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Exploring the Effects of Spaceflight on Mouse Physiology using the Open Access NASA GeneLab Platform

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Species' range: adaptation in space and time.

Jitka Polechová¹, Nick Barton, Glenn Marion

¹Biomathematics and Statistics Scotland, James Clerk Maxwell Building, King's Buildings, Edinburgh EH9 3JZ, Scotland, United Kingdom. jitka.polechova@ist.ac.at

The American Naturalist

|October 1, 2009

Summary

Populations adapt to changing environments through uniform adaptation or migration. This study models evolving genetic variance, showing uniform adaptation is the sole outcome in dynamic, spatially varying habitats.

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Area of Science:

Evolutionary Biology
Ecological Genetics
Population Dynamics

Background:

Organisms face environments that change in both space and time.
Adaptation and migration are key strategies for populations in fluctuating environments.
Previous models often assumed a static environmental optimum.

Purpose of the Study:

To extend models of population adaptation to include environments that vary spatially and temporally.
To investigate the interplay between population dynamics, trait evolution, and environmental change.
To compare the adaptive loads arising from genetic variance, dispersal, and temporal environmental fluctuations.

Main Methods:

Developed a theoretical model tracking population dynamics and trait mean under stabilizing selection.
Analyzed outcomes based on fixed genetic variance, considering two distinct adaptive regimes.
Incorporated a multi-locus population-genetic model to allow for the evolution of genetic variance.

Main Results:

Identified two regimes with fixed genetic variance: uniform adaptation along gradients and range-limited populations with slower adaptation leading to extinction/migration.
Demonstrated that when genetic variance can evolve, uniform adaptation becomes the consistent outcome.
Showed that the rate of environmental change relative to spatial gradients influences population persistence and adaptive strategy.

Conclusions:

Environmental variability in space and time significantly shapes population adaptive strategies.
Evolving genetic variance promotes uniform adaptation, enhancing population resilience in dynamic environments.
The balance between adaptation speed, dispersal, and environmental change dictates population fate, highlighting the importance of adaptive capacity.