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Martin E, El-Galmady S, Johnson MTJ. Urban socioeconomic variation influences the ecology and evolution of trophic interactions. Ecol Lett 2024; 27:e14407. [PMID: 38504478 DOI: 10.1111/ele.14407] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/11/2023] [Revised: 02/25/2024] [Accepted: 02/26/2024] [Indexed: 03/21/2024]
Abstract
As urbanization expands, it is becoming increasingly important to understand how anthropogenic activity is affecting ecological and evolutionary processes. Few studies have examined how human social patterns within cities can modify eco-evolutionary dynamics. We tested how socioeconomic variation corresponds with changes in trophic interactions and natural selection on prey phenotypes using the classic interaction between goldenrod gall flies (Eurosta solidaginis) and their natural enemies: birds, beetles, and parasitoid wasps. We sampled galls from 84 sites across neighbourhoods with varying socioeconomic levels, and quantified the frequency of predation/parasitism on flies and natural selection by each enemy. We found that bird predation was higher in the highest income neighbourhoods, increasing the strength of selection for smaller galls. Wasp and beetle attack, but not their strength of selection, increased in lower income neighbourhoods. We show that socioeconomic variation in cities can have strong unintended consequences for the ecology and evolution of trophic interactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ella Martin
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- Department of Biology, University of Toronto Mississauga, Mississauga, Ontario, Canada
- Centre for Urban Environments, University of Toronto Mississauga, Mississauga, Ontario, Canada
| | - Samer El-Galmady
- Department of Biology, University of Toronto Mississauga, Mississauga, Ontario, Canada
| | - Marc T J Johnson
- Department of Biology, University of Toronto Mississauga, Mississauga, Ontario, Canada
- Centre for Urban Environments, University of Toronto Mississauga, Mississauga, Ontario, Canada
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Breitbart ST, Agrawal AA, Wagner HH, Johnson MTJ. Urbanization and a green corridor do not impact genetic divergence in common milkweed (Asclepias syriaca L.). Sci Rep 2023; 13:20437. [PMID: 37993590 PMCID: PMC10665382 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-47524-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/26/2023] [Accepted: 11/14/2023] [Indexed: 11/24/2023] Open
Abstract
Urbanization is altering landscapes globally at an unprecedented rate. While ecological differences between urban and rural environments often promote phenotypic divergence among populations, it is unclear to what degree these trait differences arise from genetic divergence as opposed to phenotypic plasticity. Furthermore, little is known about how specific landscape elements, such as green corridors, impact genetic divergence in urban environments. We tested the hypotheses that: (1) urbanization, and (2) proximity to an urban green corridor influence genetic divergence in common milkweed (Asclepias syriaca) populations for phenotypic traits. Using seeds from 52 populations along three urban-to-rural subtransects in the Greater Toronto Area, Canada, one of which followed a green corridor, we grew ~ 1000 plants in a common garden setup and measured > 20 ecologically-important traits associated with plant defense/damage, reproduction, and growth over four years. We found significant heritable variation for nine traits within common milkweed populations and weak phenotypic divergence among populations. However, neither urbanization nor an urban green corridor influenced genetic divergence in individual traits or multivariate phenotype. These findings contrast with the expanding literature demonstrating that urbanization promotes rapid evolutionary change and offer preliminary insights into the eco-evolutionary role of green corridors in urban environments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sophie T Breitbart
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Toronto, 25 Willcocks Street, Toronto, ON, M5S 3B2, Canada.
- Department of Biology, University of Toronto Mississauga, 3359 Mississauga Road, Mississauga, ON, L5L 1C6, Canada.
- Centre for Urban Environments, University of Toronto Mississauga, 3359 Mississauga Road, Mississauga, ON, L5L 1C6, Canada.
| | - Anurag A Agrawal
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Cornell University, E145 Corson Hall, Ithaca, NY, 14853, USA
- Department of Entomology, Cornell University, 2126 Comstock Hall, Ithaca, NY, 14853, USA
| | - Helene H Wagner
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Toronto, 25 Willcocks Street, Toronto, ON, M5S 3B2, Canada
- Department of Biology, University of Toronto Mississauga, 3359 Mississauga Road, Mississauga, ON, L5L 1C6, Canada
- Centre for Urban Environments, University of Toronto Mississauga, 3359 Mississauga Road, Mississauga, ON, L5L 1C6, Canada
| | - Marc T J Johnson
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Toronto, 25 Willcocks Street, Toronto, ON, M5S 3B2, Canada
- Department of Biology, University of Toronto Mississauga, 3359 Mississauga Road, Mississauga, ON, L5L 1C6, Canada
- Centre for Urban Environments, University of Toronto Mississauga, 3359 Mississauga Road, Mississauga, ON, L5L 1C6, Canada
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Miles LS, Murray‐Stoker D, Nhan VJ, Johnson MTJ. Effects of urbanization on specialist insect communities of milkweed are mediated by spatial and temporal variation. Ecosphere 2022. [DOI: 10.1002/ecs2.4222] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/07/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Lindsay S. Miles
- Department of Biology University of Toronto Mississauga Mississauga Ontario Canada
- Centre for Urban Environments, University of Toronto Mississauga Mississauga Ontario Canada
| | - David Murray‐Stoker
- Department of Biology University of Toronto Mississauga Mississauga Ontario Canada
- Centre for Urban Environments, University of Toronto Mississauga Mississauga Ontario Canada
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology University of Toronto Toronto Ontario Canada
| | - Vanessa J. Nhan
- Department of Biology University of Toronto Mississauga Mississauga Ontario Canada
| | - Marc T. J. Johnson
- Department of Biology University of Toronto Mississauga Mississauga Ontario Canada
- Centre for Urban Environments, University of Toronto Mississauga Mississauga Ontario Canada
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology University of Toronto Toronto Ontario Canada
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