Résumé
Dispersal is a well recognized driver of ecological and evolutionary
dynamics, and simultaneously an evolving trait. Dispersal evolution has
traditionally been studied in single-species metapopulations so that it remains
unclear how dispersal evolves in spatially structured communities and food
webs. Since most natural systems are biodiverse and spatially structured, and
thus affected by dispersal and its evolution, this knowledge gap should be
bridged.
Here we discuss whether knowledge established in single-species systems holds
in spatially structured multispecies systems and highlight generally valid and
fundamental principles. Most biotic interactions form the ecological theatre
for the evolutionary dispersal play because interactions mediate patterns of
fitness expectations in space and time. While this allows for a simple
transposition of certain known drivers to a multispecies context, other drivers
may require more complex transpositions, or might not be transferred. We
discuss an important quantitative modulator of dispersal evolution in the
increased trait dimensionality of biodiverse meta-systems and an additional
driver in co-dispersal.
We speculate that scale and selection pressure mismatches due to
co-dispersal, together with increased trait dimensionality may lead to slower
and more "diffuse" evolution in biodiverse meta-systems. Open questions and
potential consequences in both ecological and evolutionary terms call for more
investigation.