Eco-evolution from deep time to contemporary dynamics: the role of timescales and rate modulators

Abstract: Eco-evolutionary dynamics, or eco-evolution for short, are thought to involve rapid demography (ecology) and equally rapid phenotypic changes (evolution) leading to novel, emergent system behaviours. This focus on contemporary dynamics is likely due to accumulating evidence for rapid evolution, from classical laboratory microcosms and natural populations, including the iconic Trinidadian guppies. We argue that this view is too narrow, preventing the successful integration of ecology and evolution. While maintaining that eco-evolution involves emergence, we highlight that this may also be true for slow ecology and evolution which unfold over thousands or millions of years, such as the feedbacks between riverine geomorphology and plant evolution. We thereby integrate geomorphology and biome-level feedbacks into eco-evolution, significantly extending its scope. Most importantly, we emphasize that eco-evolutionary systems need not be frozen in state-space: We identify modulators of ecological and evolutionary rates, like temperature or sensitivity to mutation, which can synchronize or desynchronize ecology and evolution. We speculate that global change may increase the occurrence of eco-evolution and emergent system behaviours which represents substantial challenges for prediction. Our perspective represents an attempt to integrate ecology and evolution across disciplines, from gene-regulatory networks to geomorphology and across timescales, from contemporary dynamics to deep time.