FIBR: From Genes to Ecosystems: How Do Ecological and Evolutionary Processes Interact in Nature?

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It is traditionally assumed that ecology shapes how organisms evolve but that evolutionary change within a species is too slow to affect ecology. However, it has recently been shown that evolution can be rapid, possibly rapid enough to shape ecological interactions. This project will be the first to experimentally evaluate the feedback between evolution and ecology in a natural setting. The focal ecosystem is streams in Trinidad inhabited by guppies, since rapid evolution has already been documented in these fish. Guppies will be introduced from sites where they co-occur with many predators to streams where only one predator, Rivulus, exists, then evaluate ecological and co-evolutionary interactions that result. Rivulus prey on guppies, but guppies also prey on Rivulus and the two fish species compete. This project will: 1) evaluate population dynamics, resource utilization, and evolution of Rivulus and the guppies, 2) quantify impacts of guppies and Rivulus on the stream ecosystem and 3) develop new theory to link ecological and evolutionary dynamics. Additional experiments in natural streams and artificial channels will define the cause/effect relationships. Methods include molecular genetic, mark-recapture, and laboratory studies to assess the evolution of guppies and Rivulus, and ecosystem studies to quantify how the structure and function of streams changes in concert with evolution of introduced guppies. This research will develop a conceptual framework that can be applied to any ecosystem and is relevant to conservation biology and the management of exploited populations. For example, commercial fishing often results in fish which are smaller and younger than previous generations. This problem has been studied primarily without regard to the impact of evolution, yet evolutionary processes may be at work. Incorporating evolution and eco-evolutionary interactions will enable us to better understand and solve such problems. This award will also support training for dozens of undergraduates, including visiting interns from minority institutions, plus at least seven graduate and five post-doctoral students. This is a highly collaborative, interdisciplinary, multi-institutional project led by David Reznick at the University of California-Riverside and including sub-awards to: Colorado State (Cameron Ghalambor), Cornell University (Alex Flecker), Florida State University (Joseph Travis), North Carolina State University (Jim Gilliam), University of Georgia (Catherine Pringle), University of Maine ( Michael Kinnison), Sienna College (Douglas Fraser), University of Miami (Don deAngelis), University of Arizona (Regis Ferriere), and University of Nebraska (Steve Thomas)