Evolutionary rescue can be impeded by temporary environmental amelioration

TY - JOUR

T1 - Evolutionary rescue can be impeded by temporary environmental amelioration

AU - Hao, Yi Qi

AU - Brockhurst, Michael A.

AU - Petchey, Owen L.

AU - Zhang, Quan Guo

PY - 2015/6/25

Y1 - 2015/6/25

N2 - Rapid evolutionary adaptation has the potential to rescue from extinction populations experiencing environmental changes. Little is known, however, about the impact of short-term environmental fluctuations during long-term environmental deterioration, an intrinsic property of realistic environmental changes. Temporary environmental amelioration arising from such fluctuations could either facilitate evolutionary rescue by allowing population recovery (a positive demographic effect) or impede it by relaxing selection for beneficial mutations required for future survival (a negative population genetic effect). We address this uncertainty in an experiment with populations of a bacteriophage virus that evolved under deteriorating conditions (gradually increasing temperature). Periodic environmental amelioration (short periods of reduced temperature) caused demographic recovery during the early phase of the experiment, but ultimately reduced the frequency of evolutionary rescue. These experimental results suggest that environmental fluctuations could reduce the potential of evolutionary rescue.

AB - Rapid evolutionary adaptation has the potential to rescue from extinction populations experiencing environmental changes. Little is known, however, about the impact of short-term environmental fluctuations during long-term environmental deterioration, an intrinsic property of realistic environmental changes. Temporary environmental amelioration arising from such fluctuations could either facilitate evolutionary rescue by allowing population recovery (a positive demographic effect) or impede it by relaxing selection for beneficial mutations required for future survival (a negative population genetic effect). We address this uncertainty in an experiment with populations of a bacteriophage virus that evolved under deteriorating conditions (gradually increasing temperature). Periodic environmental amelioration (short periods of reduced temperature) caused demographic recovery during the early phase of the experiment, but ultimately reduced the frequency of evolutionary rescue. These experimental results suggest that environmental fluctuations could reduce the potential of evolutionary rescue.

KW - Adaptation

KW - Demographic recovery

KW - Environmental change

KW - Evolutionary rescue

KW - Experimental evolution

KW - Microcosm

KW - Virus

KW - Warming

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84938953990&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1111/ele.12465

DO - 10.1111/ele.12465

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:84938953990

SN - 1461-023X

VL - 18

SP - 892

EP - 898

JO - Ecology Letters

JF - Ecology Letters

IS - 9

ER -