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Field-Based Thermal Physiology Assay: Cold Shock Recovery under Ambient Conditions

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Range expansion is both slower and more variable with rapid evolution across a spatial gradient in temperature.

Takuji Usui¹, Amy L Angert^1,2

¹Department of Botany, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

Ecology Letters

|March 16, 2024

Summary

Predicting species range expansion is complex. While selection can drive adaptation, environmental gradients unexpectedly increased variability in expansion speed, challenging current ecological theories.

Keywords:

biological invasion demography dispersal eco-evolutionary dynamics environmental gradient experimental evolution priority effects range limit variability

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Area of Science:

Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Population Genetics
Environmental Science

Background:

Predicting the speed and consistency of species range expansions is crucial for conservation and understanding ecological dynamics.
Current theory posits that increased selection at the expanding range front leads to more predictable and less variable expansion speeds.
Environmental gradients are hypothesized to increase selection pressure, potentially enhancing predictability.

Purpose of the Study:

To experimentally test whether spatial environmental gradients influence the variability and predictability of range expansion speeds.
To investigate the genetic and phenotypic responses of populations colonizing environments with and without a temperature gradient.

Main Methods:

Experimental evolution of replicate duckweed (Lemna minor) populations.
Colonization of artificial landscapes with and without a spatial temperature gradient.
Monitoring of range expansion speed, population density, genetic changes, and trait evolution at the range front.

Main Results:

Range expansion across a temperature gradient was slower on average compared to expansions without a gradient.
Populations at the range front showed higher densities and genetic/trait changes indicative of directional selection.
Contrary to theory, the presence of a spatial gradient increased the variability and inconsistency of expansion speeds among replicates over time.

Conclusions:

Environmental gradients, while inducing selection, can paradoxically increase the unpredictability of range expansion speeds.
Stochastic processes and the genetic response to selection can introduce significant variability, challenging existing predictive models.
Future predictions of range expansion must account for the complex interplay between selection, environmental heterogeneity, and chance.