The Role of Evolution in Shaping Ecological Networks

The structure of ecological networks reflects the evolutionary history of their biotic components, and their dynamics are strongly driven by ecoevolutionary processes. Here, we present an appraisal of recent relevant research, in which the pervasive role of evolution within ecological networks is manifest. Although evolutionary processes are most evident at macroevolutionary scales, they are also important drivers of local network structure and dynamics. We propose components of a blueprint for further research, emphasising process-based models, experimental evolution, and phenotypic variation, across a range of distinct spatial and temporal scales. Evolutionary dimensions are required to advance our understanding of foundational properties of community assembly and to enhance our capability of predicting how networks will respond to impending changes. Networks of ecological interactions define the way that ecosystems function. Network assembly and temporal persistence can be thought of as contemporary ecological functions but shaped by historical evolutionary processes.Increasingly, researchers study networks within a phylogenetic comparative context, acknowledging that networks are sensitive to evolutionary constraints operatingat regional or local scales.Methodological progress in population genomics and molecular detection, combined with theoretical developments in modelling, now permit investigation of ecoevolutionary feedback loops within networks.Although understanding of isolated parts of network assembly and persistence is developing, a unifying framework for making connections and predictions across evolutionary scales is lacking. Approachesare being developed on multiple fronts from which such a framework may well emerge.