Document: ROB-3-2-7

"La plus ca change..." Integrating ecology and evolutionary biology

HOLT, R.D.*

University of Kansas, USA ¹

Abstract:
Biological systems emerge from a fundamental dialectic: the evolutionary dynamics of adaptation and speciation occur within the constraints of ecological processes; in turn, ecological processes are largely mediated by individuals, whose traits arise as the product of evolutionary processes. Although scientists have long recognized the need to integrate ecology and evolution, the fusion of these disciplines remains incomplete. Here are three questions on the frontier: 1) "What is the role of ongoing evolutionary dynamics in applied ecology?" Ecologically significant traits of species can evolve, even over ecological time scales. But it is not yet clear how important such changes might be for understanding population or community dynamics, or in management. For instance, in biological control of pests, we do not know yet if failed control efforts reflects adaptive responses by target species, or if ongoing successful control involves coevolution of the target and control agent. 2) "Are constraints on adaptation important in conservation?" From the perspective of ecology, conservation problems exist because of anthropogenic environmental changes, but from the perspective of evolution, conservation problems indicate a failure of adaptation to novel environments. A better understanding of ecological constraints on adaptive evolution may facilitate the design of long-term conservation efforts. 3) "How do we put together phylogenetics, speciation mechanisms, and community ecology?" Communities arise over ecological time-horizons by assembly from regional species pools, but over evolutionary time-scales these species arise because of splitting of phylogenetic lineages. Fusing phylogenetic and ecological perspectives is needed to understand broad patterns in diversity.

Keywords: rapid evolution, adaptive constraints, conservation, biological control, community evolution

This abstract is being presented at: 9:35 AM in session:
Symposium # 7: Thirty Questions for Ecology in the 21st Century.