Data from: Interplay of trophic relaxation and directional selection shapes eco-evolutionary responses to selective harvest in predator-prey systems
Data files
Aug 12, 2025 version files 279.16 KB
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Directional_selection_(Figure_3).xlsx
18.42 KB
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Joint_effect_(Figure_4).xlsx
222.28 KB
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Joint_effect_(Figure_5).xlsx
19.71 KB
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README.md
2.63 KB
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Trophic_relaxation_(Figure_2).xlsx
16.12 KB
Abstract
Fisheries-Induced Evolution (FIE) describes the evolutionary changes in life-history traits exhibited by target species in response to selective fishing pressures. Current studies predominantly focus on single-species contexts, often assuming stationary natural selection and neglecting the impact of interacting species. In this study, using an eco-evolutionary predator-prey model, we demonstrate that the presence of interacting species can fundamentally modify, or even reverse, the evolutionary responses of target species to fisheries. Specifically, we show that target species can evolve to exhibit larger body sizes, even when fisheries preferentially target large individuals. A novel mechanism is proposed to elucidate this counterintuitive outcome. Fisheries influence the evolutionary adaptation of target species through both direct and indirect pathways. The direct pathway, termed “directional selection”, occurs when fisheries selectively target individuals with specific characteristics, thereby distorting the fitness landscape, akin to processes observed in single-species systems. The indirect pathway, referred to as “trophic relaxation”, depicts that fisheries weaken the predator-prey trophic link, subsequently altering the coevolutionary dynamics between predator and prey. These pathways can operate concurrently, leading to either antagonistic or synergistic evolutionary outcomes, which depend on the coevolutionary dynamics of the predator-prey system, harvest patterns, and the selectivity of fishing gear. Our findings highlight that the evolutionary responses of target species to fisheries selection are variable and significantly influenced by both the interactions among species and fishing activities.
https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.zcrjdfnq6
Description of the data and file structure
We supply an R script ("Simulation code.R") and four xlsx files containing simulation data for Figures 2, 3, 4, and 5.
Files and variables
File: Trophic_relaxation_(Figure_2).xlsx
Description: These files provide the population densities (x, y) and body sizes (u, v) at the final equilibrium state under the influence of trophic relaxation (de).
Variables:
The columns "x1", "y1", "u1", and "v1" refer to the population densities and body sizes in the predator-targeted scenarios.
The columns "x2", "y2", "u2", and "v2" refer to the population densities and body sizes in the prey-harvested scenarios.
File: Directional_selection_(Figure_3).xlsx
Description: This file provides the population densities (x, y) and body sizes (u, v) at the final equilibrium state under the influence of directional selection (ds).
Variables:
The columns "x1", "y1", "u1", and "v1" refer to the population densities and body sizes in the predator-targeted scenarios.
The columns "x2", "y2", "u2", and "v2" refer to the population densities and body sizes in the prey-harvested scenarios.
File: Joint_effect_(Figure_4).xlsx
Description:
This file is composed of two sheets, titled "Predator-harvested scenarios" and "Prey-harvested scenarios".
This file provides the population densities (x, y) and body sizes (u, v) at the final equilibrium state under the influence of varying combinations between trophic relaxation (de) and directional selection (ds).
Variables:
The columns "x1", "y1", "u1", and "v1" refer to the population densities and body sizes in the predator-targeted scenarios.
The columns "x2", "y2", "u2", and "v2" refer to the population densities and body sizes in the prey-targeted scenarios.
File: Joint_effect_(Figure_5).xlsx
Description:
This file is composed of two sheets, titled "Predator-harvested scenarios" and "Prey-harvested scenarios".
This file provides the population densities (x, y) and body sizes (u, v) at the final equilibrium state under varying shapes of selectivity curve (p).
Variables
The columns "xs", "ys", "us", and "vs" refer to the population densities and body sizes in the small-harvested scenarios.
The columns "xl", "yl", "ul", and "vl" refer to the population densities and body sizes in the large-harvested scenarios.
In this study, we create an eco-evolutionary predator-prey system with mathematical analysis to investigate the evolutionary responses of target species to selective harvesting under the influence of non-target species.
Here, we provide our simulation code, written with R, and simulation data. With the code and data, our result can be reproduced.