scholarly journals Molecular signatures of resource competition: clonal interference favors ecological diversification and can lead to incipient speciation

Evolution ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Massimo Amicone ◽  
Isabel Gordo
Keyword(s):  
Resource Competition ◽  
Molecular Signatures ◽  
Clonal Interference ◽  
Incipient Speciation ◽  
Ecological Diversification

scholarly journals Molecular signatures of resource competition: clonal interference drives the emergence of ecotypes

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Massimo Amicone ◽  
Isabel Gordo
Keyword(s):  
Evolutionary Dynamics ◽  
Resource Competition ◽  
Ecological Model ◽  
De Novo ◽  
Clonal Interference ◽  
Microbial Ecosystems ◽  
Difficult Challenge ◽  
Asexual Populations ◽  
Analytical Approaches ◽  
Different Levels

AbstractMicrobial ecosystems harbor an astonishing diversity that can persist for long times. To understand how such diversity is generated and maintained, ecological and evolutionary processes need to be integrated at similar timescales, but this remains a difficult challenge. Here, we extend an ecological model of resource competition to allow for evolution via de novo mutation, focusing on large and rapidly adapting asexual populations. Through numerical and analytical approaches, we characterize adaptation and diversity at different levels and show how clonal interference – the interaction between simultaneously emerging lineages – shapes the eco-evolutionary dynamics. We find that large mutational inputs can foster diversification under sympatry, increasing the probability that phenotypically and genetically distinct clusters arise and stably coexist, constituting an initial form of community. Our findings have implications beyond microbial populations, providing novel insights about the interplay between ecology and evolution in clonal populations.

scholarly journals Intraspecific competition drives increased resource use diversity within a natural population

2006 ◽  
Vol 274 (1611) ◽  
pp. 839-844 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard Svanbäck ◽  
Daniel I Bolnick
Keyword(s):  
Population Density ◽  
Intraspecific Competition ◽  
Resource Competition ◽  
Prey Availability ◽  
Natural Populations ◽  
Alternative Prey ◽  
Ecological Diversification ◽  
Evolutionary Diversification ◽  
Density Control ◽  
Niche Variation

Resource competition is thought to play a major role in driving evolutionary diversification. For instance, in ecological character displacement, coexisting species evolve to use different resources, reducing the effects of interspecific competition. It is thought that a similar diversifying effect might occur in response to competition among members of a single species. Individuals may mitigate the effects of intraspecific competition by switching to use alternative resources not used by conspecific competitors. This diversification is the driving force in some models of sympatric speciation, but has not been demonstrated in natural populations. Here, we present experimental evidence confirming that competition drives ecological diversification within natural populations. We manipulated population density of three-spine sticklebacks ( Gasterosteus aculeatus ) in enclosures in a natural lake. Increased population density led to reduced prey availability, causing individuals to add alternative prey types to their diet. Since phenotypically different individuals added different alternative prey, diet variation among individuals increased relative to low-density control enclosures. Competition also increased the diet–morphology correlations, so that the frequency-dependent interactions were stronger in high competition. These results not only confirm that resource competition promotes niche variation within populations, but also show that this increased diversity can arise via behavioural plasticity alone, without the evolutionary changes commonly assumed by theory.

scholarly journals Incipient speciation in sympatric Nicaraguan crater lake cichlid fishes: sexual selection versus ecological diversification

2000 ◽  
Vol 267 (1458) ◽  
pp. 2133-2141 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anthony B Wilson ◽  
Katharina Noack–Kunnmann ◽  
Axel Meyer
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Selection ◽  
Crater Lake ◽  
Incipient Speciation ◽  
Ecological Diversification ◽  
Cichlid Fishes

Faculty Opinions recommendation of Molecular signatures of thyroid follicular neoplasia.

2010 ◽  
Author(s):  
Branca Cavaco ◽  
Rute Tomaz ◽  
Jaime Miguel Gomes Pita
Keyword(s):  
Molecular Signatures
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