Metapopulation Biology Goes Evolutionary (original) (raw)
Related papers
The Concepts of Population and Metapopulation in Evolutionary Biology and Ecology
This paper aims to illustrate one of the primary goals of the philosophy of biology⎯namely, the examination of central concepts in biological theory and practice⎯through an analysis of the concepts of population and metapopulation in evolutionary biology and ecology. I will first provide a brief background for my analysis, followed by a characterization of my proposed concepts: the causal interactionist concepts of population and metapopulation. I will then illustrate how the concepts apply to six cases that differ in their population structure; this analysis will also serve to flesh out and defend the concepts a bit more. Finally, I will respond to some possible questions that my analysis may have raised and then conclude briefly.
From arctic lemmings to adaptive dynamics: Charles Elton's legacy in population ecology
Biological Reviews, 2007
We shall examine the impact of Charles S. Elton's 1924 article on periodic fluctuations in animal populations on the development of modern population ecology. We argue that his impact has been substantial and that during the past 75 years of research on multi-annual periodic fluctuations in numbers of voles, lemmings, hares, lynx and game animals he has contributed much to the contemporary understanding of the causes and consequences of population regulation. Elton was convinced that the cause of the regular fluctuations was climatic variation. To support this conclusion, he examined long-term population data then available. Despite his firm belief in a climatic cause of the self-repeating periodic dynamics which many species display, Elton was insightful and far-sighted enough to outline many of the other hypotheses since put forward as an explanation for the enigmatic long-term dynamics of some animal populations. An interesting, but largely neglected aspect in Elton's paper is that it ends with speculation regarding the evolutionary consequences of periodic population fluctuations. The modern understanding of these issues will also be scrutinised here. In population ecology, Elton's 1924 paper has spawned a whole industry of research on populations displaying multi-annual periodicity. Despite the efforts of numerous research teams and individuals focusing on the origins of multi-annual population cycles, and despite the early availability of different explanatory hypotheses, we are still lacking rigorous tests of some of these hypotheses and, consequently, a consensus of the causes of periodic fluctuations in animal populations. Although Elton would have been happy to see so much effort spent on cyclic populations, we also argue that it is unfortunate if this focus on a special case of population dynamics should distract our attention from more general problems in population and community dynamics.
Metapopulation and its applications in conservation biology
Metapopulation, originally pioneered by Levins, refers to a series or set of local populations, each existing on a patch of suitable habitat that is separated from other occupied patches by unsuitable terrain. Each population has its own relatively independent dynamics. The long-term persistence and stability of the metapopulation arise from a balance between population extinction and recolonisation. Although metapopulation concepts are not commonly fit to real world conditions and there are still questions about the generality of metapopulation dynamics and the applicability of metapopulation models to specific problems in conservation, they have contributed significant insights into conservation and have inspired field studies focused on collecting key data on demography and movement. Moreover, metapopulation concepts have had positive effects in conservation research, especially, as interest in metapopulation dynamics has prompted renewed research concerning dispersal capacities ...
CHAPTER 19. ADAPTATIONS OF ECOSYSTEMS
MACROEVOLUTIONARY SYSTEMATICS OF STREPTOTRICHACEAE OF THE BRYOPHYTA AND APPLICATION TO ECOSYSTEM THERMODYNAMIC STABILITY. , 2017
Evaluation of ecosystems using entropic macroevolutionary method — It is easy to use metaphor and analogy, and make principles and generalities hard-won in other fields apply to one's own innocent study area. The only test for whether these geologic-time and dissilient-genera applications are valuable is to see if they work. That is, if they explain better and predict more accurately than does orthodox, perhaps more limited, immediate crisis and species-based modeling. This chapter presents a new way to look at present crisis in biodiversity. Ecosystem evolution is a metaevolution—evolution at a higher level than that of species. There are parallels with directional and stabilizing selection, competition, and doubtless many other theoretic constructions of standard evolutionary theory that may be examined in future research.
Adaptation is a concept central to evolutionary biology that explains why organisms fi t their environment according to natural selection. An adaptation can be defi ned as a novel character appearing in an organism and maintained by natural selection. This concept must therefore be studied at two different levels, within a phylogenetic analysis for inferring relative novelty and within a populational analysis to assess the role of natural selection. By addition of these two study levels, ad hoc or tautological proposals of adaptive characters may be avoided. The related concepts of preadaptation or exaptation feature the importance of considering both a structure and its function to better understand the evolution of a character. The structure can remain stable and the function can change, subsequently contributing to an evolutionary innovation.
Introduction: Between ecology and evolutionary biology
Journal of the History of Biology, 1986
Ecology emerged as a self-conscious discipline during the last decade of the nineteenth century, growing out of a heterogeneous mix of fi'elds. Indeed, its roots are as different as field natural history and expefimental physiology.' Given that ecology was (and remains) such a heterogeneous enterprise, it is unlikely that any single perspective will suffice to describe its history. Several very different approaches have already proved fruitful. Ronald Tobey has discussed the changing importance of applied versus nonmission-oriented research in the development of ecology. Sharon Kingsland has emphasized the relative merits of theoretical versus empirical research at various points in the history of the discipline. Robert McIntosh has taken the very heterogeneity of the discipline as his perspective on its history.2 The papers that follow approach the history of ecology from yet another standpoint, namely, the changing role of evolutionary theory in the solution of ecological problems. In On the Origin of Species Darwin frequently brought evolu-1. Robert McIntosh, 7The Background of' L coloy (Cambridge: University
Genetica, 2001
Under what conditions might organisms be capable of rapid adaptive evolution? We reviewed published studies documenting contemporary adaptations in natural populations and looked for general patterns in the population ecological causes. We found that studies of contemporary adaptation fall into two general settings: (1) colonization of new environments that established newly adapted populations, and (2) local adaptations within the context of a heterogeneous environments and metapopulation structure. Local ecological processes associated with colonizations and introductions included exposure to: (1) a novel host or food resource; (2) a new biophysical environment;