An eco-evolutionary approach to processes acting in metacommunity dynamics - Examples from freshwater snails in the Lesser Antilles

SémIdeev
 12/12/2025
 12:00:00
 Philippe Jarne, Centre d’Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Evolutive - CEFE, Montpellier
 IDEEV - Salle Rachel Carlson

Eco-evolutionary approaches have gained considerable momentum in the study of biodiversity dynamics over the past two decades. After a brief historical overview, I will consider the different types of rapprochements between ecology and evolution that can lead to a genuine eco-evolutionary articulation, while proposing a general operational framework. I will illustrate how such an approach can be put into practice to refine our understanding of metacommunity dynamics, based on a study of invasive snail communities in Martinique. Two parthenogenetic species, each consisting of a set of clones, have invaded this island over the past three to four decades. Coexistence within the metacommunity (180 sites monitored over the long term) involves both intraspecific and interspecific competition, differential interactions with the environment, variable sensitivity to predation (by crayfish), and (possibly) differential use of food resources (biofilm). This study is part of a larger project that will be discussed in the conclusion.