Eco‐evolutionary dynamics in restored communities and ecosystems |
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Authors: | Elizabeth A. LaRue Sally M. Chambers Nancy C. Emery |
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Affiliation: | 1. Department of Biological Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, U.S.A.;2. Department of Biology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, U.S.A.;3. Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, U.S.A. |
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Abstract: | Recent ecological studies have revealed that rapid evolution within populations can have significant impacts on the ecological dynamics of communities and ecosystems. These eco‐evolutionary dynamics (EED) are likely to have substantial and quantifiable effects in restored habitats over timescales that are relevant for the conservation and restoration of small populations and threatened communities. Restored habitats may serve as “hotspots” for EED due to mismatches between transplanted genotypes and the restored environment, and novel interactions among lineages that do not share a coevolutionary history, both of which can generate strong selection for rapid evolutionary change that has immediate demographic consequences. Rapid evolution that influences population dynamics and community processes is likely to have particularly large effects during the establishment phase of restoration efforts. Finally, restoration activities and their associated long‐term monitoring programs provide outstanding opportunities for using eco‐evolutionary experimental approaches. Results from such studies will address questions about the effects of rapid evolutionary change on the ecological dynamics of populations and interacting species, while simultaneously providing critical, but currently overlooked, information for conservation practices. |
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Keywords: | conservation genetics evolutionary potential rapid evolution reintroduction restoration genetics translocation |
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