Eco-evolutionary dynamics in response to selection on life-history

Area of Science:

• Ecology
• Evolutionary Biology
• Environmental Science

Background:

• Ecological and evolutionary dynamics are complex and influenced by environmental change.
• Understanding these interactions is crucial for predicting species' responses to novel environments.
• Invertebrate microcosms provide a tractable system to study these dynamics over multiple generations.

Discussion:

• Phenotypic and life-history traits evolved in response to both environmental change (wild to laboratory) and harvesting.
• Life-history evolution, specifically increased age-at-maturity, drove changes in population growth rates.
• The adaptive evolutionary response to environmental change was stronger than the response to harvesting.

Key Insights:

• Invertebrates showed significant evolved changes in life-history traits, including a 76% increase in age-at-maturity in unharvested populations.
• Evolutionary adaptation to a novel environment can lead to 'evolutionary rescue', converting negative population growth to positive.
• Environmental change is a primary driver of adaptive evolution, outweighing harvesting selection in this study.

Outlook:

• This study highlights the potential for evolutionary rescue in response to environmental change.
• Further research can explore the long-term stability of these evolved traits and their implications for ecosystem function.
• Understanding evolutionary rescue mechanisms is vital for conservation efforts in a changing world.