Eco-evolutionary dynamics of range expansion
Predicting how quickly invasive species will spread across new landscapes, or native species will expand their ranges with climate change, requires understanding the speed at which species move across landscapes. This problem is complicated by evolution on the leading edge of the spread, which we have found to be a driving mechanism behind the speed of plants expanding their ranges, and by heterogeneous and fragmented landscapes that contain both favorable and unfavorable habitat.
We demonstrated that evolution can accelerate population expansion and can do so predictably using replicated experimental landscapes in the greenhouse with Arabidopsis thaliana (in collaboration with Jonathan Levine (Princeton)). However, experiments in other systems found that evolution during range expansion reduced our ability to predict expansion speed. In collaboration with Tom Miller (Rice) and Ruth Hufbauer (Colorado State), we proposed hypotheses for how evolution can alter variability in speed between replicate experimental populations. Moving forward, we are evaluating these developments empirically, both in the greenhouse and in the field. In addition, with a network of interdisciplinary collaborators supported by the Fields Institute for Research in Mathematical Sciences (Toronto), we are developing mathematical approaches for predicting expansion speed that incorporate both ecological and evolutionary dynamics.
We are also interested in the combined effect of intrinsic and environmental variation on the evolution of spreading populations. Our experimental and theoretical work reveals that selection favors different traits depending on the distance between favorable patches, and this corresponds with differences in expansion speed between populations. We are using both theoretical and empirical approaches to broaden our understanding of how landscape structure can alter spread dynamics via evolution at the leading edge.
We demonstrated that evolution can accelerate population expansion and can do so predictably using replicated experimental landscapes in the greenhouse with Arabidopsis thaliana (in collaboration with Jonathan Levine (Princeton)). However, experiments in other systems found that evolution during range expansion reduced our ability to predict expansion speed. In collaboration with Tom Miller (Rice) and Ruth Hufbauer (Colorado State), we proposed hypotheses for how evolution can alter variability in speed between replicate experimental populations. Moving forward, we are evaluating these developments empirically, both in the greenhouse and in the field. In addition, with a network of interdisciplinary collaborators supported by the Fields Institute for Research in Mathematical Sciences (Toronto), we are developing mathematical approaches for predicting expansion speed that incorporate both ecological and evolutionary dynamics.
We are also interested in the combined effect of intrinsic and environmental variation on the evolution of spreading populations. Our experimental and theoretical work reveals that selection favors different traits depending on the distance between favorable patches, and this corresponds with differences in expansion speed between populations. We are using both theoretical and empirical approaches to broaden our understanding of how landscape structure can alter spread dynamics via evolution at the leading edge.