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Eco-evolutionary community turnover following environmental change
1Department of Biology Pennsylvania State University University Park Pennsylvania.
Evolutionary Applications
|August 17, 2019
Summary
Species with high gene flow adapt faster to environmental changes, potentially altering community dynamics and stabilizing ecosystem function. This highlights how life history variations impact eco-evolutionary responses.
Area of Science:
- Ecology
- Evolutionary Biology
- Population Genetics
Background:
- Intraspecific genetic diversity influences species' adaptation to environmental change.
- Co-occurring species exhibit varying genetic diversity, impacting community dynamics.
- Gene flow affects population size and adaptation rates in changing environments.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate community dynamics of locally adapted species under temporal environmental change.
- To explore the eco-evolutionary consequences of varying gene flow levels in response to warming.
Main Methods:
- Utilized quantitative genetic theory to model species' responses.
- Simulated community dynamics under abrupt and constant temporal environmental changes.
- Focused on the interplay between local adaptation, gene flow, and environmental shifts.
Main Results:
- Species with higher gene flow adapt more rapidly to environmental changes due to greater genetic diversity.
- Environmental changes can cause transient reversals in species' relative abundances.
- Constant environmental change favors dominance by species with intermediate gene flow.
- High gene flow species may experience transient abundance increases due to competitive release.
Conclusions:
- Interspecific variation in life history traits significantly impacts eco-evolutionary community responses.
- Eco-evolutionary community turnover under environmental change parallels ecological succession.
- Competitive release driven by eco-evolutionary dynamics can stabilize ecosystem function.
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