title: Evolutionary responses to environmental change: trophic interactions affect adaptation and persistence.
abstract: According to recent reviews, the question of how trophic interactions may affect evolutionary responses to climate change remains unanswered. In this modelling study, we explore the evolutionary dynamics of thermal and plant-herbivore interaction traits in a warming environment. We find the herbivore usually reduces adaptation speed and persistence time of the plant by reducing biomass. However, if the plant interaction trait and thermal trait are correlated, herbivores can create different coevolutionary attractors. One attractor has a warmer plant thermal optimum, and the other a colder one compared with the environment. A warmer plant thermal strategy is given a head start under warming, the only case where herbivores can increase plant persistence under warming. Persistence time of the plant under warming is maximal at small or large thermal niche width. This study shows that considering trophic interactions is necessary and feasible for understanding how ecosystems respond to climate change.
authors: Centre for Biodiversity Theory and Modelling, Station d'Ecologie Experimentale du CNRS, Moulis 09200, France jarad.mellard@ecoex-moulis.cnrs.fr.
authors: Jarad P
authors: JP
authors: Mellard
authors: Centre for Biodiversity Theory and Modelling, Station d'Ecologie Experimentale du CNRS, Moulis 09200, France.
authors: Claire
authors: C
authors: de Mazancourt
authors: Centre for Biodiversity Theory and Modelling, Station d'Ecologie Experimentale du CNRS, Moulis 09200, France.
authors: Michel
authors: M
authors: Loreau
mesh_terms: D000222:Adaptation, Physiological; D005075:Biological Evolution; D057231:Climate Change; D017753:Ecosystem; D020387:Food Chain; D060434:Herbivory; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D018521:Plant Physiological Phenomena
keywords: adaptation; coevolutionary response; persistence; temperature change; thermal niche; trophic interactions