Data from: Predator macroevolution drives trophic cascades and ecosystem functioning

Biologists now recognize that ecology can drive evolution, and that evolution in turn produces ecological patterns. I extend this thinking to include longer time-scales, suggesting that macroevolutionary transitions can create phenotypic differences among species, which then have predictable impacts on species interactions, community assembly, and ecosystem functioning. Repeated speciation can exacerbate these patterns by creating communities with similar phenotypes and hence ecological impacts. Here, I use several experiments to test these ideas in dragonfly larvae that occupy ponds with fish, ponds without fish, or both. I show that macroevolutionary transitions between habitats cause fishless pond species to be more active relative to fish pond specialists, reducing prey abundance, shifting prey community composition, and creating stronger trophic cascades. These effects scale-up to the community level with predictable consequences for ecosystem multi-functioning. I suggest that macroevolutionary history can have predictable impacts on phenotypic traits, with consequences for interacting species and ecosystems.当代生物学家已达成共识：生态学过程可推动演化，而演化反过来亦会塑造生态格局。本研究将这一认知拓展至更长时间尺度，提出宏演化（macroevolutionary）转变可塑造物种间的表型差异，而此类差异继而会对物种相互作用、群落构建以及生态系统功能产生可预测的影响。重复物种形成事件可通过构建表型趋同的群落，进一步加剧此类生态格局，进而带来一致的生态效应。本研究依托多项实验，在栖息于有鱼池塘、无鱼池塘或兼具两类生境的蜻蜓幼虫类群中验证上述假说。研究结果表明，生境间的宏演化转变使得无鱼池塘物种相较于有鱼池塘专性物种更为活跃，进而降低猎物丰度、改变猎物群落组成，并催生更强的营养级联效应。此类效应可上推至群落尺度，对生态系统多功能性产生可预测的影响。本研究提出，宏演化历史可对物种表型性状产生可预测的影响，进而对物种相互作用及整个生态系统产生连锁效应。