Mechanisms and consequences of eco-evolutionary dynamics in a changing world
Human-caused environmental change is having large effects on both the ecology and evolution of populations and communities. Because reciprocal ecological and evolutionary processes occur at contemporary time scales, response to anthropogenic change is neither solely an ecological nor an evolutionary problem. Using experimental evolution, I first tackle how considering evolution in ecological responses to anthropogenic change, such as biological invasions, provides us with novel insight into the effects of such environmental change. My work demonstrated that the presence of an eco-evolutionary feedback initiated by the invasion of a novel species drives important changes to invasion success and impact on resident communities. We can similarly use these methods when approaching evolutionary questions, for example when trying to understand how ecological context affects evolutionary response to anthropogenic warming. Working with two consumer-resource pairs, I showed that the current thermal environment as well as the current ecological context can affect the importance of evolution in response to warming in complex communities, and that this evolution influences current ecological dynamics. Collectively, these results demonstrate that by embracing an eco-evolutionary perspective, we can deepen our understanding of how and when reciprocal ecology and evolution are likely to have important consequences for communities responding to anthropogenic change.
IGB Colloquia open up!
IGB strives to facilitate and accelerate the exchange of knowledge and ideas within and also outside of IGB. One element contributing to inter- and transdisciplinary exchange, and more (scientific) cooperation and innovation, is to open up IGB Colloquia to an interested external audience from science (other research institutes, universities, laboratories) as well as practice (i.e. conservationists, freshwater/land-use managers, authorities, associations). If you would like to join this IGB Colloquium as a guest, we ask you to register until the morning of the colloquium 10 o'clock the latest. After we have checked your registration, you will receive the participation link.
