Adaptive evolution of viruses infecting marine microalgae (haptophytes), from acute infections to stable coexistence

Regional neutrality evolves through local adaptive niche evolution

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences ◽

10.1073/pnas.1808615116 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 116 (7) ◽

pp. 2612-2617 ◽

Cited By ~ 12

Author(s):

Mathew A. Leibold ◽

Mark C. Urban ◽

Luc De Meester ◽

Christopher A. Klausmeier ◽

Joost Vanoverbeke

Keyword(s):

Adaptive Evolution ◽

Biological Diversity ◽

Regional Scale ◽

Distribution Patterns ◽

Niche Differentiation ◽

Priority Effects ◽

Local Conditions ◽

Stable Coexistence ◽

Landscape Level

Biodiversity in natural systems can be maintained either because niche differentiation among competitors facilitates stable coexistence or because equal fitness among neutral species allows for their long-term cooccurrence despite a slow drift toward extinction. Whereas the relative importance of these two ecological mechanisms has been well-studied in the absence of evolution, the role of local adaptive evolution in maintaining biological diversity through these processes is less clear. Here we study the contribution of local adaptive evolution to coexistence in a landscape of interconnected patches subject to disturbance. Under these conditions, early colonists to empty patches may adapt to local conditions sufficiently fast to prevent successful colonization by other preadapted species. Over the long term, the iteration of these local-scale priority effects results in niche convergence of species at the regional scale even though species tend to monopolize local patches. Thus, the dynamics evolve from stable coexistence through niche differentiation to neutral cooccurrence at the landscape level while still maintaining strong local niche segregation. Our results show that neutrality can emerge at the regional scale from local, niche-based adaptive evolution, potentially resolving why ecologists often observe neutral distribution patterns at the landscape level despite strong niche divergence among local communities.

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Regional neutrality evolves through local adaptive niche evolution

10.1101/326348 ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

Mathew A. Leibold ◽

Mark C. Urban ◽

Luc De Meester ◽

Christopher A. Klausmeier ◽

Joost Vanoverbeke

Keyword(s):

Adaptive Evolution ◽

Evolutionary Dynamics ◽

Biological Diversity ◽

Regional Scale ◽

Niche Differentiation ◽

Priority Effects ◽

Local Conditions ◽

Stable Coexistence ◽

Landscape Level

AbstractJoost Vanoverbeke, Department of Biology, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Leuven, Belgium. Abstract: Biodiversity in natural systems can be maintained either because niche differentiation among competitors facilitates stable coexistence or because equal fitness among neutral species allows for their long-term co-occurrence despite a slow drift toward extinction. Whereas the relative importance of these two ecological mechanisms has been well-studied in the absence of evolution, the role of local adaptive evolution in maintaining biological diversity through these processes is less clear. Here we study the contribution of local adaptive evolution to coexistence in a landscape of interconnected patches subject to disturbance. Under these conditions, early colonists to empty patches following disturbance can often adapt to novel local conditions sufficiently fast to prevent successful colonization by other pre-adapted species. Over the long term, the iteration of these local-scale priority effects results in niche convergence of species at the regional scale even though species tend to monopolize local patches. Thus, the dynamics evolve from stable coexistence through niche differentiation to neutral co-occurrence at the landscape level while still maintaining strong local niche differentiation. Our model results show that neutrality can emerge at the regional scale from local, niche-based adaptive evolution, potentially resolving why ecologists often observe neutral distribution patterns at the landscape level despite strong niche divergence among local communities. Our results also demonstrate how local adaptive evolution can shape cryptic eco-evolutionary dynamics and thus alter the regional mechanisms that determine biological diversity and resistance to disturbance.

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