Department of Aquatic Ecology, Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW), Wageningen, The Netherlands.
Department of Ecology and Environmental Science, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden.
Ecol Lett. 2015 Jun;18(6):553-62. doi: 10.1111/ele.12436. Epub 2015 Apr 27.
Humans alter biogeochemical cycles of essential elements such as phosphorus (P). Prediction of ecosystem consequences of altered elemental cycles requires integration of ecology, evolutionary biology and the framework of ecological stoichiometry. We studied micro-evolutionary responses of a herbivorous rotifer to P-limited food and the potential consequences for its population demography and for ecosystem properties. We subjected field-derived, replicate rotifer populations to P-deficient and P-replete algal food, and studied adaptation in common garden transplant experiments after 103 and 209 days of selection. When fed P-limited food, populations with a P-limitation selection history suffered 37% lower mortality, reached twice the steady state biomass, and reduced algae by 40% compared to populations with a P-replete selection history. Adaptation involved no change in rotifer elemental composition but reduced investment in sex. This study demonstrates potentially strong eco-evolutionary feedbacks from shifting elemental balances to ecosystem properties, including grazing pressure and the ratio of grazer:producer biomass.
人类改变了磷（P）等必需元素的生物地球化学循环。要预测元素循环变化对生态系统的影响，需要整合生态学、进化生物学和生态化学计量学框架。我们研究了一种草食性轮虫对磷限制食物的微进化反应，以及其对种群动态和生态系统特性的潜在影响。我们用缺乏磷和富含磷的藻类食物处理了从野外获得的、具有代表性的轮虫种群，并在 103 天和 209 天的选择后进行了共同花园移植实验中的适应性研究。当喂食磷限制食物时，具有磷限制选择史的种群死亡率降低 37%，达到稳态生物量的两倍，并将藻类减少 40%，而具有磷充足选择史的种群则没有。适应性变化涉及轮虫元素组成的变化，但减少了对性别的投资。本研究表明，从元素平衡向生态系统特性（包括放牧压力和食草动物：生产者生物量的比例）的转移可能会产生强烈的生态进化反馈。
