New study reveals role of evolution in ecosystem stability and tipping points

Biologists at Monash University have discovered that evolution can have a significant impact on the stability and tipping points of ecosystems, potentially causing early ecosystem collapse or contributing to their recovery.

The study, led by PhD candidate Chris Blake and Associate Professor Mike McDonald from Monash University’s School of Biological Sciences, and published today in Ecology of nature and evolutionprovides the first experimental evidence that evolutionary processes can influence ecosystem tipping points.

The team evolved a microbial community over 4,000 generations, providing essential information for managing larger ecosystems facing environmental threats.

“Many ecosystems, such as coral reefs, are approaching critical thresholds where even minor environmental changes can lead to dramatic changes and loss of biodiversity,” Associate Professor McDonald said.

“Our research shows that these tipping points are not static; they can evolve, meaning ecosystems could collapse sooner or hold up longer than expected.”

The team’s experiment involved guiding the evolution of microbial communities, particularly yeast and E. coli, over 4,000 generations.

By tracking ecological stability before and after coevolution, they found that evolution can radically alter behavior at the tipping point.

Increased competition among evolved members of the community led to early collapse, but when microbes evolved to withstand environmental stress, they adapted quickly, delaying the tipping point.

A mathematical model developed in parallel with the experiments demonstrated how changes in specific traits affect ecological resilience, reinforcing experimental findings that adaptation of key species can indeed shift an ecosystem’s tipping point.

“This discovery suggests that we could use evolutionary strategies to strengthen the resilience of crucial microbial ecosystems, such as those of plant and animal hosts, against human-induced environmental changes,” Blake said.

The implications of this study extend beyond microbes.

As human activities continue to disrupt ecosystems around the world, these findings suggest that evolutionary approaches could improve the resilience of threatened ecosystems.

“Our results indicate that to effectively enhance resilience, strategies such as directed evolution or genetic engineering should focus on improving tolerance to environmental change while maintaining stable population growth and interspecific dynamics,” Blake said.

Despite these promising results, the researchers note that further studies are needed to apply these findings to more complex ecosystems with multiple species.

These results show the importance of taking evolutionary processes into account in assessing ecosystem stability and predicting tipping points.

As climate change and environmental pressures increase, this research offers new strategies for ecosystem conservation and management.