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Not a One-Way Street: Evolution Shapes Environment of Connecticut Lakes

By Guest PostMay 24, 2012Environment, Naturealewife, atlantic coast, bosminia, colonial settlers, colonial times, connecticut, daphnia, david post, ecology, environmental change, evolution, evolutionary change, evolutionary feedback, fish, force, genetic changes, john delong, lake, loop, matthew r walsh, organism, plankton, population growth, predator, prey, torrance hanley, water fleas, yale university, zooplankton

Environmental change is the selective force that preserves adaptive traits in organisms and is a primary driver of evolution. However, it is less well known that evolutionary change in organisms also trigger fundamental changes in the environment.

Yale University researchers found a prime example of this evolutionary feedback loop in a few lakes in Connecticut, where dams built 300 years ago in Colonial times trapped a fish called the alewife.

In a study published May 23 in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Academy B, the Yale team describes how this event fundamentally changed the structure of the alewife and, with it, the water flea that the alewife feeds upon and the food chain that supports them both. (more…)

Evolving to Fight Epidemics: Weakness Can Be an Advantage

By Guest PostMarch 31, 2012Sciencechristopher klausmeier, daphnia dentifera, daphnia population, david civitello, disease, ecological factor, ecosystems, evolution, georgia tech, indiana lakes, infection, jessica housley ochs, magnitude, meghan duffy, metschnikowia bicuspidate, nutrient concentration, parasite epidemic, rachel penczykowski, saran twombly, spencer hall, total nitrogen, vertebrate predator, water fleas, yeast parasite, zooplankton

*Less resistance can sometimes be better than more–at least in a freshwater lake*

When battling a deadly parasite epidemic, less resistance can sometimes be better than more, a new study suggests.

A freshwater zooplankton species known as Daphnia dentifera endures periodic epidemics of a virulent yeast parasite that can infect more than 60 percent of the Daphnia population.

During these epidemics, the Daphnia population evolves quickly, balancing infection resistance and reproduction. (more…)

Tag Archives: water fleas

Not a One-Way Street: Evolution Shapes Environment of Connecticut Lakes

Evolving to Fight Epidemics: Weakness Can Be an Advantage