Experimental test of predation's effect on divergent selection during character displacement in sticklebacks.

ABSTRACT: Ecological character displacement is common in nature but the mechanisms causing divergence are not well understood. The contributions of ecological interactions other than competition have received little attention. We conducted a pond experiment to explore the contribution of both competition and predation to character divergence in threespine stickleback species. We estimated the strength of divergent selection on a morphologically intermediate target population between competition treatments under two alternate predation treatments. Divergent selection on the target population tended to be stronger in the predator-addition treatment than in the predator-reduction treatment, a difference that approached significance (P = 0.09). This trend occurred even though competition was strongest i

SUBMITTER: Rundle HD 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC299857 | biostudies-literature | 2003 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature