Research

The link between ecology and evolutionary systems

Evolution depends on an organisms environment. The ecology of an organism depends on how well it has evolved to cope with both the biotic and biotic environment. Despite ecology and evolution being intertwined, they still remain rather different fields. We are interested in how feedbacks between the ecology of an organisms, and how it can evolve, may occur. In particular, We are interested in how feedbacks between population densities and behaviour may come about, and how they make act to resolve evolutionary conflicts, such as the tragedy of the commons.

We are also interested in species-level selection, and the interplay between selection at the individual or gene level, and selection at the species or lineage level. This may arise from adaptation causing the extinction of species, for example by evolving very high levels of conflict. This process is known as evolutionary suicide. We are currently looking at the macroevolutionary consequences of evolutionary suicide.

This part of our research asks the following questions:

1. How do feedbacks between ecology and evolution affect the long term result of evolution?
2. When can evolution cause the extinction of a species (evolutionary suicide) and what will be the impacts for natural selection in terms of species-level selection?
3. What are the consequences of having two sexes for population dynamics, and how will this change our understanding of the ecology and and management of animal populations?

Representative Publications

• Rankin, D.J. (2011) The social side of Homo economicus. Trends in Ecology and Evolution. 26: 1-3.
• Rankin, D.J., Dieckmann, U. & Kokko, H. (2011) Sexual conflict and the tragedy of the commons. American Naturalist. 177: 780-791.
• Rankin, D.J., Bichsel, M. & Wagner, A. (2010) Mobile DNA can drive lineage extinction in prokaryotic populations. Journal of Evolutionary Biology. 23: 2422-2341.
• Rankin, D.J. & Arnqvist, G. (2008) Sexual dimorphism is associated with population fitness in the seed beetle Callosobruchus maculatus. Evolution. 62: 622-630
• Rankin, D.J. & Kokko, H. (2007) Do males matter? The role of males in population dynamics. Oikos 116: 335-348
• Rankin, D.J., López-Sepulcre, A., Foster, K.R & Kokko, H. (2007) Species-level selection reduces intraspecific selfishness through competitive exclusion. Journal of Evolutionary Biology 20: 1459-1468
• Rankin, D.J. (2007) Resolving the tragedy of the commons: the feedback between intraspecific conflict and population density. Journal of Evolutionary Biology 20 : 173-180