Summary: |Research Focus
The ecological play of predator­prey dynamics in an
evolutionary theatre
Marc T.J. Johnson and Anurag A. Agrawal
Department of Botany, 25 Willcocks St, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada M5S 3B2
Although over 40 years of theory have addressed how
evolutionary processes can affect the ecology of
predator­prey interactions, few empirical data have
addressed the same issue. Shertzer et al. and Yoshida
et al. have recently combined manipulative experiments
with mathematical models to demonstrate that evo-
lutionary change in an algal prey strongly affects com-
munity dynamics with their rotifer predator. These
studies contribute to recent developments in community
genetics and the diversity­stability debate.
Population fluctuations in space and time are common in
nature and are important throughout the field of biology,
from human health to conservation. In studying population
dynamics,muchresearchhasaddressedhowpredator­prey
interactions affect population stability. Ecologists typically

Source: Agrawal, Anurag - Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology & Entomollogy, Cornell University
Johnson, Marc - Department of Plant Biology, North Carolina State University

Collections: Biology and Medicine; Environmental Sciences and Ecology