Feedback between population dynamics and evolution of interactions in a tri-trophic system

Introduction

Predicting ecosystems' response to ongoing environmental shifts is a major challenge in ecology and evolution, which is tightly linked with the eco-evolutionary feedback loop. However, we lack studies that thoroughly examine the whole loop of ecology to evolution and back.

Need for Comprehensive Studies

Moreover, there is a dire need for comprehensive studies on the mechanisms involved in this feedback that integrate different biological levels.

Project Overview

With DYNAMICTRIO, we will perform an in-depth and multilevel analysis of the eco-evolutionary process by combining experimental evolution and theoretical modelling of a tri-trophic system composed of:

• Plants (Arabidopsis thaliana)
• Herbivores (Tetranychus urticae)
• Predators (Amblyseius swirskii)

Research Aims

1. Aim 1: Quantify the impact of ecosystem productivity and environmental stress on ecological dynamics.
2. Aim 2: Address how the interplay between ecosystem stability and population dynamics determines (trait and genomic) evolution.
3. Aim 3: Examine how the evolution of direct and indirect interactions affects species evolution and ecosystem resilience.
4. Aim 4: Using the huge body of experimental data produced, examine how population dynamics, system stability, and interspecific interactions shape the genotype to phenotype to fitness map of each population. This will allow us to incorporate the ecology-evolution feedback loop into fitness landscape models.

Methodology

By building on the combination of powerful empirical and theoretical approaches, which I have been developing throughout my career, DYNAMICTRIO provides an extensive, multidisciplinary understanding of the mechanisms underlying eco-evolutionary dynamics.

Long-term Goals

The long-term goal of DYNAMICTRIO is the development of statistical and theoretical tools that properly integrate the different components of the eco-evolutionary loop and generate the much-needed predictions on how a broad range of ecosystems persist in a fast-changing world.