Experimental test of an eco-evolutionary dynamic feedback between evolution and population density in the green peach aphid

This week we recognize post-doctoral fellow Dr. Martin Turcotte (Johnson Lab) who recently published “Experimental test of an eco-evolutionary dynamic feedback between evolution and population density in the green peach aphid” in The American Naturalist. It is well known that ecology drives evolution by natural selection, and that evolution gives rise to all diversity in nature over long periods of time.  But does this interplay between ecology and evolution happen over shorter timescales? Using the green peach aphid, Martin shows in this paper that aphid population density dramatically affects their evolution, and in turn aphid evolution in just 3 generations influences the rate at which aphid populations grow. In other words, there is a dynamic feedback between the ecology and evolution of this species over short timescales.

Congratulations on this exciting paper!

Read this paper