Deciphering the Interdependence between Ecological and Evolutionary Networks

Carlos J Melián; Blake Matthews; Cecilia S de Andreazzi; Jorge P Rodríguez; Luke J Harmon; Miguel A Fortuna

doi:10.1016/j.tree.2018.04.009

Deciphering the Interdependence between Ecological and Evolutionary Networks

Trends Ecol Evol. 2018 Jul;33(7):504-512. doi: 10.1016/j.tree.2018.04.009. Epub 2018 May 24.

Authors

Carlos J Melián¹, Blake Matthews², Cecilia S de Andreazzi³, Jorge P Rodríguez⁴, Luke J Harmon⁵, Miguel A Fortuna⁶

Affiliations

¹ Fish Ecology and Evolution Department, Center for Ecology, Evolution and Biogeochemistry, Eawag, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, Switzerland. Electronic address: carlos.melian@eawag.ch.
² Department of Aquatic Ecology, Center for Ecology, Evolution and Biogeochemistry, Eawag, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, Switzerland.
³ Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
⁴ Instituto de Física Interdisciplinar y Sistemas Complejos (IFISC), Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC)-Universitat de les Illes Balears (UIB), Palma de Mallorca, Spain.
⁵ Fish Ecology and Evolution Department, Center for Ecology, Evolution and Biogeochemistry, Eawag, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, Switzerland; Department of Biological Sciences, University of Idaho, Moscow, ID, USA.
⁶ Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, University of Zurich, Switzerland.

PMID: 29804936
DOI: 10.1016/j.tree.2018.04.009

Abstract

Biological systems consist of elements that interact within and across hierarchical levels. For example, interactions among genes determine traits of individuals, competitive and cooperative interactions among individuals influence population dynamics, and interactions among species affect the dynamics of communities and ecosystem processes. Such systems can be represented as hierarchical networks, but can have complex dynamics when interdependencies among levels of the hierarchy occur. We propose integrating ecological and evolutionary processes in hierarchical networks to explore interdependencies in biological systems. We connect gene networks underlying predator-prey trait distributions to food webs. Our approach addresses longstanding questions about how complex traits and intraspecific trait variation affect the interdependencies among biological levels and the stability of meta-ecosystems.

Keywords: Complex trait; Epistasis; Food webs; Gene interaction networks; Interaction strength; Meta-ecosystems; Metacommunity; Pleiotropy.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

MeSH terms

Animals
Biological Evolution*
Ecosystem*
Food Chain*
Gene Regulatory Networks*
Invertebrates / genetics
Invertebrates / physiology
Models, Biological*
Plant Physiological Phenomena / genetics
Vertebrates / genetics
Vertebrates / physiology