How does evolution affect variation in range expansion?
09.04.2020
We now know, through experimental manipulation of evolution rates, that rapid evolution increases the speed of range expansion. However, these same experiments reveal that evolution also affects variation between replicate populations, sometimes increasing variation and other times decreasing variation. Informed by their CIEE working group discussions, Williams, Hufbauer and Miller suggest that ecological factors (e.g. population size, mating systems) alter the balance between selection and drift, causing variance to increase (drift dominates) or decrease (selection dominates).
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tree.2019.05.012
We now know, through experimental manipulation of evolution rates, that rapid evolution increases the speed of range expansion. However, these same experiments reveal that evolution also affects variation between replicate populations, sometimes increasing variation and other times decreasing variation. Informed by their CIEE working group discussions, Williams, Hufbauer and Miller suggest that ecological factors (e.g. population size, mating systems) alter the balance between selection and drift, causing variance to increase (drift dominates) or decrease (selection dominates).
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tree.2019.05.012
Do traits within species vary more locally or regionally
09.04.2020
Intraspecific trait variation (ITV) can be surprisingly high for some plant species, but it is not clear why. Understanding how ITV changes with spatial scale can shed light on competing explanations. In six common understory plants, sampled across Canada, ITV of both leaves and roots was greater at local scales – including contrasts of disturbed and undisturbed habitat – than between bioclimatic regions. This CIEE working group used an extensive data set of 818 populations collected by the Co-Vitas project.
https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2435.13402
Intraspecific trait variation (ITV) can be surprisingly high for some plant species, but it is not clear why. Understanding how ITV changes with spatial scale can shed light on competing explanations. In six common understory plants, sampled across Canada, ITV of both leaves and roots was greater at local scales – including contrasts of disturbed and undisturbed habitat – than between bioclimatic regions. This CIEE working group used an extensive data set of 818 populations collected by the Co-Vitas project.
https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2435.13402
What part of the Tree of Life should we conserve?
09.04.2020
Which species should we conserve now if we want to maximize biodiversity in the future - the most evolutionary distant lineages, or lineages that have so far speciated the fastest? A CIEE working group used reconstructed phylogenies to imagine which conservation decisions made millions of years ago would have maximized today’s biodiversity. Any decision made at a single point in time was ineffective, whereas under a continuously updated strategy, the best bet was conserving the fast diversifiers.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2018.2896
Which species should we conserve now if we want to maximize biodiversity in the future - the most evolutionary distant lineages, or lineages that have so far speciated the fastest? A CIEE working group used reconstructed phylogenies to imagine which conservation decisions made millions of years ago would have maximized today’s biodiversity. Any decision made at a single point in time was ineffective, whereas under a continuously updated strategy, the best bet was conserving the fast diversifiers.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2018.2896
Does humanity benefit when we prioritize the conservation of evolutionary history?
12.06.2019
Does humanity benefit when we prioritize the conservation of evolutionary history? It is often assumed that conserving species based on their evolutionary uniqueness will ensure the provision of ecosystem services, reduce extinction risk or maximize future opportunities. A new synthesis paper argues that the empirical support for these pathways is slim at best. From a CIEE working group led by Caroline Tucker and Arne Mooers.
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/brv.12526
Does humanity benefit when we prioritize the conservation of evolutionary history? It is often assumed that conserving species based on their evolutionary uniqueness will ensure the provision of ecosystem services, reduce extinction risk or maximize future opportunities. A new synthesis paper argues that the empirical support for these pathways is slim at best. From a CIEE working group led by Caroline Tucker and Arne Mooers.
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/brv.12526
Species adaptation to current environments may be good for some conservation goals but bad for others
12.06.2019
Species adaptation to current environments may be good for some conservation goals but bad for others. A new study argues that adaptation is good for immediate rescue of threatened populations, but mitigating the risk of future environmental change requires some maladaptation. From a joint CIEE-QCBS working group led by Alison Derry, Rowan Barrett, Andrew Hendry and Gregor Fussman.
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/eva.12791
Species adaptation to current environments may be good for some conservation goals but bad for others. A new study argues that adaptation is good for immediate rescue of threatened populations, but mitigating the risk of future environmental change requires some maladaptation. From a joint CIEE-QCBS working group led by Alison Derry, Rowan Barrett, Andrew Hendry and Gregor Fussman.
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/eva.12791
temporal changes in species richness will often differ over spatial scale
10.06.2019
A new study argues that temporal changes in species richness will often differ over spatial scale. For example, Central American corals show little change in local richness, but have become homogenized regionally. North American birds show the opposite regional pattern. Such scale-dependence within systems argues for new approaches to monitor and analyse species richness.
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/oik.05968
A new study argues that temporal changes in species richness will often differ over spatial scale. For example, Central American corals show little change in local richness, but have become homogenized regionally. North American birds show the opposite regional pattern. Such scale-dependence within systems argues for new approaches to monitor and analyse species richness.
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/oik.05968
Can dynamic conservation help protect biodiversity under climate change?
14.02.2019
Can dynamic conservation areas help protect biodiversity under climate change? In a new Perspective article in Frontiers in Ecology & Evolution, the authors suggest that integrated networks of dynamic conservation areas and permanent protected areas could increase spatio-temporal connectivity and help safeguard biodiversity. Such an approach represents a new type of flexible climate adaptation strategy.
This study was written by members of a CIEE working group co-led by Cassidy D'Aloia, Ilona Naujokaitis-Lewis, and Marie-Josée Fortin.
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fevo.2019.00027/
Can dynamic conservation areas help protect biodiversity under climate change? In a new Perspective article in Frontiers in Ecology & Evolution, the authors suggest that integrated networks of dynamic conservation areas and permanent protected areas could increase spatio-temporal connectivity and help safeguard biodiversity. Such an approach represents a new type of flexible climate adaptation strategy.
This study was written by members of a CIEE working group co-led by Cassidy D'Aloia, Ilona Naujokaitis-Lewis, and Marie-Josée Fortin.
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fevo.2019.00027/
A new study of marine vertebrate predators in the North American Arctic shows that only 5-7% of diversity hotspots overlap with protected areas.
07.02.2019
A new study of marine vertebrate predators in the North American Arctic shows that only 5-7% of diversity hotspots overlap with protected areas. Species hotspots were identified by collating telemetry records for 1283 individuals from 21 species. From a CIEE working group led by David Yurkowksi, Marie Auger-Méthé, Steve Ferguson and Mark Mallory.
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/ddi.12860
A new study of marine vertebrate predators in the North American Arctic shows that only 5-7% of diversity hotspots overlap with protected areas. Species hotspots were identified by collating telemetry records for 1283 individuals from 21 species. From a CIEE working group led by David Yurkowksi, Marie Auger-Méthé, Steve Ferguson and Mark Mallory.
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/ddi.12860
For vertebrates, phylogeny predicts function - mostly
21.08.2018
Can we capture the functional diversity of life if we prioritize the conservation of species sets that maximize evolutionary history? Generally yes, concludes a new study in Nature Communications, based on an analysis of over 15000 vertebrate species. However, this is not a particularly reliable strategy: a third of the time, choosing species at random actually results in more functional diversity. This study originated from a joint CIEE-sDiv working group:
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-018-05126-3
Can we capture the functional diversity of life if we prioritize the conservation of species sets that maximize evolutionary history? Generally yes, concludes a new study in Nature Communications, based on an analysis of over 15000 vertebrate species. However, this is not a particularly reliable strategy: a third of the time, choosing species at random actually results in more functional diversity. This study originated from a joint CIEE-sDiv working group:
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-018-05126-3
Is the evolutionary diversity of a community a good proxy for its diversity of traits?
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22.05.2018
Is the evolutionary diversity of a community a good proxy for its diversity of traits? Ecologists often make this simplifying assumption, but remarkably it had not been theoretically confirmed. A new study says yes, especially when many traits are included. From a CIEE working group led by Caroline Tucker and Arne Mooers: http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ecy.2349 |
Image: courtesy of Caroline Tucker
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Why do microbial communities often show a constant functional structure?
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18.04.2018
Why do microbial communities often show a constant functional structure, even though the underlying taxonomic structure is highly variable? In a new Nature Ecology & Evolution paper, the authors suggest that niche and not neutral processes explain this paradox. This study originated from a CIEE-ICEE working group led by Stilianos Louca, Laura Parfrey, and Michael Doebeli. https://rdcu.be/LGzp |
Image: courtesy of Stilianos Louca
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Anthropogenic disturbance of seagrass meadows13.03.2018
Anthropogenic disturbance of seagrass meadows results in dominance by the same few fish species, and loss of fish with specialized life histories, reports a new study. This study originated from a CIEE-ICEE working group led by Josephine Iacarella and Julia Baum which synthesized data from 89 seagrass meadows along the Pacific coast of Canada. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/gcb.14090/full |
Photo credit: Emily Adamczyk
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The Living Data Project workshop was held at UBC (March 2018)
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01.03.2018
The Living Data Project workshop was held at UBC (March 2018), to brainstorm about the creation of a national data rescue program. Led by the CIEE, this initiative involves four universities, experts in data science and research data archiving, and government and non-profit partners. Workshop participants submitted a NSERC CREATE proposal. |
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Conserving phylogenetic diversity of a community is not a good recipe for conserving functional diversity
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30.11.2017
Conserving phylogenetic diversity of a community is not a good recipe for conserving functional diversity, concludes a recent CIEE working group in a new study. Under realistic models of evolution, even demonstrating a phylogenetic signal to traits does not guarantee that phylogenetically diverse assemblages are also functionally diverse. www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28595366 |
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New database of biodiversity time series released
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28.11.2017
New database of biodiversity time series released. The “BioTIME” database pulls together over 8 million species abundance records from half a million locations, and should motivate reconciliation of divergent accounts of biodiversity change – the subject of a recent CIEE/sDiv working group: Dornelas M, Willis TJ. BioTIME: a database of biodiversity time series for the anthropocene. Global Ecology and Biogeography. 2017 Nov 28 |
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