are complex, involving physiological, evolutionary, and ecological processes.
• These components are often studied in isolation, hindering a comprehensive understanding of community-level transformations.

Purpose of the Study:

• To apply the Price equation as a general quantitative framework to partition phenotypic responses.
• To demonstrate the additive combination of physiological, evolutionary, and ecological components of environmental response.
• To illustrate the advantages of this integrated approach for hypothesis testing and research direction.

Main Methods:

• Utilized the Price equation, a general quantitative framework.
• Partitioned phenotypic responses to environmental change into physiological, evolutionary, and ecological components.
• Applied the framework to two case studies: microbial toxin resistance and marine phytoplankton carbon uptake.

Main Results:

• Successfully combined responses occurring over different timescales in an additive manner.
• Demonstrated the framework's utility in excluding mechanistic hypotheses for community transformations.
• Identified specific data gaps crucial for advancing research.

Conclusions:

• The Price equation offers a powerful conceptual tool for integrating diverse components of phenotypic change.
• This quantitative approach facilitates hypothesis testing and empirical research program direction.
• The framework is valuable for understanding community-level responses in environmental change scenarios.