When Predators Help Prey Adapt and Persist in a Changing Environment

To persist in a changing world, populations must adapt. The ability to adapt is influenced by interactions with other species, such as predators. Recent experiments and theory suggest that selective pressures arising from predation may help prey adapt phenotypically to changing environments, but how this influences persistence remains unclear. In particular, it has not yet been shown whether predator-induced adaptation can outweigh predator-imposed reductions in population size, allowing prey to persist when they would otherwise go extinct. Here we examine if (and if so, how) predation can enhance the ability of prey to persist in a directionally changing environment. To do so, we extend a single-species quantitative-genetics framework that predicts rates of environmental change beyond which populations go extinct. While we assume predation decreases prey density, we find that predators can indeed help prey persist if they sufficiently increase prey adaptedness (decrease phenotypic lag). We show two ways this can occur: (1) the selective push, in which predators consume maladapted individuals and thus add selection that pushes the mean prey trait toward its optimum; and (2) the evolutionary hydra effect, when predation reduces prey density and thereby increases prey birthrate, allowing more selective events per unit time and effectively reducing generation time. We also discuss how our results apply more broadly to sources of mortality beyond predation.