Most theory about the potential of species to adapt evolutionarily to environmental changes such as climate change considers a single species in isolation. However, as I show in this study, the presence or absence of interacting species can have large influences on the possible rates of adaptation.
The graphs show the trait values (top) of two species (blue and green) adapting to fluctuating resource maximum (red). None of the species is able to track the maximum, so fluctuations result in large population fluctuations (bottom). After half of the simulation one species (blue) goes extinct and the remaining one is able to track the resource maximum very closely (see inset).
I found that rates of adaptation can be up to ten times slower when co-evolving competing species are present compared to when they are not. While genetic constraints to adaptation, e.g. low genetic variation, are often considered in our thinking about the capacity of species to adapt, these results emphasize that we also need to consider how species are embedded in food webs when predicting their long-term fate.
Further reading in: Johansson, J. 2008. Evolutionary responses to environmental changes: How does competition affect adaptation? Evolution 62: 421–435.
The graphs show the trait values (top) of two species (blue and green) adapting to fluctuating resource maximum (red). None of the species is able to track the maximum, so fluctuations result in large population fluctuations (bottom). After half of the simulation one species (blue) goes extinct and the remaining one is able to track the resource maximum very closely (see inset).
I found that rates of adaptation can be up to ten times slower when co-evolving competing species are present compared to when they are not. While genetic constraints to adaptation, e.g. low genetic variation, are often considered in our thinking about the capacity of species to adapt, these results emphasize that we also need to consider how species are embedded in food webs when predicting their long-term fate.
Further reading in: Johansson, J. 2008. Evolutionary responses to environmental changes: How does competition affect adaptation? Evolution 62: 421–435.