In EDS ansehen

Zoogeochemical niche construction: how animal-mediated biogeochemistry affects evolution.

Gespeichert in:
Bibliographische Detailangaben
Titel: Zoogeochemical niche construction: how animal-mediated biogeochemistry affects evolution.
Autoren: Ferraro, Kristy M.1,2 (AUTHOR) kristy.m.ferraro@gmail.com, Leroux, Shawn J.2 (AUTHOR), Bradford, Mark A.1,3 (AUTHOR), Schmitz, Oswald J.1 (AUTHOR), Vander Wal, Eric2 (AUTHOR)
Quelle: Trends in Ecology & Evolution. Oct2025, Vol. 40 Issue 10, p995-1009. 15p.
Schlagwörter: *BIOGEOCHEMISTRY, *BIOLOGICAL fitness, *BIOGEOCHEMICAL cycles, *HUMAN evolution, *ECOLOGICAL niche, *POPULATION dynamics
Abstract: Niche construction theory posits that organisms can affect their evolutionary trajectory by modifying their habitats. Advances in zoogeochemistry have revealed that animals are drivers of element redistribution and cycling across ecosystems. Despite a shared focus on organism–environment feedbacks, niche construction and zoogeochemistry have largely developed independently. Consequently, the evolutionary consequences of zoogeochemical interactions remain largely unknown. We bridge the conceptual gap through the Zoogeochemical Niche Construction Framework, linking animal-driven changes in elemental cycles to fitness and evolutionary processes. Animals exert control over biogeochemical processes within their ecosystems – the study of which is called zoogeochemistry. However, most zoogeochemical research stops short of examining how animal-driven biogeochemical processes feed back to influence the fitness and population dynamics of organisms. We outline how to use niche construction theory to investigate these feedbacks, introducing zoogeochemical niche construction to explicitly link zoogeochemistry with fitness and evolution trajectories. We specifically highlight how this framework reveals the capacity of animals to influence their own nutritional landscapes, creating closed zoogeochemical loops. To identify and test instances of zoogeochemical niche construction, we present experimental, correlative, and comparative tools. The novel application of niche construction theory provides alternative and complementary explanations for animal trait evolution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Datenbank: Academic Search Index
Beschreibung
Abstract:Niche construction theory posits that organisms can affect their evolutionary trajectory by modifying their habitats. Advances in zoogeochemistry have revealed that animals are drivers of element redistribution and cycling across ecosystems. Despite a shared focus on organism–environment feedbacks, niche construction and zoogeochemistry have largely developed independently. Consequently, the evolutionary consequences of zoogeochemical interactions remain largely unknown. We bridge the conceptual gap through the Zoogeochemical Niche Construction Framework, linking animal-driven changes in elemental cycles to fitness and evolutionary processes. Animals exert control over biogeochemical processes within their ecosystems – the study of which is called zoogeochemistry. However, most zoogeochemical research stops short of examining how animal-driven biogeochemical processes feed back to influence the fitness and population dynamics of organisms. We outline how to use niche construction theory to investigate these feedbacks, introducing zoogeochemical niche construction to explicitly link zoogeochemistry with fitness and evolution trajectories. We specifically highlight how this framework reveals the capacity of animals to influence their own nutritional landscapes, creating closed zoogeochemical loops. To identify and test instances of zoogeochemical niche construction, we present experimental, correlative, and comparative tools. The novel application of niche construction theory provides alternative and complementary explanations for animal trait evolution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
ISSN:01695347
DOI:10.1016/j.tree.2025.07.009