Local adaptation: Causal agents of selection and adaptive trait divergence

Area of Science:

• Ecology
• Evolutionary Biology
• Population Genetics

Background:

• Divergent selection across landscapes drives local adaptation in diverse taxa.
• Understanding the precise mechanisms, including biotic and abiotic factors, promoting local adaptation is limited.
• Identifying the specific phenotypic targets of selection mediating local adaptation requires further investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To highlight critical knowledge gaps in the process of local adaptation.
• To discuss emerging insights into the agents of selection, targeted phenotypes, and genetic basis of local adaptation.
• To review methods for assessing local adaptation and explore its variation across life histories and constraints.

Main Methods:

• Review of historical and contemporary methods for assessing local adaptation.
• Analysis of studies investigating agents of selection and their phenotypic targets.
• Exploration of genetic underpinnings and constraints on local adaptation.

Main Results:

• Limited experimental confirmation of biotic/abiotic variables promoting local adaptation.
• Few studies have identified specific phenotypic targets of selection mediating local adaptation.
• Gaps exist in understanding the genetic basis and life-history variation of local adaptation.

Conclusions:

• Further research is crucial to elucidate the specific agents of selection driving local adaptation.
• Identifying targeted phenotypes and their genetic basis is key to understanding local adaptation.
• Understanding constraints and life-history variations is essential for a comprehensive view of local adaptation.