I and my colleagues are evaluating this proposition as part of a multidisciplinary, experimental study of evolution in natural populations of guppies. We were inspired by the discovery that evolution happens on a time frame comparable to ecological interactions. We were also inspired by the role that density regulation has played in shaping some aspects of guppy evolution. Our argument is that density regulation and density dependent evolution are actually a black boxes created by evolutionary biologists and that the contents of these boxes are interactions between ecology and evolution. The label “density regulation” acknowledges how evolution is influenced by ecology, mediated by the organism’s impact on its environment.

I will present the prior research that lead us to this stage, then results that characterize how guppies impact their ecosystem and how their impacts evolve as guppies adapt to new environments. I will also present an experimental test of eco-evo interactions, as revealed by the evolutionary dynamics and associated ecosystem impacts of guppies introduced into a new environment.