A collaborative study led by Trent University Canada Research Chair Dr. Andrew Tanentzap is shedding new light on how native species adapt over time to human-caused ecological changes through research into the predation effects of the invasive spiny water flea on the native water flea Daphnia pulicaria, a keystone freshwater crustacean species in Ontario’s lakes, offering valuable insights for nature conservation.

“Professor Tanentzap’s research program has been a leader in shifting our perspective to look at how components of our environment that are invisible to the eye have major influence on ecological dynamics and climate systems," said Dr. Holger Hintelmann, interim vice president of Research & Innovation at Trent University. "His Canada Research Chair program also has a multiplier effect by leveraging international connections and utilizing leading research facilities at Trent for his work.”

Published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B, the study reconstructed environmental history with a team of scientists Collecting mud from the bottom of lakes in Ontario, Canada. Each layer of mud preserves the environment from a specific point in history, allowing scientists to travel back in time and compare historical species genome data to present day genetic data of the study prey species.

Using the mud, the team isolated eggs of D. pulicaria, a tiny water flea that is vital to the health of lakes by controlling harmful algal blooms and feeding fish. The team compared water fleas from lakes that had been invaded by a predator—the spiny water flea, Bythotrephes longimanus introduced from Eurasia – with uninvaded lakes, finding striking differences in body size and genetic makeup.

Their investigation found that in invaded lakes, native water fleas (D. pulicaria) evolved to be larger in size. Using state-of-the-art genetic sequencing technology, the researchers discovered that these physical changes were accompanied by genetic changes, especially in genes linked to stress and reproduction.

“This study is a rare example of where we can directly observe evolution in action over multiple generations,” said Prof. Tanentzap, senior author on the study, and a professor in the Trent School of the Environment. “Our findings show how native species can adapt to invasive threats in ways that are both predictable and measurable.”

The study also highlights the importance of genetic diversity in enabling species to adapt to new environmental pressures. Researchers hope this knowledge can inform conservation strategies, prioritizing efforts to protect species and ecosystems at risk from invasive species and climate change.

“Our study underscores the resilience of nature but also its vulnerabilities to environmental change,” said lead author Dr. Danai Kontou of the University of Cambridge.

The research was funded by Peterhouse College, the University of Cambridge, and the Society for the Study of Evolution.