Human‐induced evolution: Signatures, processes and mechanisms underneath anthropogenic footprints on natural systems

Abstract

The impact of human activities on the global environment has increased to such an extent that the current geological era has been coined the Anthropocene. Studies dedicated to understanding the evolutionary consequences of human-induced selection on all levels of diversity (species, populations, traits, genes) provide direct knowledge about the mechanisms underlying species' responses and their evolutionary potential. A better understanding of the effects of human-induced selection is needed to leverage evolved mechanisms to develop appropriate conservation programmes to guarantee the maintenance of healthy systems. In this special issue, we focus on different types of human-mediated selection pressures, from the direct harvesting of individuals (e.g. hunting, fishing), to the more pervasive effects of climate change.Contributions highlight the diversity of human-induced selection pressures ranging from fisheries, trophy-hunting, poaching and domestication to climate change, and pollution. With those, we question whether there are parallel evolutionary solutions across fisheries systems, whether hunting pressures alter population dynamics and population structure, and whether climate change is an evolutionary dead-end. The contributions reflect the direction of travel of the field and the solutions to mitigate the impact of human activities.

Rich resource environment of fish farms facilitates phenotypic variation and virulence in an opportunistic fish pathogen

“…Human‐induced environmental change that favors different genotypic and/or phenotypic properties than the natural environment can have strong effects on organismal evolution (Baltazar‐Soares et al, 2021 ), including parasites and pathogens (Wolinska & King, 2009 ). Environmental changes particularly impact environmentally growing or transmitted pathogens because changes affect them directly and not only via effects on the hosts (Ashrafi et al, 2018 ; Brown et al, 2012 ).…”

Human disturbances erode the diversity of species resilience strategies

“…Our study clearly shows that human pressure affects the ability of natural populations to cope with disturbances. Land-use change is a strong predictor of species' evolution 31 , geographic range 32 , as well as extinction rates in mammals 33 and plants 34 . Added to this growing body of literature evaluating novel dynamics in the Anthropocene, we find that human activities can also be a strong predictor of resilience strategies.…”

Tracking contemporary microbial evolution in a changing ocean

“…Here, we focus on the ocean microbiome to discuss the benefits of tracking microbial evolution in the wild but acknowledge that this topic is relevant for all microbiomes and not only the ocean [3]. The ocean microbiome (including, bacteria, archaea and protists) constitutes ~70% of the marine biomass, is responsible for ~50% of the planet primary production, and is fundamental for global biogeochemical cycles [4,5].…”