Evolutionary and plastic phenotypic change can be just as fast as changes in population densities

Evolution and plasticity can drive population-level phenotypic change (e.g., changes in the mean phenotype) on time scales comparable to changes in population densities.  However, it is unclear if phenotypic change has the potential to be just as fast as changes in densities, or if comparable rates of change only occur when densities are changing slow enough for phenotypes to keep pace. Moreover, it is unclear if this depends on the mode of adaptation. Using scaling theory and fast-slow dynamical systems theory, we develop a method for comparing maximum rates of density and phenotypic change estimated from population-level time series data.  We apply our method to 30 published empirical studies where changes in morphological traits are caused by evolution, plasticity, or an unknown combination.  For every study, the maximum rate of phenotypic change was 0.5 to 2.5 times faster than the maximum rate of change in density.  Moreover, there were no systematic differences between systems wit...

进化与表型可塑性可在与种群密度变化相当的时间尺度上驱动种群水平表型变化（例如表型均值的改变）。然而，目前尚不明确表型变化是否具备与密度变化同等的速率，抑或仅当密度变化足够缓慢以适配表型追及时，二者的变化速率才可达到可比水平。此外，该现象是否依赖于适应模式，仍有待厘清。本研究借助标度理论（scaling theory）与快慢动力学系统理论（fast-slow dynamical systems theory），开发了一种用于比较由种群时间序列数据估算得到的密度与表型最大变化速率的方法。我们将该方法应用于30项已发表的实证研究，这些研究中形态性状的改变由进化、表型可塑性或二者的未知组合所驱动。针对每一项研究，表型变化的最大速率均为密度变化最大速率的0.5至2.5倍。此外，不同系统间未出现系统性差异……