Data and Code for: An Experimental Test of Eco-evolutionary Dynamics on Rocky Shores

Abstract: Despite a growing body of theoretical studies and laboratory experiments that have brought attention to the reciprocal impacts that ecological and evolutionary processes can have on one another, few studies have tested the importance of eco-evolutionary feedbacks in natural communities. We examined whether selection on natural phenotypic variation in a population of drilling dogwhelks (Nucella canaliculata) could impact rocky shore community dynamics. We performed a selection experiment raising newly-hatched dogwhelks on four diet treatments, reflecting natural variation in the abundance and shell thickness of prey species. Adult dogwhelks were tested in the laboratory on their ability to drill thick-shelled mussels. In addition, snails were outplanted to field cages to track the effects of dogwhelk phenotype on mussel bed succession. Despite our laboratory experiments suggesting that prey can impose selection and result in divergent consumer traits, successional patterns differed minimally based on the early-life diet of the dogwhelks.摘要：尽管日益增多的理论研究与室内实验已关注到生态过程与演化过程之间的双向互作效应，但鲜有研究在自然群落中检验生态-演化反馈（eco-evolutionary feedbacks）的重要性。本研究以钻孔峨螺（Nucella canaliculata）种群为对象，探究其自然表型变异所受的选择作用是否会影响岩岸群落动态。我们开展了选择实验：将新孵化的钻孔峨螺置于四种饵料处理组中饲养，以模拟猎物物种丰度与壳厚的自然变异。随后，我们在室内测试了成年峨螺钻孔厚壳贻贝的能力。此外，我们将螺类移植至野外笼箱中，以追踪钻孔峨螺表型对贻贝床群落演替的影响。尽管室内实验结果表明猎物可施加选择压力并导致消费者性状出现趋异分化，但钻孔峨螺早期生活史的饵料差异对群落演替模式的影响极小。