title: Selection on stability across ecological scales.
abstract: Much of the focus in evolutionary biology has been on the adaptive differentiation among organisms. It is equally important to understand the processes that result in similarities of structure among systems. Here, we discuss examples of similarities occurring at different ecological scales, from predator-prey relations (attack rates and handling times) through communities (food-web structures) to ecosystem properties. Selection among systemic configurations or patterns that differ in their intrinsic stability should lead generally to increased representation of relatively stable structures. Such nonadaptive, but selective processes that shape ecological communities offer an enticing mechanism for generating widely observed similarities, and have sparked new interest in stability properties. This nonadaptive systemic selection operates not in opposition to, but in parallel with, adaptive evolution.
authors.affiliation: Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY, USA. Electronic address: borrejj@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Jonathan J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Borrelli
authors.affiliation: University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA.
authors.forename: Stefano
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Allesina
authors.affiliation: University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Priyanga
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Amarasekare
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, University of Fribourg, Fribourg, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Roger
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Arditi
authors.affiliation: Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Ivan
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Chase
authors.affiliation: University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, USA.
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Damuth
authors.affiliation: University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA.
authors.forename: Robert D
authors.initials: RD
authors.lastname: Holt
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Mathematical Ecology, A.M. Obukhov Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia.
authors.forename: Dmitrii O
authors.initials: DO
authors.lastname: Logofet
authors.affiliation: Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR, USA.
authors.forename: Mark
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Novak
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, University of Fribourg, Fribourg, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Rudolf P
authors.initials: RP
authors.lastname: Rohr
authors.affiliation: Centre for Environment, Fisheries, and Aquaculture Science (CEFAS), Lowestoft, UK.
authors.forename: Axel G
authors.initials: AG
authors.lastname: Rossberg
authors.affiliation: University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK.
authors.forename: Matthew
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Spencer
authors.affiliation: Syngenta, Greensboro, NC, USA.
authors.forename: J Khai
authors.initials: JK
authors.lastname: Tran
authors.affiliation: Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Lev R
authors.initials: LR
authors.lastname: Ginzburg
mesh_terms: D000222:Adaptation, Physiological; D000818:Animals; D005075:Biological Evolution; D055669:Ecological and Environmental Phenomena; D017753:Ecosystem; D020387:Food Chain; D011157:Population Dynamics; D011235:Predatory Behavior
keywords: feasibility; macroecology; selection; stability