Red Queen: from populations to taxa and communities

Liow, Lee Hsiang; Valen, Leigh Van; Stenseth, Nils Chr.

doi:10.1016/j.tree.2011.03.016

Cited by 131 publications

(141 citation statements)

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“…The continuous co-adaptation of species forms the basis for survival and maintenance of fitness of sympatric species according to the Red Queen hypothesis (Liow et al 2011).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The susceptibility of Asian, European and North American Fraxinus species to the ash dieback pathogen Hymenoscyphus fraxineus reflects their phylogenetic history

et al. 2016

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“…The continuous co-adaptation of species forms the basis for survival and maintenance of fitness of sympatric species according to the Red Queen hypothesis (Liow et al 2011).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The susceptibility of Asian, European and North American Fraxinus species to the ash dieback pathogen Hymenoscyphus fraxineus reflects their phylogenetic history

et al. 2016

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“…As discussed above, virtually all paleontological analyses of the age selectivity of extinctions have focused on background extinctions, integrating over a substantial history of individual clades (20,21,23), but the best analogs of the current extinction crisis are the more severe extinction pulses of the past, either regional or global (16). Furthermore, the incomplete nature of the fossil record and the difficulties involved in identifying fossil species have led previous analyses to focus on higher taxa rather than species (but see ref.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Paleontological analyses of age-related bias in extinction vulnerability (19)(20)(21)(22) have focused on background extinctions rather than on selectivity across major extinction events (23), whereas analyses of anthropogenic extinctions are focused on a single, unfolding event. As a first step toward reducing this information gap, we tested for age-related bias in the Plio-Pleistocene extinction of marine scallops (family Pectinidae) in California.…”

Section: Plio-pleistocene Extinctionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Comparisons of ecological and biogeographic components of past and present extinctions also hold great potential for predicting the nature of future losses (17,18). Although paleontological studies have tested for age-related bias in extinction vulnerability (19)(20)(21)(22), such analyses have focused primarily on background extinctions rather than on selectivity across major extinction events (23). However, without a better understanding of patterns of loss of EH during major pulsed extinctions in the geological past, we cannot answer the fundamental question of whether we, as a species, are pruning the tree of life in a unique manner.…”

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confidence: 99%

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Fossils, phylogenies, and the challenge of preserving evolutionary history in the face of anthropogenic extinctions

Huang

Goldberg

Roy

2015

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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Anthropogenic impacts are endangering many long-lived species and lineages, possibly leading to a disproportionate loss of existing evolutionary history (EH) in the future. However, surprisingly little is known about the loss of EH during major extinctions in the geological past, and thus we do not know whether human impacts are pruning the tree of life in a manner that is unique in the history of life. A major impediment to comparing the loss of EH during past and current extinctions is the conceptual difference in how ages are estimated from paleontological data versus molecular phylogenies. In the former case the age of a taxon is its entire stratigraphic range, regardless of how many daughter taxa it may have produced; for the latter it is the time to the most recent common ancestor shared with another extant taxon. To explore this issue, we use simulations to understand how the loss of EH is manifested in the two data types. We also present empirical analyses of the marine bivalve clade Pectinidae (scallops) during a major Plio-Pleistocene extinction in California that involved a preferential loss of younger species. Overall, our results show that the conceptual difference in how ages are estimated from the stratigraphic record versus molecular phylogenies does not preclude comparisons of age selectivities of past and present extinctions. Such comparisons not only provide fundamental insights into the nature of the extinction process but should also help improve evolutionarily informed models of conservation prioritization.extinction | phylogenetic diversity | phylogeny | fossil record | bivalves E xtinction of any species or higher taxon invariably results in some loss of existing evolutionary history (EH), but a major concern about extinctions driven by anthropogenic impacts is that they may remove a disproportionately large amount of such history (1-3). In groups as varied as birds, mammals, and plants, studies have shown that extinctions of species currently on the International Union for the Conservation of Nature Red List of Threatened Species would lead to a much larger loss of EH than expected under randomly distributed extinction of the same number of species (4-6). This disproportionate loss of EH stems from phylogenetic clustering of anthropogenic extinctions (1) with a bias toward the loss of species-poor and geologically old taxa (7-9). Such predictions, along with the realization that not all species currently threatened by human activities can be saved, have motivated the development of various strategies for minimizing the loss of EH (8, 10, 11). These approaches primarily target lineages that are old but species poor in an attempt to protect large amounts of EH and, presumably, also unique traits and functions that may affect future evolutionary potential (10,12).Although the disproportionate loss of EH caused by anthropogenic extinctions is increasingly evident, surprisingly little is known about the loss of EH during extinctions in the geological past. The rich archive of extinctions pres...

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“…al. 2010;Liow et al 2011) admit macroevolutionary explanations for Van Valen's observation, a persuasive causal link between the purported pattern and microevolutionary or macroevolutionary explanation remains elusive, and indeed seems to us to be an illusion.…”

Section: Invalid Assumptionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reining in the Red Queen: the dynamics of adaptation and extinction reexamined

Vermeij¹,

Roopnarine²

2013

Paleobiology

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Abstract.-One of the most enduring evolutionary metaphors is Van Valen's (1973) Red Queen. According to this metaphor, as one species in a community adapts by becoming better able to acquire and defend resources, species with which it interacts are adversely affected. If those other species do not continuously adapt to compensate for this biotically caused deterioration, they will be driven to extinction. Continuous adaptation of all species in a community prevents any single species from gaining a long-term advantage; this amounts to the Red Queen running in place. We have critically examined the assumptions on which the Red Queen metaphor was founded. We argue that the Red Queen embodies three demonstrably false assumptions: (1) evolutionary adaptation is continuous; (2) organisms are important agents of extinction; and (3) evolution is a zero-sum process in which living things divide up an unchanging quantity of resources. Changes in the selective regime need not always elicit adaptation, because most organisms function adequately under many ''suboptimal'' conditions and often compensate by demonstrating adaptive flexibility. Likewise, ecosystems are organized in such a way that they tend to be robust and capable of absorbing invasions and extinctions, at least up to a point. With a simple evolutionary game involving three species, we show that Red Queen dynamics (continuous adaptation by all interacting species) apply in only a very small minority of possible outcomes. Importantly, cooperation and facilitation among species enable competitors to increase ecosystem productivity and therefore to enlarge the pool and turnover of resources. The Red Queen reigns only under a few unusual circumstances.

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Red Queen: from populations to taxa and communities

Cited by 131 publications

References 89 publications

The susceptibility of Asian, European and North American Fraxinus species to the ash dieback pathogen Hymenoscyphus fraxineus reflects their phylogenetic history

The susceptibility of Asian, European and North American Fraxinus species to the ash dieback pathogen Hymenoscyphus fraxineus reflects their phylogenetic history

Fossils, phylogenies, and the challenge of preserving evolutionary history in the face of anthropogenic extinctions

Reining in the Red Queen: the dynamics of adaptation and extinction reexamined

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