Rapid evolution of hosts begets species diversity at the cost of intraspecific diversity

Frickel, Jens; Theodosiou, Loukas; Becks, Lutz

doi:10.1073/pnas.1701845114

Cited by 30 publications

(49 citation statements)

References 40 publications

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“…This absence is striking, since the impact of prey adaptation on predator–prey dynamics (Yoshida et al , Becks et al ) and even community structure and ecosystem functioning (Post et al , Palkovacs et al ) is well‐known in the field of eco‐evolutionary dynamics. That such community effects can extend to promoting predator coexistence was recently demonstrated in an experimental predator–prey system, where algal prey were faced with viruses and rotifer predators (Frickel et al ). Although initially the virus rapidly reduced the algae to very low densities, resulting in the extinction of the rotifers, the two enemies coexisted after the algae evolved defense against the virus.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 89%

“…Although it is certainly true that two predators will not coincidentally have exactly equal R* values, it is critical to recognize that the R* values are far from random. Defensive traits are vital for survival and are often under strong selective pressure, and can thus change rapidly via evolution or phenotypic plasticity when predation pressure changes (e.g., Tollrian and Harvell , Yoshida et al , Frickel et al ). Here I show that prey adaptation can enable predator coexistence by causing emergence of fitness equality between the predators.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…I show here that prey adaptation can function as a mechanism fulfilling both criteria, and can enable stable coexistence of two predators. Defensive traits can adapt rapidly to changing predation pressure, either through rapid evolution (Yoshida et al , Frickel et al ) or inducible defenses (Tollrian and Harvell ). As such traits affect how well predators can capture their prey, they affect the predators’ R* values; thus, defense adaptation changes the R * values.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Predator coexistence through emergent fitness equalization

Velzen

2020

Ecology

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The competitive exclusion principle is one of the oldest ideas in ecology and states that without additional self-limitation two predators cannot coexist on a single prey. The search for mechanisms allowing coexistence despite this has identified niche differentiation between predators as crucial: without this, coexistence requires the predators to have exactly the same R* values, which is considered impossible. However, this reasoning misses a critical point: predators' R* values are not static properties, but affected by defensive traits of their prey, which in turn can adapt in response to changes in predator densities. Here I show that this feedback between defense and predator dynamics enables stable predator coexistence without ecological niche differentiation. Instead, the mechanism driving coexistence is that prey adaptation causes defense to converge to the value where both predators have equal R* values ("fitness equalization"). This result is highly general, independent of specific model details, and applies to both rapid defense evolution and inducible defenses. It demonstrates the importance of considering long-standing ecological questions from an eco-evolutionary viewpoint, and showcases how the effects of adaptation can cascade through communities, driving diversity on higher trophic levels. These insights offer an important new perspective on coexistence theory.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 89%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Predator coexistence through emergent fitness equalization

Velzen

2020

Ecology

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“…Evolutionary and ecological dynamics, however, can occur at contemporary time-scales (e.g. Chao, Levin, & Stewart, 1977;Faillace & Morin, 2016;Frickel, Theodosiou, & Becks, 2017;Hiltunen & Becks, 2014;Urban, 2010;Yoshida, Jones, Ellner, Fussmann, & Hairston, 2003). Rapid trait evolution has been documented in response to a number of anthropogenic stressors including climate warming (e.g.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evolution alters post‐invasion temporal dynamics in experimental communities

Faillace

Morin

2019

Journal of Animal Ecology

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The causes and consequences of temporal variation in the abundance of organisms constitute central themes in ecological inquiry. Rapid evolution can occur over ecological time‐scales, potentially resulting in altered temporal variation in abundance and complicating inferences about the consequences of temporal variation. We assessed whether evolution altered the temporal variability in species' abundances in simple assemblages of species. We then compared experimental results to predictions from two‐species models to better understand our results in the context of competitive and predator–prey interactions. We compared founder populations and their evolved descendants in experimental communities of ciliates and rotifers. Using a series of orthogonal contrasts, we then evaluated whether: (a) evolutionary history of invaders or (b) residents, (c) co‐evolution among invaders and residents, and (d) invasion itself altered temporal variability in species abundances following invasion by a novel species. Using two‐species competition and predator–prey models, we also generated predictions to better understand the effects of evolution on temporal variation in the abundances of interacting species. Finally, we compared experimental and modelling results to aid in the interpretation of which interspecific interactions might be affected by ongoing evolution in our communities. In experimental populations, differing evolutionary histories resulted in significant differences among treatments in abundances and temporal variation in abundances of both resident and invading species. For the contrasts, we found evidence that evolutionary history of the invader and residents, co‐evolution among invaders and residents, and invasion itself affected temporal variability in abundance, but the importance of each differed for the two communities and the species within those communities. When comparing experimental results to model predictions, the increased abundance and decreased temporal variation in one invader, Euplotes daidaleos, are potentially consistent with evolution resulting in reduced attack rates in the novel community. Evolutionary history alone can affect temporal variation in the abundances of species, generating important consequences for interspecific interactions among species and complicating inferences about the consequences of temporal variability in biological communities.

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“… and Frickel et al. ). For instance, if the relative role of predation or parasitism is reduced due to resistance evolution, community dominance might shift toward species that are resistant but competitively inferior in the absence of the consumers.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 95%

Frequency of virus‐resistant hosts determines experimental community dynamics

Coloma

Gaedke

Sivonen

et al. 2018

Ecology

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Parasites, such as bacterial viruses (phages), can have large effects on host populations both at the ecological and evolutionary levels. In the case of cyanobacteria, phages can reduce primary production and infected hosts release intracellular nutrients influencing planktonic food web structure, community dynamics, and biogeochemical cycles. Cyanophages may be of great importance in aquatic food webs during large cyanobacterial blooms unless the host population becomes resistant to phage infection. The consequences on plankton community dynamics of the evolution of phage resistance in bloom forming cyanobacterial populations are still poorly studied. Here, we examined the effect of different frequencies of a phage‐resistant genotype within a filamentous nitrogen‐fixing Nodularia spumigena population on an experimental plankton community. Three Nodularia populations with different initial frequencies (0%, 5%, and 50%) of phage‐resistant genotypes were inoculated in separate treatments with the phage 2AV2, the green alga Chlorella vulgaris, and the rotifer Brachionus plicatilis, which formed the experimental plankton community subjected to either nitrogen‐limited or nitrogen‐rich conditions. We found that the frequency of the phage‐resistant Nodularia genotype determined experimental community dynamics. Cyanobacterial populations with a high frequency (50%) of the phage‐resistant genotype dominated the cultures despite the presence of phages, retaining most of the intracellular nitrogen in the plankton community. In contrast, populations with low frequencies (0% and 5%) of the phage‐resistant genotype were lysed and reduced to extinction by the phage, transferring the intracellular nitrogen held by Nodularia to Chlorella and rotifers, and allowing Chlorella to dominate the communities and rotifers to survive. This study shows that even though phages represent minuscule biomass, they can have key effects on community composition and eco‐evolutionary feedbacks in plankton communities.

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Rapid evolution of hosts begets species diversity at the cost of intraspecific diversity

Cited by 30 publications

References 40 publications

Predator coexistence through emergent fitness equalization

Predator coexistence through emergent fitness equalization

Evolution alters post‐invasion temporal dynamics in experimental communities

Frequency of virus‐resistant hosts determines experimental community dynamics

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