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Dryad

Terrestrial herbivory drives adaptive evolution in an aquatic community via indirect effects

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Oct 01, 2024 version files 639.48 MB

Abstract

Indirect ecological interactions are thought to be ubiquitous in nature and may be important in shaping evolutionary processes in multitrophic communities. However, direct evidence of indirect interactions driving evolutionary processes is still lacking. Here, we characterized how the indirect effects of terrestrial insect (aphids) herbivory on macrophytes (duckweed) affected the evolution of an aquatic community using real-time evolutionary experiments in a two-year outdoor pond experiment. Aphid herbivory reduced macrophyte growth and increased the abundance of phytoplankton, which in turn increased the abundance of zooplankton consumers. Pool sequencing and phenotypic assays showed that the aphid herbivory altered the genetic compositions of Daphnia magna populations, a key member of the zooplankton community. In the second year, transplant experiments further indicated that evolutionary changes in D. magna driven by the aphid herbivory on the macrophytes were adaptive and that changes in the aquatic community altered aphid-macrophyte interactions. These results suggest that indirect ecological interactions can shape eco-evolutionary dynamics in multitrophic communities.