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Abstract Mortality and shifts in species distributions are among the most obvious consequences of extreme climatic events. However, the sublethal effects of an extreme event can have persistent impacts throughout an individual’s lifetime and into future generations via within‐generation and transgenerational phenotypic plasticity. These changes can either confer resilience or increase susceptibility to subsequent stressful events, with impacts on population, community, and potentially ecosystem processes. Here, we show how a simulated extreme warming event causes persistent changes in the morphology and growth of a foundation species (eelgrass,Zostera marina) across multiple clonal generations and multiple years. The effect of previous parental exposure to warming increased aboveground biomass, shoot length, and aboveground–belowground biomass ratios while also greatly decreasing leaf growth rates. Long‐term increases in aboveground–belowground biomass ratios could indicate an adaptive clonal transgenerational response to warmer climates that reduces the burden of increased respiration in belowground biomass. These transgenerational responses were likely decoupled from clonal parent provisioning as rhizome size of clonal offspring was standardized at planting and rhizome starch reserves were not impacted by warming treatments. Future investigations into potential epigenetic mechanisms underpinning such clonal transgenerational plasticity will be necessary to understand the resilience of asexual foundation species to repeated extreme climatic events.
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This content will become publicly available on November 1, 2026
Ecosystem Effects of Predators Are Amplified Across Generations Through Prey Behavioural Plasticity
ABSTRACT Predator‐induced changes in prey traits can cascade through ecosystems to impact biogeochemical cycling and community structure. Whether these effects persist, amplify or diminish across prey generations remains uncertain. We tested for predator transgenerational effects using a 3‐year common garden experiment in a terrestrial old‐field ecosystem. Predator exposure was manipulated across two generations of four grasshopper herbivore prey populations, with measurements of ecosystem processes made alongside measurements of prey trait responses. We found predators had larger effects on plant community biomass, plant diversity and soil carbon accumulation in the second generation of predator exposure than in the first generation. Paired with trait data on the grasshoppers, we found this amplification of ecosystem effects corresponded with heightened antipredator behaviours in the second generation. Our results show that transgenerational behavioural plasticity can magnify predator‐driven ecosystem impacts across generations, linking eco‐evolutionary processes with ecosystem dynamics.
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- Award ID(s):
- 2011884
- PAR ID:
- 10647903
- Publisher / Repository:
- John Wiley Publishing
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Ecology Letters
- Volume:
- 28
- Issue:
- 11
- ISSN:
- 1461-023X
- Subject(s) / Keyword(s):
- biogeochemistry | eco-evolutionary feedbacks | functional traits | nutrient cycling | predator–prey interactions | trait-mediated effects | transgenerational plasticity | trophic cascades
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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