Grant Peter R, Grant B Rosemary, Huey Raymond B, Johnson Marc T J, Knoll Andrew H, Schmitt Johanna
Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA
Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA.
Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 2017 Jun 19;372(1723). doi: 10.1098/rstb.2016.0146.
Extreme events can be a major driver of evolutionary change over geological and contemporary timescales. Outstanding examples are evolutionary diversification following mass extinctions caused by extreme volcanism or asteroid impact. The evolution of organisms in contemporary time is typically viewed as a gradual and incremental process that results from genetic change, environmental perturbation or both. However, contemporary environments occasionally experience strong perturbations such as heat waves, floods, hurricanes, droughts and pest outbreaks. These extreme events set up strong selection pressures on organisms, and are small-scale analogues of the dramatic changes documented in the fossil record. Because extreme events are rare, almost by definition, they are difficult to study. So far most attention has been given to their ecological rather than to their evolutionary consequences. We review several case studies of contemporary evolution in response to two types of extreme environmental perturbations, episodic (pulse) or prolonged (press). Evolution is most likely to occur when extreme events alter community composition. We encourage investigators to be prepared for evolutionary change in response to rare events during long-term field studies.This article is part of the themed issue 'Behavioural, ecological and evolutionary responses to extreme climatic events'.
极端事件可能是地质和当代时间尺度上进化变化的主要驱动力。显著的例子是极端火山活动或小行星撞击导致的大规模灭绝后的进化多样化。当代生物的进化通常被视为一个由基因变化、环境扰动或两者共同作用导致的渐进和增量过程。然而，当代环境偶尔会经历强烈的扰动，如热浪、洪水、飓风、干旱和害虫爆发。这些极端事件对生物施加了强大的选择压力，并且是化石记录中所记载的剧烈变化的小规模类似情况。由于极端事件几乎从定义上来说就是罕见的，所以它们很难被研究。到目前为止，大部分注意力都集中在它们的生态后果而非进化后果上。我们回顾了几个当代进化对两种类型的极端环境扰动（间歇性（脉冲式）或持续性（压力式））做出响应的案例研究。当极端事件改变群落组成时，进化最有可能发生。我们鼓励研究人员在长期实地研究中为应对罕见事件导致的进化变化做好准备。本文是主题为“对极端气候事件的行为、生态和进化响应”特刊的一部分。
