Evolution alters post-invasion temporal dynamics in experimental communities.

1. The causes and consequences of temporal variation in the abundance of organisms constitute central themes in ecological inquiry. Rapid evolution can occur over ecological time scales, potentially resulting in altered temporal variation in abundance and complicating inferences about the consequences of temporal variation. 2. We assessed whether evolution altered the temporal variability in species’ abundances in simple assemblages of species. We then compared experimental results to predictions from two-species models to better understand our results in the context of competitive and predator-prey interactions. 3. We compared founder populations and their evolved descendants in experimental communities of ciliates and rotifers. Using a series of orthogonal contrasts, we then evaluated whether: 1) evolutionary history of invaders or 2) residents, 3) coevolution among invaders and residents, and 4) invasion itself altered temporal variability in species abundances following invasion by ...