Temporal Changes in the Role of Species Sorting and Evolution Determine Community Dynamics

Area of Science:

• Ecology
• Evolutionary Biology
• Microbial Ecology

Background:

• Community and trait dynamics result from evolutionary change and species sorting.
• The interplay between species sorting and evolution in structuring communities remains unclear.

Purpose of the Study:

• To quantify the contributions of species sorting and evolution to community dynamics over 60 days.
• To investigate how predator-prey interactions influence ecological and evolutionary processes.

Main Methods:

• Bacterial communities of 24 species were subjected to ciliate predator selection.
• Community composition, population densities, and genomic evolution were analyzed.
• The influence of initial trait variation and predator-prey evolutionary history was assessed.

Main Results:

• Species sorting enhanced community carrying capacity.
• Evolution led to reduced anti-predator defenses.
• The dominance of species sorting or evolution depended on initial trait variation relative to selection direction.
• Phenotypic match-mismatch between predator and prey evolutionary history impacted community composition, population densities, and genomic evolution.

Conclusions:

• Both species sorting and evolution are crucial for structuring ecological communities.
• The relative importance of these processes is context-dependent, influenced by initial conditions and evolutionary history.
• Findings integrate ecological and evolutionary dynamics in community structuring.