Evolutionary Ecology

Evolutionary ecology examines how evolutionary processes—variation, inheritance and selection—shape the ecological patterns of species and communities, and in turn how ecological interactions influence evolutionary trajectories. Far from operating in isolation, the ecology of populations, species interactions and ecosystem functions continually feed back into adaptive change at the genetic and phenotypic levels. Key themes include the emergence and maintenance of biodiversity, the dynamics of adaptation to novel environments, the co‐evolution of competing or mutualistic species, and the macroevolutionary consequences of mass extinctions and radiations. Evolutionary ecologists explore questions such as how environmental heterogeneity and species’ life‐history trade‐offs govern rates of diversification, why certain traits repeatedly arise in independent lineages (convergent evolution), and how gene flow, hybridization and genomic architecture contribute to rapid adaptation. Research spans scales from microbial populations evolving antibiotic resistance in days, to deep‐time transitions that reshaped ocean faunas. By integrating ecological experiments, population genetics, comparative genomics and field observations, evolutionary ecology offers a synthesis that informs conservation biology, invasion biology and our understanding of ecosystem resilience under global change.

Research from Nature Portfolio

Large inversions spanning hundreds of genes have been shown to underlie rapid, parallel adaptation in a globally invasive weed. In Ambrosia artemisiifolia, chromosomal rearrangements form “haploblocks” that drive shifts in flowering phenology and stress tolerance across independent introductions, accounting for a disproportionate share of adaptive variance and exhibiting striking frequency changes over time and space.

A new example of homoploid hybrid speciation has been documented in Heliconius butterflies, where a hybrid lineage persists in sympatry with both parents. Genome‐wide analyses reveal that although 99% of the genome is shared and continuously homogenized by gene flow, tiny genomic “islands” of divergence—encoding wing pattern, mating cues, host‐plant preference and other ecological traits—allow the hybrid to occupy a distinct adaptive peak and remain reproductively isolated.

Structural variants have also been linked to inter‐sexual mimicry and female‐limited colour polymorphism in damselflies. Comparative genomics identify two sex‐linked structural haplotypes, mobilized by transposable elements, that produce male‐mimic and inter‐sex mimics in closely related species. These variants form a trans‐species polymorphism maintained by balancing selection, illustrating how a handful of regulatory changes can generate complex sexually antagonistic polymorphisms.

Research from all publishers

Following its invasion of new climate zones, the thrips pest Thrips palmi has evolved repeated thermal tolerance adaptations via chromosome inversions. A stepping‐stone dispersal pattern across subtropical to temperate regions is mirrored by clinal variation in critical thermal maximum (CTmax), with three inversions explaining nearly 80% of inter‐population variance in heat tolerance, underscoring the role of large‐effect structural variants in rapid climate adaptation.

An outbred population of the oriental fruit fly, Bactrocera dorsalis, demonstrates how population mixing enhances invasiveness via shifts in the gut microbiome. Admixture increases heterozygosity and enriches bacterial taxa that up‐regulate amino acid metabolism, leading to higher biomass, longevity and fecundity. This work highlights the interplay between host genetics and microbial symbionts in facilitating biological invasions.

Evolutionary Ecology publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in evolutionary ecology across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Balancing selection: A mode of natural selection that maintains multiple alleles at a locus within a population, often through heterozygote advantage or negative frequency‐dependent interactions.

Chromosomal inversion: A structural rearrangement in which a segment of a chromosome is flipped end to end, suppressing recombination and preserving linked alleles in a “haploblock.”

Eco‐evolutionary feedback: A reciprocal interaction in which ecological changes driven by organismal traits alter selective pressures, which in turn drive further trait evolution.

Supergene: A genomic region of tightly linked genes that collectively control complex phenotypes and are inherited as a unit.

Adaptive introgression: The transfer of beneficial alleles between species or populations via hybridization and backcrossing, facilitating adaptation to novel environments.

References

1. Rapid and Repeated Climate Adaptation Involving Chromosome Inversions following Invasion of an Insect. Molecular Biology and Evolution (2024).
2. Large haploblocks underlie rapid adaptation in the invasive weed Ambrosia artemisiifolia. Nature Communications (2023).
3. Hybrid speciation driven by multilocus introgression of ecological traits. Nature (2024).
4. The genomics and evolution of inter-sexual mimicry and female-limited polymorphisms in damselflies. Nature Ecology & Evolution (2023).
5. Population mixing mediates the intestinal flora composition and facilitates invasiveness in a globally invasive fruit fly. Microbiome (2023).