Adaptation in a keystone grazer under novel predation pressure
Understanding how species adapt to environmental change is necessary to protect biodiversity and ecosystem services. Growing evidence suggests species can adapt rapidly to novel selection pressures like predation from invasive species, but the repeatability and predictability of selection remain poorly understood in wild populations. We tested how a keystone aquatic herbivore, Daphnia pulicaria, evolved in response to predation pressure by the introduced zooplanktivore Bythotrephes longimanus. Using high-resolution 210Pb-dated sediment cores from 9 lakes in Ontario (Canada), which primarily differed in invasion status by Bythotrephes, we compared Daphnia population genetic structure over time using whole-genome sequencing of individual resting embryos.