Abstract
BackgroundIt has been suggested that climate change will lead to increased environmental fluctuations, which will undoubtedly have evolutionary consequences for all biota. For instance, fluctuations can directly increase the risk of invasions of alien species into new areas, as these species have repeatedly been proposed to benefit from disturbances. At the same time increased environmental fluctuations may also select for better invaders. However, selection by fluctuations may also influence the resistance of communities to invasions, which has rarely been tested. We tested eco-evolutionary dynamics of invasion with bacterial clones, evolved either in constant or fluctuating temperatures, and conducted experimental invasions in both conditions.ResultsWe found clear evidence that ecological fluctuations, as well as adaptation to fluctuations by both the invader and community, all affected invasions, but played different roles at different stages of invasion. Ecological fluctuations clearly promoted invasions, especially into fluctuation mal-adapted communities. The evolutionary background of the invader played a smaller role.ConclusionsOur results indicate that climate change associated disturbances can directly increase the risk of invasions by altering ecological conditions during invasions, as well as via the evolution of both the invader and communities. Our experiment provides novel information on the complex consequences of climate change on invasions in general, and also charts risk factors associated with the spread of environmentally growing opportunistic pathogens.
Highlights
It has been suggested that climate change will lead to increased environmental fluctuations, which will undoubtedly have evolutionary consequences for all biota
The 3 community species used in this study showed relatively high resistance against the invading S. marcescens, when reared together: Pseudomonas chlororaphis ATCC® 17418TM, Enterobacter aerogenes ATCC® 13048TM and Leclercia adecarboxylata ATCC® 23216TM [34]
To summarize, we found a large role of environmental fluctuations in aiding invasions throughout our 12 day long experimental invasion
Summary
It has been suggested that climate change will lead to increased environmental fluctuations, which will undoubtedly have evolutionary consequences for all biota. At the same time increased environmental fluctuations may select for better invaders. Current climate change scenarios predict that in addition to the increase in temperature, fluctuations in temperature and other environmental conditions are increasing [1] and creating selection pressures for biota. Fluctuations in environmental conditions might lead to the evolution of invasive genotypes [5] aiding species invasions. Global climate change, with increased environmental fluctuations, could bring evolutionary and ecological problems to native fauna and flora: they must. One possible evolutionary explanation for the emergence of invasive species and genotypes is that they have evolved in a disturbed and fluctuating environment. The literature on invasions has been centered on the evolutionary background of the invader, but the community’s properties, such as diversity and relatedness
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