Eco-evolutionary effects on population recovery following catastrophic disturbance.

Michael T Kinnison,Dylan J Weese,Amy K Schwartz,Paul Bentzen,Andrew P Hendry

doi:10.1111/j.1752-4571.2010.00169.x

Michael T Kinnison, Dylan J Weese + Show 3 more

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https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1752-4571.2010.00169.x

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Abstract

Fine-scale genetic diversity and contemporary evolution can theoretically influence ecological dynamics in the wild. Such eco-evolutionary effects might be particularly relevant to the persistence of populations facing acute or chronic environmental change. However, experimental data on wild populations is currently lacking to support this notion. One way that ongoing evolution might influence the dynamics of threatened populations is through the role that selection plays in mediating the ‘rescue effect’, the ability of migrants to contribute to the recovery of populations facing local disturbance and decline. Here, we combine experiments with natural catastrophic events to show that ongoing evolution is a major determinant of migrant contributions to population recovery in Trinidadian guppies (Poecilia reticulata). These eco-evolutionary limits on migrant contributions appear to be mediated by the reinforcing effects of natural and sexual selection against migrants, despite the close geographic proximity of migrant sources. These findings show that ongoing adaptive evolution can be a double-edged sword for population persistence, maintaining local fitness at a cost to demographic risk. Our study further serves as a potent reminder that significant evolutionary and eco-evolutionary dynamics might be at play even where the phenotypic status quo is largely maintained generation to generation.

Highlights

Much of conservation biology seeks to understand and enhance the capacity of populations to accommodate chronic disturbance
Such lack of attention might owe in part to a perception that the rapid onset and fleeting nature of such disturbances limits the potential for evolutionary processes to influence population dynamics
We suggest why this might not always be the case and experimentally assess how genetic variation and ongoing evolution contribute to the recovery of wild populations facing actual catastrophic disturbances in the wild

Summary

Introduction

Much of conservation biology seeks to understand and enhance the capacity of populations to accommodate chronic disturbance. While a growing body of theory suggests an important role for genetic variation in determining demographic responses of populations to chronic disturbance (Kinnison and Hairston 2007; Chevin et al 2010; Hendry et al 2011), the role of genetic variation in population responses to impermanent catastrophic disturbances has received little attention in theoretical or applied contexts. Such lack of attention might owe in part to a perception that the rapid onset and fleeting nature of such disturbances limits the potential for evolutionary processes to influence population dynamics. Particular demes might persistently function as sources or sinks, or they a 2011 Blackwell Publishing Ltd 4 (2011) 354–366

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