Evolution Impacts Environment, Study Finds

Biologists have long known that ecology, the interaction between organisms and their environment, plays a significant role in forming new species and in modifying living ones. The traditional view is that ecology shapes evolution. The environment defines a template for the process of evolution: natural selection shapes organisms to fit that template. Some studies suggest, however, that evolutionary processes reciprocate by influencing ecology.

Now biologists present evidence that ecology and evolution are indeed reciprocally interacting processes, a fundamental shift in scientists' understanding of the relationship between evolution and ecology.

"By documenting that rapid, adaptive evolution within single species can cause substantial changes in ecosystem structure and function, this study makes a significant contribution to merging ecological and evolutionary theory," said Alan Tessier, program director in the National Science Foundation (NSF)'s Division of Environmental Biology, which funded the research.

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Image credit: Paul Bentzen