Under niche construction: an operational bridge between ecology, evolution, and ecosystem science

All living organisms modify their biotic and abiotic environment. Niche construction theory posits that organism-mediated modifications to the environment can change selection pressures and influence the evolutionary trajectories of natural populations. While there is broad support for this proposit...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Ecological monographs 2014-05, Vol.84 (2), p.245-263
Main Authors: Matthews, Blake, De Meester, Luc, Jones, Clive G, Ibelings, Bas W, Bouma, Tjeerd J, Nuutinen, Visa, de Koppel, Johan van, Odling-Smee, John
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
alternative stable states
coevolution
Comparative studies
CONCEPTS & SYNTHESIS: EMPHASIZING NEW IDEAS TO STIMULATE RESEARCH IN ECOLOGY
diffuse coevolution
eco-evolutionary dynamics
eco-evolutionary feedbacks
Ecological competition
Ecological engineering
Ecological genetics
Ecological niches
Ecology
ecosystem engineering
Ecosystem studies
Ecosystems
Evolution
Marine ecology
niche construction
Performance evaluation
Population biology
Population ecology
Sustainable construction
trophic interactions
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Summary:All living organisms modify their biotic and abiotic environment. Niche construction theory posits that organism-mediated modifications to the environment can change selection pressures and influence the evolutionary trajectories of natural populations. While there is broad support for this proposition in general, there is considerable uncertainty about how niche construction is related to other similar concepts in ecology and evolution. Comparative studies dealing with certain aspects of niche construction are increasingly common, but there is a troubling lack of experimental tests of the core concepts of niche construction theory. Here, we propose an operational framework to evaluate comparative and experimental evidence of the evolutionary consequences of niche construction, and suggest how such research can improve our understanding of ecological and evolutionary dynamics in ecosystems. We advocate for a shift toward explicit experimental tests of how organism-mediated environmental change can influence the selection pressures underlying evolutionary responses, as well as targeted field-based comparative research to identify the mode of evolution by niche construction and assess its importance in natural populations.
ISSN:0012-9615
1557-7015
DOI:10.1890/13-0953.1