Predator coevolution and prey trait variability determine species coexistence.

ABSTRACT: Predation is one of the key ecological mechanisms allowing species coexistence and influencing biological diversity. However, ecological processes are subject to contemporary evolutionary change, and the degree to which predation affects diversity ultimately depends on the interplay between evolution and ecology. Furthermore, ecological interactions that influence species coexistence can be altered by reciprocal coevolution especially in the case of antagonistic interactions such as predation or parasitism. Here we used an experimental evolution approach to test for the role of initial trait variation in the prey population and coevolutionary history of the predator in the ecological dynamics of a two-species bacterial community predated by a ciliate. We found that initial trait variation

SUBMITTER: Scheuerl T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6532513 | biostudies-literature | 2019 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature