Organized Oral Session
Hybrid Session
Taylor Zallek
Graduate Student
University of Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh, United States
Cara Faillace
Postdoctoral Research Associate
University of Pittsburgh, United States
Biological invasions pose significant threats to environments, economies, and human health worldwide causing a pressing need to better understand and predict invasion dynamics. Historically, researchers have focused their attention towards understanding the ecological forces behind invasions. However, the evolutionary causes and consequences of invasions often remain overlooked or difficult to accurately measure in nature from observational data alone. While evolutionary signatures during invasions are becoming more evident, understanding the relative contributions of these changes in the genetic composition of invading populations and invaded communities to invasion success or failure remains difficult. Evolution could be playing significant or marginal roles in the establishment, spread, and impact of invasions, but without proper experimental controls we are left inferring causal links between evolution and any ecological outcomes. Using a variety of study systems across a wide range of taxa, researchers can manipulate, replicate, and control aspects of evolution to more accurately quantify its role during invasions. Experimental evolution offers a solution to better understand and illuminate evolution’s role in dictating successful invasion. Similarly, it offers researchers insight into crucial early and long-term invasion dynamics as well as failed invasions, which are difficult to detect and measure in nature, but important for understanding abiotic and biotic resilience to invasion. Experimental evolution not only allows us to better understand the evolutionary dynamics occurring in invasive populations, but also allows researchers the opportunity to identify how community members might evolve (or co-evolve) in response to invaders. Here, we’ve assembled a diverse group of researchers all utilizing experimental evolution in different ways to gain a more precise picture of the invasion phenomena. The presented research ranges from the role of invader evolution in changing climates, evolution through space across an invaded range, evolution by parasites and parasitoids to novel hosts, and evolution to (and by) resident community members experiencing introduced competitors. Our goal is to not only highlight the significance of evolution during invasion but also encourage future researchers to embrace this empirical methodology and interdisciplinary focus to help us better comprehend the true complexity of invasions.
Presenting Author: Taylor Zallek – University of Pittsburgh
Co-author: Martin M. Turcotte – University of Pittsburgh
Presenting Author: Marianna Szucs – Michigan State University
Co-author: Shelley Linder – Michigan State University
Co-author: Benjamin J. M. Jarrett – Lund University
Presenting Author: Giacomo Zilio – University of Montpellier
Co-author: Manasven Raina – University of Montpellier
Co-author: Charlène Sanchez – University of Montpellier
Co-author: Jhelam Deshpande – University of Montpellier
Co-author: Julien Lombard – University of Lille
Co-author: Claire Gougat-Barbera – University of Montpellier
Co-author: Oliver Kaltz – University of Montpellier
Presenting Author: Tarmo Ketola – University of Jyväskylä
Co-author: Kati Saarinen – University of Jyväskylä
Co-author: Leena Lindström – University of Jyväskylä
Presenting Author: Cara A. Faillace – University of Pittsburgh
Co-author: Rita L. Grunberg, PhD – University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Co-author: Peter J. Morin, PhD – Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
Presenting Author: Lynn Govaert – IGB