Experimental evolution in the wild: The power of LTER experiments for understanding evolution
Channel: US LTER
Date: 23/11/2020

Presented at the 2020 Ecological Society of America Meeting as part of the LTER 40th Anniversary Symposium

Dr. Jennifer Rudgers
Adaptation in nature is more complex than in controlled laboratory experiments with rapidly cycling organisms. Theory predicts that the community context will alter evolutionary responses to environmental change, and interactions among agents of selection may constrain or accelerate selection and the adaptive responses to new environmental challenges. Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) sites are excellent laboratories to study evolution in the wild. Long-term experiments, replicated at the scale of populations, provide platforms for detecting complex evolutionary responses in diverse terrestrial and aquatic species. This research can inform both fundamental questions and management decisions as we seek to understand whether and at what rate species will adapt to environmental change.