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Niche construction affects the variability and strength of natural selection

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Clark_2019_AN_Nicheconstruction_CC.pdf (5.725Mb)
Date
01/2020
Author
Clark, Andrew D.
Deffner, Dominik
Laland, Kevin
Odling-Smee, John
Endler, John
Keywords
Natural selection
Niche construction
Selection gradients
Spatial
Strength of selection
Temporal
QH301 Biology
Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics
DAS
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Abstract
Consideration of the properties of the sources of selection potentially helps biologists account for variation in selection. Here we explore how the variability of natural selection is affected by organisms that regulate the experienced environment through their activities (whether by constructing components of their local environments, such as nests, burrows, or pupal cases, or by choosing suitable resources). Specifically, we test the predictions that organism-constructed sources of selection that buffer environmental variation will result in (i) reduced variation in selection gradients, including reduced variation between (a) years (temporal variation) and (b) locations (spatial variation), and (ii) weaker directional selection relative to nonconstructed sources. Using compiled data sets of 1,045 temporally replicated selection gradients, 257 spatially replicated selection gradients, and a pooled data set of 1,230 selection gradients, we find compelling evidence for reduced temporal variation and weaker selection in response to constructed compared to nonconstructed sources of selection and some evidence for reduced spatial variation in selection. These findings, which remained robust to alternative data sets, taxa, analytical methods, definitions of constructed/nonconstructed, and other tests of reliability, suggest that organism-manufactured or chosen components of environments may have qualitatively different properties from other environmental features.
Citation
Clark , A D , Deffner , D , Laland , K , Odling-Smee , J & Endler , J 2020 , ' Niche construction affects the variability and strength of natural selection ' , American Naturalist , vol. 195 , no. 1 , pp. 16-30 . https://doi.org/10.1086/706196
Publication
American Naturalist
Status
Peer reviewed
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1086/706196
ISSN
0003-0147
Type
Journal article
Rights
Copyright © 2019 by The University of Chicago. All rights reserved. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC 4.0), which permits non-commercial reuse of the work with attribution.
Description
Research was supported in part by a grant from the John Templeton Foundation to K.L., J.O.-S., and J.E. (“Putting the Extended Evolutionary Synthesis to the Test”; grant 60501).
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  • University of St Andrews Research
URI
http://hdl.handle.net/10023/19332

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