Evolutionary ecology of microorganisms: from the tamed to the wild

Abstract

PrePrints 2 ABSTRACTAn overarching goal of biology is to understand how evolutionary and ecological processes 24 generate and maintain biodiversity. While evolutionary biologists interested in biodiversity tend to focus on the mechanisms controlling rates of evolution and how this influences the 26 phylogenetic relationship among species, ecologists attempt to explain the distribution and abundance of taxa based upon interactions among species and their environment. Recently, a 28 more concerted effort has been made to integrate some of the theoretical and empirical approaches from the fields of ecology and evolutionary biology. This integration has been 30 motivated in part by the growing evidence that evolution can happen on "rapid" or contemporary time scales, suggesting that eco-evolutionary feedbacks can alter system dynamics in ways that 32 cannot be predicted based on ecological principles alone. As such, it may be inappropriate to ignore evolutionary processes when attempting to understand ecological phenomena in natural 34 and managed ecosystems. In this chapter, we highlight why it is particularly important to consider eco-evolutionary feedbacks for microbial populations. We emphasize some of the major 36 processes that are thought to influence the strength of eco-evolutionary dynamics, provide an overview of methods used to quantify the relative importance of ecology and evolution, and 38showcase the importance of considering evolution in a community context and how this may influence the dynamics and stability of microbial systems under novel environmental conditions. HIGHLIGHTS• Evolutionary processes can occur on "rapid" or contemporary time scales 48• Rapid evolution may be particularly important for understanding dynamics of microbial systems 50• Evolutionary change can influence ecological processes, which can result in feedbacks that influence system behavior 52 A. Overview: interplay between ecological and evolutionary processes 54An overarching goal of biology is to understand how evolutionary and ecological processes generate and maintain biodiversity. Despite this seemingly unified goal, historically, 56 the fields of evolutionary biology and ecology have largely advanced in isolation of one another.While evolutionary biologists interested in biodiversity tend to focus on the mechanisms 58 controlling rates of evolution and how this influences the phylogenetic relationship among species, ecologists attempt to explain the distribution and abundance of taxa based upon 60 interactions among species and their environment. Recently, a more concerted effort has been made to integrate some of the theoretical and empirical approaches from the fields of ecology 62 and evolutionary biology. This integration has been motivated in part by the growing evidence that evolution can happen on "rapid" or contemporary time scales (1). When this occurs, 64 evolutionary changes can select for functional traits and behaviors of species in ways that influence ecological processes, such as population dynamics, th...

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“…The changes in the ecology can then feed‐back on the selective advantage of the different traits (as discussed above), leading to an eco‐evolutionary feedback (Fig. B) (Lennon and Denef, ). This aspect has become of recent interest due to several theoretical and experimental studies showing the non‐trivial effects of the time‐scales overlap between ecology and evolution in what are called eco‐evo feedbacks (Schoener, ).…”

A trait‐based approach to bacterial biofilms in soil

“…Functional traits are physiological, morphological, or behavioral characteristics that affect the performance or fitness of organisms under a set of environmental conditions (Lennon et al, ). The distribution of traits may reflect adaptations and trade‐offs that influence evolutionary and ecological processes that are important for the assembly of communities along environmental gradients (Lebrija‐Trejos et al, ; Székey and Langenheder ; Lennon and Denef ). Finally, trait‐based approaches provide a framework for predicting how and when microbial taxa should affect ecosystem functioning (Wallenstein and Hall, ; Krause et al, ).…”