Evolutionary ecology

A phylogenetic tree of living things

Evolutionary ecology lies at the intersection of ecology and evolutionary biology. It approaches the study of ecology in a way that explicitly considers the evolutionary histories of species and the interactions between them. Conversely, it can be seen as an approach to the study of evolution that incorporates an understanding of the interactions between the species under consideration. The main subfields of evolutionary ecology are life history evolution, sociobiology (the evolution of social behavior), the evolution of interspecific relations (cooperation, predator–prey interactions, parasitism, mutualism) and the evolution of biodiversity and of communities.

Pristine, natural environments that have been relatively unaltered by humans are of particular importance in evolutionary ecology because they constitute the environments to which any particular organism has become adapted to over time.^[1]

Evolutionary ecologists

Julia Margaret Cameron’s portrait of Darwin

• Charles Darwin, whose theory of natural selection is essential background to understanding evolutionary ecology and had explicitly include population dynamics;
• George Evelyn Hutchinson
• Robert MacArthur
• Eric Pianka
• Michael Rosenzweig
• David Lack
• R. A. Fisher whose 1930 fundamental theorem of natural selection recognised the power of rigorous application of the theory of natural selection to population biology.^[2]
• Thierry Lodé ^[3]

Evolutionary models

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Evolutionary biology
Diagrammatic representation of the divergence of modern taxonomic groups from their common ancestor
Key topics Introduction to evolution Common descent Evidence of common descent
Processes and outcomes Population genetics Variation Diversity Mutation Natural selection Adaptation Polymorphism Genetic drift Gene flow Speciation Adaptive radiation Co-operation Coevolution Divergence Convergence Parallel evolution Extinction
Natural history Origin of life History of life Timeline of evolution Human evolution Phylogeny Biodiversity Biogeography Classification Evolutionary taxonomy Cladistics Transitional fossil Extinction event
History of evolutionary theory Overview Renaissance Before Darwin Darwin Origin of Species Before synthesis Modern synthesis Molecular evolution Evo-devo Current research History of paleontology (timeline)
Fields and applications Applications of evolution Biosocial criminology Ecological genetics Evolutionary aesthetics Evolutionary anthropology Evolutionary computation Evolutionary ecology Evolutionary economics Evolutionary epistemology Evolutionary ethics Evolutionary game theory Evolutionary linguistics Evolutionary medicine Evolutionary neuroscience Evolutionary physiology Evolutionary psychology Experimental evolution Phylogenetics Paleontology Selective breeding Systematics Universal Darwinism
Social implications Evolution as fact and theory Social effects Creation–evolution controversy Objections to evolution Level of support
Evolutionary biology portal  Category Book Related topics

A large part of Evolutionary ecology is about utilising models and finding empirical data as proof. Examples include the Lack clutch size model devised by David Lack; the 1968 model on the specialization of species by Richard Levins; and Law & Diekmann's models on mutualisms.

See also

• Wikipedia:USEP/Courses/Behavioral Ecology (Joan Strassmann)
• [ Evolutionary Ecology (Thierry Lodé)]

Other references

• Fox, C.W., Roff, D.A. and Fairbairn, D.J. 2001. Evolutionary Ecology: Concepts and Case Studies. Oxford University Press.
• Mayhew, P.J. 2006. Discovering Evolutionary Ecology: Bringing Together Ecology and Evolution. Oxford University Press.
• Pianka, E.R. 2000. Evolutionary Ecology, 6th ed. Benjamin Cummings.

References

External links

• Evolutionary Ecology Research - a journal in the field.
• Methods in Ecology and Evolution - a journal in the field.
• Ecology and Evolution - Wiley
• Evolutionary Ecology - Springer