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Abstract Decades of research have illuminated the underlying ingredients that determine the scope of evolutionary responses to climate change. The field of evolutionary biology therefore stands ready to take what it has learned about influences upon the rate of adaptive evolution—such as population demography, generation time, and standing genetic variation—and apply it to assess if and how populations can evolve fast enough to “keep pace” with climate change. Here, our review highlights what the field of evolutionary biology can contribute and what it still needs to learn to provide more mechanistic predictions of the winners and losers of climate change. We begin by developing broad predictions for contemporary evolution to climate change based on theory. We then discuss methods for assessing climate‐driven contemporary evolution, including quantitative genetic studies, experimental evolution, and space‐for‐time substitutions. After providing this mechanism‐focused overview of both the evidence for evolutionary responses to climate change and more specifically, evolving to keep pace with climate change, we next consider the factors that limit actual evolutionary responses. In this context, we consider the dual role of phenotypic plasticity in facilitating but also impeding evolutionary change. Finally, we detail how a deeper consideration of evolutionary constraints can improve forecasts of responses to climate change and therefore also inform conservation and management decisions. This article is categorized under:Climate, Ecology, and Conservation > Observed Ecological ChangesClimate, Ecology, and Conservation > Extinction RiskAssessing Impacts of Climate Change > Evaluating Future Impacts of Climate Change
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Experimental evolution of dispersal: Unifying theory, experiments and natural systems
Abstract Dispersal is a central life history trait that affects the ecological and evolutionary dynamics of populations and communities. The recent use of experimental evolution for the study of dispersal is a promising avenue for demonstrating valuable proofs of concept, bringing insight into alternative dispersal strategies and trade‐offs, and testing the repeatability of evolutionary outcomes.Practical constraints restrict experimental evolution studies of dispersal to a set of typically small, short‐lived organisms reared in artificial laboratory conditions. Here, we argue that despite these restrictions, inferences from these studies can reinforce links between theoretical predictions and empirical observations and advance our understanding of the eco‐evolutionary consequences of dispersal.We illustrate how applying an integrative framework of theory, experimental evolution and natural systems can improve our understanding of dispersal evolution under more complex and realistic biological scenarios, such as the role of biotic interactions and complex dispersal syndromes.
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- Award ID(s):
- 2247042
- PAR ID:
- 10518331
- Publisher / Repository:
- Journal of Animal Ecology
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Journal of Animal Ecology
- Volume:
- 92
- Issue:
- 6
- ISSN:
- 0021-8790
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- 1113 to 1123
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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Summary Predicting the fate of coastal marshes requires understanding how plants respond to rapid environmental change. Environmental change can elicit shifts in trait variation attributable to phenotypic plasticity and act as selective agents to shift trait means, resulting in rapid evolution. Comparably, less is known about the potential for responses to reflect the evolution of trait plasticity.Here, we assessed the relative magnitude of eco‐evolutionary responses to interacting global change factors using a multifactorial experiment. We exposed replicates of 32Schoenoplectus americanusgenotypes ‘resurrected’ from century‐long, soil‐stored seed banks to ambient or elevated CO2, varying levels of inundation, and the presence of a competing marsh grass, across two sites with different salinities.Comparisons of responses to global change factors among age cohorts and across provenances indicated that plasticity has evolved in five of the seven traits measured. Accounting for evolutionary factors (i.e. evolution and sources of heritable variation) in statistical models explained an additional 9–31% of trait variation.Our findings indicate that evolutionary factors mediate ecological responses to environmental change. The magnitude of evolutionary change in plant traits over the last century suggests that evolution could play a role in pacing future ecosystem response to environmental change.more » « less
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- Free Publicly Accessible Full Text
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Accepted Manuscript1.0
- Journal Article:
- https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2656.13930
