Predation and the Evolutionary Dynamics of Species Ranges

Gene flow that hampers local adaptation can constrain species distributions and slow invasions. Predation as an ecological factor mainly limits prey species ranges, but a richer array of possibilities arises once one accounts for how predation alters the interplay of gene flow and selection. We extend previous single-species theory on the interplay of demography, gene flow, and selection by investigating how predation modifies the coupled demographic-evolutionary dynamics of the range and habitat use of prey. We consider a model for two discrete patches and a complementary model for species along continuous environmental gradients. We show that predation can strongly influence the evolutionary stability of prey habitat specialization and range limits. Predators can permit prey to expand in habitat or geographical range or, conversely, cause range collapses. Transient increases in predation can induce shifts in prey ranges that persist even if the predator itself later becomes extinct. Whether a predator tightens or loosens evolutionary constraints on the invasion speed and ultimate size of a prey range depends on the predator effectiveness, its mobility relative to its prey, and the prey’s intraspecific density dependence, as well as the magnitude of environmental heterogeneity. Our results potentially provide a novel explanation for lags and reversals in invasions.