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Biology of Microbial Communities - Interview
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Ecological character displacement: glass half full or half empty?
Yoel E Stuart1, Jonathan B Losos
1Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University, 26 Oxford Street, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA. yestuart@oeb.harvard.edu
Trends in Ecology & Evolution
|March 30, 2013
Summary
Ecological character displacement (ECD) is debated, with few studies providing strong evidence. More rigorous case studies and experimental approaches are needed to confirm its role in evolution.
Area of Science:
- Evolutionary biology
- Ecology
- Community assembly
Background:
- Ecological character displacement (ECD) is the evolutionary divergence of competing species.
- ECD's importance in community assembly and adaptive radiation has been historically debated.
- Recent reviews have highlighted numerous case studies, increasing ECD's prominence.
Purpose of the Study:
- To critically evaluate the empirical support for ecological character displacement.
- To assess whether the perceived prominence of ECD is justified by robust evidence.
- To identify needs for future research in ECD.
Main Methods:
- Systematic review of 144 published cases of potential ecological character displacement.
- Assessment of case studies for the exclusion of alternative explanations for observed patterns.
- Analysis of trends in ECD research and methodology.
Main Results:
- Only nine out of 144 reviewed cases provided strong evidence for ECD after ruling out alternative hypotheses.
- The scientific community's acceptance of ECD appears to have outpaced the available rigorous data.
- Many existing case studies lack sufficient detail or controls to confirm ECD.
Conclusions:
- The evidence base for ecological character displacement is weaker than often assumed.
- Future research should prioritize more complete and methodologically sound case studies.
- Observational studies of ongoing evolutionary change offer promising avenues for experimental ECD research.
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