Eco-Evolutionary Dynamics

In this article, concepts and literature are introduced that focus on the dynamic interaction between ecology and evolution. By eco-evolutionary dynamics, we here refer to the broad field of research on how ecology impacts evolutionary dynamics and evolution impacts ecological dynamics, with an emphasis on the latter, as this is the aspect that was for a long time under-appreciated. These dynamics require relevant evolutionary changes to occur at similar temporal and spatial scales as ecological changes and influence traits that affect ecological processes and dynamics. Rapid evolution is therefore core to eco-evolutionary dynamics. In what follows, we introduce the concept of rapid evolution, cover its brief history, discuss definitions of eco-evolutionary dynamics, and provide key literature examples of evolution affecting population, community, and ecosystem ecology. We devote special attention to some aspects that have been studied less, such as the importance of space and spatial scaling together with the temporal dimension, the importance to consider the full spectrum of species interactions, and the need to include the full dimensionality of the ecological arena in eco-evolutionary dynamics studies (e.g., multiple species, natural settings) as they may in important ways constrain eco-evolutionary dynamics. We highlight how genomic tools and the underlying genomic architecture can contribute to the study of eco-evolutionary dynamics. This chapter focuses on eco-evolutionary dynamics that are intrinsically linked to ecological processes and relationships of organisms to the environment, and does not focus on co-evolution.