Article
Ecology
Masato Yamamichi, Theo Gibbs, Jonathan M. Levine
Summary: This study suggests that rapid evolution occurring concurrently with competition may enable species coexistence. The authors extend the interpretation of modern coexistence theory metrics to systems where competitors evolve, defining eco-evolutionary versions of these metrics. They find that the eco-evolutionary niche and competitive ability differences are a combination of ecological and evolutionary processes, accurately predicting the potential for stable coexistence in eco-evolutionary dynamics.
Article
Ecology
Sebastien Lion, Akira Sasaki, Mike Boots
Summary: Understanding the interaction between ecological processes and evolutionary dynamics of quantitative traits in natural systems is a challenge. Two main theoretical frameworks, adaptive dynamics and quantitative genetics, have strengths and limitations and are used by different research communities. To make progress, a novel theoretical framework called 'oligomorphic dynamics' is proposed to bridge the gap between these approaches and strengthen the link to empirical data. Oligomorphic dynamics considers environmental feedback and can analyze eco-evolutionary dynamics, including multimodal trait distributions and non-normal or skewed distributions encountered in nature, facilitating a tighter integration between theory and data.
Article
Ecology
Lynn Govaert, Jelena H. Pantel, Luc De Meester
Summary: Ecological and evolutionary processes can occur simultaneously and influence each other. Existing metrics mainly address temporal dynamics, but are not suitable for spatial studies. Therefore, modifications to these metrics are needed to quantitatively measure the contributions of ecological and evolutionary factors to trait changes in populations and communities across spatial locations.
ECOLOGICAL MONOGRAPHS
(2022)
Article
Mathematics, Interdisciplinary Applications
Lixuan Cao, Bin Wu
Summary: This work focuses on a dynamic strategy updating model with payoff-dependent environmental feedback, identifying conditions for stable internal equilibria. Results indicate that sensitivity of environmental degradation rates to defector's payoffs promotes cooperation, while sensitivity of enhancement rates to cooperator's payoffs inhibits cooperation. The relative speed of environmental and strategy dynamics has a qualitative influence on the overall system dynamics.
CHAOS SOLITONS & FRACTALS
(2021)
Article
Ecology
Gregory F. Grether, Kenichi W. Okamo
Summary: This study establishes an eco-evolutionary model to investigate the coexistence mechanisms of interference competitors. The study finds that coexistence between interference competitors can occur in various ecological scenarios, even at the highest levels of resource overlap. However, coexistence requires co-evolution between species, and reductions in population size and levels of genetic variation may disrupt the coexistence mechanisms.
Article
Ecology
Mark Davidson Jewell, Graham Bell
Summary: When the environment changes, the entire community of organisms may undergo modifications through physiological processes, evolutionary processes, or shifts in species composition. However, how these sources of change combine to drive community trait dynamics is not well understood.
Article
Engineering, Mechanical
Xiaojian Ma, Ji Quan, Xianjia Wang
Summary: The interplay between strategies and environments affects the evolution of cooperative behavior, and the reciprocity mechanism plays a significant role in avoiding the traps of social dilemmas.
NONLINEAR DYNAMICS
(2023)
Article
Mathematics, Applied
Junpyo Park, Bongsoo Jang
Summary: The study investigates the structural stability of coexistence of mobile species in cyclic competition games, finding that network complexity strongly affects the stability of coexistence by changes in competition rate and lattice size. Intense intraspecific competition leads to more robust coexistence in small-sized lattices, while strengthening interspecific competition changes critical mobility and spatial size for stable coexistence. The finding provides insights into species coexistence on spatially extended systems with respect to network complexity.
APPLIED MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTATION
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Md. Rajib Arefin, Jun Tanimoto
Summary: The interplay between strategy evolution and environment in feedback-evolving games has been studied using replicator dynamics and aspiration dynamics. Results show that persistent cycles observed in replicator dynamics are not present in aspiration dynamics. The strength parameter depicting the effects of cooperation in enhancing the environment plays a pivotal role in comprehending the dynamics. By controlling the parameter value, a rich environment can be achieved.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY A-MATHEMATICAL PHYSICAL AND ENGINEERING SCIENCES
(2021)
Editorial Material
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Andrew P. Hendry
Summary: Ecological change and evolution have a feedback mechanism where ecological change influences evolution, and in turn, evolution affects ecological change. A study using Timema stick insects demonstrates the existence of such feedbacks in nature, showing that they can occur rapidly, have a strong impact, and contribute to stability.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Akihiko Mougi
Summary: Microbes interact with their environment by modifying it and reacting to these modifications, and recent research has shown that the ecological consequences of these interactions can be predicted from their effects on pH. Adaptation of pH niche can affect microbial coexistence, but the mechanisms underlying this effect are not yet understood. This study demonstrates that ecological theory may have difficulty in accurately predicting ecological consequences when there are adaptive changes in pH niche.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2023)
Article
Plant Sciences
Koki R. Katsuhara, Yuuya Tachiki, Ryosuke Iritani, Atushi Ushimaru
Summary: The evolution of prior selfing was found to promote coexistence in the context of mutual reproductive interference, as demonstrated in an individual-based model study. The purging of deleterious mutations leading to an evolutionary rescue was observed, with the decline in inbreeding depression as the population selfing rate increased. The study suggests that lower pollinator availability may drive evolutionary shifts to higher selfing rates, neutralizing the negative effects of reproductive interference and allowing for long-term coexistence under moderate pollinator availability.
JOURNAL OF ECOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Biology
Vanessa Ress, Arne Traulsen, Yuriy Pichugin
Summary: The evolution of multicellular life cycles is a central process in the emergence of multicellularity, and the interactions between multicellular groups play an important role in the evolution of life cycles. The outcome of evolution could be coexistence between multiple life cycles.
Article
Ecology
Thomas Koffel, Kaito Umemura, Elena Litchman, Christopher A. Klausmeier
Summary: Species-abundance distributions describe the commonness and rarity of species in a community, but their shape and underlying mechanisms are still controversial, lacking a general, non-neutral theory. A trait-based framework can offer new insights into SADs and generate more-testable hypotheses on controls over commonness and rarity in communities.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
G. Boza, G. Barabas, I. Scheuring, I. Zachar
Summary: Syntrophic cooperation among prokaryotes is common, but there are few examples of it leading to endosymbiosis. The presence of selfish mutants may undermine mutualistic interactions when externalized products become public goods. To evaluate these arguments, researchers constructed a mathematical model of different types of syntrophic partnerships in both prokaryotic and eukaryotic contexts. They found that cooperative partnerships eventually dominate over selfish mutants, but systems where producers actively secrete enzymes that facilitate partners' resource consumption are not robust against cheaters. The study concludes that cross-feeding mutualisms may have played a role in the origin of endosymbiosis.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2023)