EVOLUTIONARY ECOLOGY: HISTORY, OBJECT OF STUDY, EXAMPLES - BIOLOGY - 2025

The evolutionary ecology is the branch of ecology that focuses on the study of the various species that inhabit the planet from the point of view of their adaptation to the environment in which they develop and how this affects them.

Evolutionary ecology considers for the study of the evolution of species the way in which the environment determines the prevalence or extinction of certain organisms.

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It is fascinating how the Stick Spider has evolved into 3 different types of camouflages that allow it to hide from its predators.

For this, it focuses on describing the adaptation processes that have been possible thanks to genetic changes that have occurred over the years, as well as the mechanisms that have contributed to the organisms being able to survive in a constantly changing environment.

One of the main questions posed by evolutionary ecology is how certain species have managed to evolve and adapt successfully to their immediate environment while others do not and end up becoming extinct.

History

Ecology as a science emerged in 1866, when the naturalist Ernst Haeckel proposed the term to designate the science that is responsible for the study of the organism in relation to the environment. However, theories of evolution were not included as an object of study of ecology until 94 years after the birth of ecology as a science.

The antecedents of evolutionary ecology have their origin in the theory of evolution proposed by Charles Darwin in 1859, through his work entitled The Origin of Species.

Charles Darwin was a scientist who, based on the method of simple observation, determined the diversity of species in different ecosystems, as well as the distinctive features that caused similarities or differences between them.

During the 20th century, specifically in the 1960s, scientists like Wynne Edwards took up Darwin's evolutionary ideas and undertook various studies related to natural selection.

The rise of evolutionary theory gave rise to the birth of evolutionary ecology as a branch of ecology and enriched, as it were, the approach of this science.

Object of study

Evolutionary ecology focuses on the study of species and their relationship to the environment in which they develop, focusing on adaptation mechanisms.

That is, it focuses on knowing the elements that intervene and make it possible for a species, even when its environment threatens its permanence in time in some way, in response to evolve and achieve its permanence.

Evolutionary ecology takes into consideration for the study all organisms that are part of the environment, which represent the living part known as biotics, as well as the way in which they can be affected by their non-living or abiotic environment.

The environment significantly affects and becomes decisive in the survival of the species. The elements of abiotic nature are related to nature, climate or soils, among others.

In this way, organisms must deal with various factors to maintain their presence as a species in the midst of an environment that is sometimes characterized by hostility and in which only the strongest survive.

Among the elements that a certain species must face, natural predators can be mentioned, as well as any factor with the property of negatively affecting its environment.

Research examples

The Case of the Birch Moths

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The birch moth from the Industrialization process underwent an adaptive change characterized by the color change of some of the individuals.

The birch moth or Biston betularia, is a species that attracted the attention of various scientists due to its curious evolution, which became notable with the expansion of industries in Great Britain.

The Industrial Revolution brought with it pollution in the environment, which caused, among other things, a change in color in the trees, directly affecting the preservation of the moth species.

The birch moth until then was characterized by showing a light color but when the trees became darker, it became easy prey for predators.

From this fact, the scientists were able to observe with amazement how some began to show a camouflage in dark coloration, which was an adaptive response by way of preservation of the species.

According to the natural selection process described by Darwin, moths with black coloration have a better chance of surviving due to having a perfect camouflage that prevents them from being easy prey to predators and makes them more suitable.

The case of the Hawaii stick spider

The Ariamnes laau or Hawaiian stick spider has been the subject of various scientific studies due to an unusual characteristic that they have presented at an evolutionary level. Their case study has led scientists to see how this species has evolved in terms of its camouflage in an identical way on several Hawaiian islands.

Surprisingly, without maintaining contact with the other islands, the spider has evolved identically to show three shades of camouflage according to its habitat.

In this sense, one has been observed in dark tones that can be located in the bark of trees or on stones and the white one that lives in lichens.

The third shade in which Ariamnes laau can be achieved is gold, whose habitat is under the leaves of certain plants. These camouflage colors that are part of the evolution of this species can be located on different islands.

Scientific studies at the level of evolutionary ecology have managed to determine in a descriptive way the way in which this species has evolved on each of the islands.

However, they have not yet managed to detect the genes responsible for evolution with regard to the shades of spiders to explain this phenomenon; there are only a few hypotheses that have not yet been proven.

References

1. Boege, K, Córdoba, A, Cordero, C. A, Domínguez, H, Drumond, L, Eguiarte, J, Formoni, L, Falcón, G, García, G, J. P, Jaramillo, JP, Correa, J, Núñez, F, Piñero, D, Souza, V, Torres, R, (2.011). Evolutionary ecology: interface of ecology and evolution. Science Magazine.
2. Offord, C, (2018). Hawaiian Spiders on Different Islands Evolved Same Disguise in Parallel. The Scientist Magazine.
3. Schneibel, A, (2016). The Industrial Revolution led these moths to change color. They identify the genetic mutation that gives color to birch moths. Scientific American Spanish Magazine.
4. Swami, V, (2016). Evolutionary Psychology. A critical introduction. Fund of Economic Culture.
5. University of Valencia. Ecology of Valencia. Obtained from uv.es