ABSTRACT
Wild populations must continuously adapt to environmental changes or they risk extinction. Such adaptations can be measured as phenotypic rates of change and can allow us to predict patterns of contemporary evolutionary change. About two decades ago, a dataset of phenotypic rates of change in wild populations was compiled. Since then, researchers have used (and expanded) this dataset to look at microevolutionary processes in relation to specific types of human disturbances. Here, we have updated the dataset adding 5257 estimates of phenotypic changes and used it to revisit established patterns of contemporary evolutionary change. Using this newer version, containing 6920 estimates of phenotypic changes, we revisit the conclusions of four published articles. We then synthesize the expanded dataset to compare rates of change across different types of human disturbance. Analyses of this expanded dataset suggests that: 1) a small absolute difference in rates of change exists between human disturbed and natural populations, 2) harvesting by humans results in larger rates of change than other types of disturbances, 3) introduced populations have increased rates of change, and 4) body size does not increase through time. Overall, findings from earlier analyses have largely held-up in analyses of our new dataset that encompass a much larger breadth of species, traits, and human disturbances. Lastly, we found that types of human disturbances affect rates of phenotypic change and we call for this database to serve as a stepping stone for further analyses to understand patterns of contemporary evolution.
Competing Interest Statement
The authors have declared no competing interest.