School of Biological Sciences, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, UK.
School of Biological Sciences, Institute of Ecology and Evolution, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK.
J Anim Ecol. 2023 Jun;92(6):1113-1123. doi: 10.1111/1365-2656.13930. Epub 2023 Apr 23.
Dispersal is a central life history trait that affects the ecological and evolutionary dynamics of populations and communities. The recent use of experimental evolution for the study of dispersal is a promising avenue for demonstrating valuable proofs of concept, bringing insight into alternative dispersal strategies and trade-offs, and testing the repeatability of evolutionary outcomes. Practical constraints restrict experimental evolution studies of dispersal to a set of typically small, short-lived organisms reared in artificial laboratory conditions. Here, we argue that despite these restrictions, inferences from these studies can reinforce links between theoretical predictions and empirical observations and advance our understanding of the eco-evolutionary consequences of dispersal. We illustrate how applying an integrative framework of theory, experimental evolution and natural systems can improve our understanding of dispersal evolution under more complex and realistic biological scenarios, such as the role of biotic interactions and complex dispersal syndromes.
扩散是一个核心的生活史特征，它影响着种群和群落的生态和进化动态。最近，实验进化被用于研究扩散，这为展示有价值的概念验证提供了一个很有前途的途径，使我们深入了解替代的扩散策略和权衡，并检验进化结果的可重复性。实际的限制将扩散的实验进化研究局限于一组通常较小的、短寿命的生物体，它们在人工实验室条件下饲养。在这里，我们认为，尽管存在这些限制，这些研究的推论可以加强理论预测和经验观察之间的联系，并促进我们对扩散的生态进化后果的理解。我们举例说明了如何应用理论、实验进化和自然系统的综合框架来改善我们对更复杂和现实的生物场景下扩散进化的理解，例如生物相互作用和复杂的扩散综合征的作用。
