Eco-evolutionary dynamics in evolving communities

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Lutz Becks
• Subject Area: Ecology and Biodiversity of Animals and Ecosystems, Organismic Interactions
• Term: from 2017 to 2023
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 338069339

There is a continuing interest to identify the interactions and feedback dynamics between ecological and evolutionary changes at the same time scale. This interest in eco-evolutionary dynamics is fuelled by the need to understand how populations and communities could adapt to rapid environmental change such as warming, invasion and pollution. Despite this pressing need to understand eco-evolutionary dynamics, they are not well understood in complex systems. In the project proposed here, we aim to (1) identify rapid adaptive changes in coevolving host-virus populations in different food webs that differ in the types of species interactions (ranging form antagonistic to mutualistic interactions) and complexity and to (2) comprehend how the dynamics of adaptive changes alter the ecological dynamics and potential feedbacks. We will combine controlled chemostat experiments, whole genome sequencing of populations across different time points and modelling to characterize and compare the adaptive dynamics and their consequences within the different food webs over dozens of generations. We will use a focal species approach where we focus on the interaction between host and virus in different food webs. Following the evolutionary dynamics phenotypically and with whole genome sequencing of both (host and virus) populations across different time points will allow us to identify candidate mutations under selection. The experiments are replicated and fitness of the populations and individual clones at different time can be assessed. In addition, mutations can be traced over time estimating the probability and time to fixation of adaptive changes, providing a picture of the dynamics of adaptive change, in both interacting populations. The findings related to this project will have broad implications for our understanding of how communities evolve and its consequences for population and community stability as well as for the maintenance of diversity.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants