Data from: Evolution of the additive genetic variance-covariance matrix under continuous directional selection on a complex behavioral phenotype

Given the pace at which human-induced environmental changes occur, a pressing challenge is to determine the speed with which selection can drive evolutionary change. A key determinant of adaptive response to multivariate phenotypic selection is the additive-genetic variance-covariance matrix (G). Yet, knowledge of G in a population experiencing new or altered selection is not sufficient to predict selection response because G itself evolves in ways that are poorly understood. We experimentally evaluated changes in G when closely related behavioural traits experience continuous directional selection. We applied the genetic covariance tensor approach to a large dataset (n=17,328 individuals) from a replicated, 31-generation artificial selection experiment that bred mice for voluntary wheel-running on days 5&6 of a 6-day test. Selection on this subset of G induced proportional changes across the matrix for all 6 days of running behaviour within the first four generations. The changes in G induced by selection resulted in a 4-fold slower-than-predicted rate of response to selection. Thus, selection exacerbated constraints within G and limited future adaptive response, a phenomenon that could have profound consequences for populations facing rapid environmental change.