An experimental test of eco-evolutionary dynamics on rocky shores.

ABSTRACT: A growing body of theoretical studies and laboratory experiments has focused attention on reciprocal feedbacks between ecological and evolutionary processes. However, uncertainty remains about whether such eco-evolutionary feedbacks have an important or negligible influence on natural communities. Thus, recent discussions call for field experiments that explore whether selection on phenotypic variation within populations leads to contemporaneous effects on community dynamics. To help fill this gap, in this study, we test the hypothesis that selection on consumer traits in a population of predatory drilling snails can drive eco-evolutionary dynamics in a rocky intertidal community in California, USA. We first conducted a laboratory selection experiment to raise newly hatched dogwhelks (Nuce

SUBMITTER: Longman EK 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11735340 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature