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  6. A Field Experiment Demonstrating Plant Life-History Evolution and Its Eco-Evolutionary Feedback to Seed Predator Populations

A Field Experiment Demonstrating Plant Life-History Evolution and Its Eco-Evolutionary Feedback to Seed Predator Populations

File(s)
A_Field_Experiment_Demonstrating_Plant_Life-History_Evolution.pdf (552.25 KB)
Permanent Link(s)
https://hdl.handle.net/1813/66733
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EEB Papers - Anurag Agrawal
Author
Agrawal, Anurag A.
Johnson, Mark T.
Hastings, Amy P.
Maron, John L.
Abstract

The extent to which evolutionary change occurs in a predictable manner under field conditions and how evolutionary changes feed back to influence ecological dynamics are fundamental, yet unresolved, questions. To address these issues, we established eight replicate populations of native common evening primrose (Oenothera biennis). Each population was planted with 18 genotypes in identical frequency. By tracking genotype frequencies with microsatellite DNA markers over the subsequent three years (up to three generations, ?5,000 genotyped plants), we show rapid and consistent evolution of two heritable plant life-history traits (shorter life span and later flowering time). This rapid evolution was only partially the result of differential seed production; genotypic variation in seed germination also contributed to the observed evolutionary response. Since evening primrose genotypes exhibited heritable variation for resistance to insect herbivores, which was related to flowering time, we predicted that evolutionary changes in genotype frequencies would feed back to influence populations of a seed predator moth that specializes on O. biennis. By the conclusion of the experiment, variation in the genotypic composition among our eight replicate field populations was highly predictive of moth abundance. These results demonstrate how rapid evolution in field populations of a native plant can influence ecological interactions.

Journal / Series
The American Naturalist
Sponsorship
This study was supported by a U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) grant to A.A.A. (EAGER DEB-0950231), which was made possible by the vision of L. Gough. M.T.J.J. was supported by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, and J.L.M. was supported by NSF grants DEB-0614406 and DEB-0915409.
Date Issued
2013-05
Publisher
University of Chicago Press
Keywords
field experiment
•
flowering phenology
•
longevity
•
natural selection
•
plant resistance
•
plant-herbivore interactions
•
rapid evolution
Related Version
Agrawal, A. A., Johnson, M. T. J., Hastings, A. P., & Maron, J. L. (2013). A Field Experiment Demonstrating Plant Life-History Evolution and Its Eco-Evolutionary Feedback to Seed Predator Populations. The American Naturalist, 181(S1), S35–S45.
Related DOI
https://doi.org/10.1086/666727
Type
article

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