Anders Forsman

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Verified

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• Professor in evolutionary ecology
• Professor at Linnaeus University

Much research has been devoted to identify the conditions under which selection favours flexible individuals or genotypes that are able to modify their growth, development and behaviour in response to environmental cues, to unravel the mechanisms of plasticity and to explore its influence on patterns of diversity among individuals, populations and...

Biological diversity is threatened by exploitation, fragmentation of natural habitats, pollution, climate change, and anthropogenic spread of species. The question of how among-individual variation influences the performance of populations and species is a poorly explored but currently growing field of research. Here, we review 31 experimental and...

Population genetic studies reveal biodiversity patterns and inform about drivers of evolutionary differentiation and adaptation, including gene flow, drift and selection. This can advance our understanding and aid decision making regarding management and conservation efforts. Microsatellites have long been used in population genetic studies. Thanks...

Context- dependent biological variation presents a unique challenge to the reproducibility of results in experimental animal research, because organisms’ responses to experimental treatments can vary with both genotype and environmental conditions. In March 2019, experts in animal biology, experimental design and statistics convened in Blonay, Swit...

Colour polymorphisms have long served as model systems in evolutionary stud�ies and continue to inform about processes involved in the origin and dynamics of biodiversity. Modern sequencing tools allow for evaluating whether phenotypic differences between morphs reflect genetic differentiation rather than develop�mental plasticity, and for investi...

Insects are pivotal to ecosystem diversity and functionality, yet they face increasing threats from anthropogenic climate change impacts. A growing body of studies reports the effects of changing temperature and precipitation patterns, but relatively few studies focus on the consequences for insect populations because of extreme weather events. Her...

For two decades, DNA barcoding and, more recently, DNA metabarcoding have been used for molecular species identification and estimating biodiversity. Despite their growing use, few studies have systematically evaluated these methods. This study aims to evaluate the efficacy of barcoding methods in identifying species and estimating biodiversity, by...

Skin microbiomes provide vital functions, yet knowledge about the drivers and processes structuring their species assemblages is limited—especially for non‐model organisms. In this study, fish skin microbiome was assessed by high throughput sequencing of amplicon sequence variants from metabarcoding of V3–V4 regions in the 16S rRNA gene on fish hos...

Context Conservation of endangered species necessitates an in-depth understanding of their ecological requirements. Particularly in landscape ecology, the behavioural tendencies of threatened butterfly species in Gotland, a biodiversity-rich island in the Baltic Sea, become crucial. Objectives The primary aim of this study was to elucidate the mov...

This study investigates the ecology of three threatened butterfly species on a 60 km ² site in Gotland, Southeast Sweden, using mark–recapture methods from 2017 to 2020. Nearly 30,000 captures were recorded, with average lifespans of 6 days for Euphydryas aurinia (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae) and Parnassius apollo (Lepidoptera: Papilionidae) and 2 day...

This study investigates the praxis of university boards by analysing minutes from Swedish universities before and after an autonomy reform that, among other things, changed the board compositions in favour of external members. To ultimately improve higher education policy and paint a more complete picture of the operational side of governance arran...

This study investigates the praxis of university boards by analysing minutes from Swedish universities before and after an autonomy reform that, among other things, changed the board compositions in favour of external members. To ultimately improve higher education policy and paint a more complete picture of the operational side of governance arran...

The world’s oceans are challenged by climate change linked warming with typically highly populated coastal areas being particularly susceptible to these effects. Many studies of climate change on the marine environment use large, short-term temperature manipulations that neglect factors such as long-term adaptation and seasonal cycles. In this stud...

Oak species worldwide face substantial challenges in natural recruitment, significantly affecting biodiversity and ecosystem services. Oaks are a keystone species in northern temperate zones, influencing ecosystem dynamics. This study analysed oak regeneration patterns from 29 oak stands (Quercus spp.) across southern Sweden up to the species' nort...

Climate change related warming is a serious environmental problem attributed to anthropogenic activities, causing ocean water temperatures to rise in the coastal marine ecosystem since the last century. This particularly affects benthic microbial communities, which are crucial for biogeochemical cycles. While bacterial communities have received con...

Doctoral education is more important than ever, and PhD-student enrolment numbers are continually climbing, as is the demand for more graduates with high-level research skills. This mobilization can only be realized if there are sufficient well-trained researchers able to take on the challenge of supervision in a world where science is both more im...

Variation in the composition of skin-associated microbiomes has been attributed to host species, geographical location and habitat, but the role of intraspecific phenotypic variation among host individuals remains elusive. We explored if and how host environment and different phenotypic traits were associated with microbiome composition. We conduct...

Environmental and climatic changes are inducing population declines in numerous species. However, certain species demonstrate remarkable resilience, exhibiting both population growth and range expansion. This longitudinal study in Sweden carried out over two decades (2004–2023) examines the noctuid moths Mythimna albipuncta and Hoplodrina ambigua....

Context. Conservation of endangered species necessitates an in-depth understanding of their ecological requirements. Particularly in landscape ecology, the behavioural tendencies of threatened butterfly species in Gotland, a biodiversity-rich island in the Baltic Sea, become crucial. Objectives. The primary aim of this study was to elucidate the mo...

Simple Summary This research investigates moth biodiversity in two southern Swedish provinces, Västergötland and Småland, spanning from 1974 to 2019. The moth diversity over these years was evaluated using data collected from literary sources. To augment this dataset, a light trap was installed in each province in 2020. The data demonstrate enhance...

Climate change causes earlier and warmer springs in seasonal environments and a higher incidence of extreme weather events. In aquatic environments, this changes the thermal conditions during spawning, and the thermal performance of eggs and embryos may determine the consequences of climate change on recruitment. In iteroparous species with indeter...

Understanding how large-scale environmental variability may shape the distribution of phenotypic variation remains central to evolutionary biology. Across-species comparisons of trait variation alongside environmental gradients may offer valuable insights into how different species may respond to similar selective pressures. We conducted a comparat...

Climate change is an important driver of range shifts and community composition changes. Still, little is known about how the responses are influenced by the combination of land use, species interactions and species traits. We integrate climate and distributional data for 131 butterfly species in Sweden and Finland and show that cumulative species...

Coastal waters such as those found in the Baltic Sea already suffer from anthropogenic related problems including increased algal blooming and hypoxia while ongoing and future climate change will likely worsen these effects. Microbial communities in sediments play a crucial role in the marine energy- and nutrient cycling, and how they are affected...

Besides long-term average temperature increases, climate change is projected to result in a higher frequency of marine heatwaves. Coastal zones are some of the most productive and vulnerable ecosystems, with many stretches already under anthropogenic pressure. Microorganisms in coastal areas are central to marine energy and nutrient cycling and the...

While some species rapidly decline, compromising vital ecosystem services, others are stable or even increasing in abundance. We studied shifts in species richness and abundance of moths over five decades in Central Sweden and examined whether and how changes were associated with phenotypic traits. We combined information from captures in a light t...

Parallel to the widespread decline of plants and animals, there is also an ongoing expansion of many species, which is especially pronounced in certain taxonomic groups and in northern latitudes. In order to inform an improved understanding of population dynamics in range-expanding taxa, we studied species richness, abundance and population growth...

It remains unclear to what extent yearly weather variation and spatial variation in microclimate influences the outcome of interacting plant-animal species and whether responses differ between life stages. We collected data over several years on 46 ha on File Hajdar, Gotland, Sweden, and executed a complete mapping of larva nests (n = 776) and imag...

Skin microbiomes provide vital functions, yet knowledge about their species assemblages is limited - especially for non-model organisms. In this study, we conducted in situ manipulations and repeated sampling on wild-caught individuals of Rutilus rutilus. Treatments included translocation between fresh and brackish water habitats to investigate the...

Understanding which factors and processes are associated with genetic differentiation within and among species remains a major goal in evolutionary biology. To explore differences and similarities in genetic structure and its association with geographical and climatic factors in sympatric sister species, we conducted a large‐scale (>32° latitude an...

Coastal marine ecosystems are some of the most diverse natural habitats while being highly vulnerable in the face of climate change. The combination of anthropogenic influence from land and ongoing climate change will likely have severe effects on the environment, but the precise response remains uncertain. This study compared an unaffected "contro...

We used observational data collected during a mark-recapture study that generated a total of 7503 captures of 6108 unique individuals representing three endangered butterfly species to quantify inter-and intraindividual variation in temperature utilization and examine how activity patterns vary according to season, time of day, and ambient temperat...

In Europe, Natura 2000 sites should protect threatened target species and networks of habitats. The management of Natura 2000 grasslands is often financed by subsidized grazing as part of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). We studied the extent of CAP grazing for Natura 2000 management and how this affects a butterfly target species (the marsh f...

Increased ocean temperature associated with climate change is especially intensified in coastal areas and its influence on microbial communities and biogeochemical cycling is poorly understood. In this study, we sampled a Baltic Sea bay that has undergone 50 years of warmer temperatures similar to RCP5-8.5 predictions due to cooling water release fro...

Fish skin-associated microbial communities are highly variable among populations and species and can impact host fitness. Still, the sources of variation in microbiome composition, and particularly how they vary among and within host individuals, have rarely been investigated. To tackle this issue, we explored patterns of variation in fish skin mic...

Understanding how eco-evolutionary processes and environmental factors drive population differentiation and adaptation are key challenges in evolutionary biology of relevance for biodiversity protection. Differentiation requires at least partial reproductive separation, which may result from different modes of isolation such as geographic isolation...

Historical data are valuable resources for providing insights into general sociological patterns in the past. However , these data o en inform us at the macro-level of analysis but not about the role of individuals' behaviours in the emergence of long-term patterns. Therefore, it is difficult to infer 'how' and 'why' certain patterns emerged in the...

Ecological theory postulates that the size and isolation of habitat patches impact the colonization/extinction dynamics that determine community species richness and population persistence. Given the key role of lotic habitats for life-history completion in rheophilic fish, evaluating how the distribution of swift-flowing habitats affects the abund...

Understanding how eco-evolutionary processes and environmental factors drive population differentiation and adaptation are key challenges in evolutionary biology of relevance for biodiversity protection. Differentiation requires at least partial reproductive separation, which may result from different modes of isolation such as geographic isolation...

In their studies of collective exploitation of common-pool resources, Ostrom and other scholars have stressed the importance of sanctioning as an essential method for preventing overuse and, eventually, the collapse of commons. However, most of the available evidence is based on data covering a relatively small period in history, and thus does not...

Human societies and natural ecosystems are under threat by growing populations, overexploitation of natural resources and climate change. This calls for more sustainable utilization of resources based on past experiences and insights from many different disciplines. Interdisciplinary approaches to studies of historical commons have potential to ide...

Colour polymorphism offers rich opportunities for studying the eco-evolutionary mechanisms that drive the adaptations of local populations to heterogeneous and changing environments. We explored the colour morph diversity and composition in a Chrysomela lapponica leaf beetle across its entire distribution range to test the hypothesis that environme...

Background: Fitness consequences of intraspecific genetic admixture can vary from positive to negative depending on the genetic composition of the populations and environmental conditions. Because admixture has potential to influence the success of management and conservation efforts, genetic similarity has been suggested to be used as a proxy to p...

Life history theory posits that organisms should time their reproduction to coincide with environmental conditions that maximize their fitness. Population‐level comparisons have contributed important insights on the adaptive value of reproductive timing and its association to environmental variation. Yet, despite its central role to ecology and evo...

Background: Fitness consequences of intraspecific genetic admixture can vary from positive to negative depending on the genetic composition of the populations and environmental conditions. Because admixture has potential to influence the success of management and conservation efforts, genetic similarity has been suggested to be used as a proxy to p...

• Mobility may affect species' distribution patterns in heterogeneous landscapes, and it might impact fitness by influencing mating success, predation avoidance, and foraging success. Here, we studied causes and consequences of mobility patterns in butterflies: Argynnis adippe, a specialist constrained to warm microhabitats within woodland landscap...

In their correspondence about our recent Perspective article (Reproducibility of animal research in light of biological variation. Nat. Rev. Neurosci. 21, 384–393 (2020)), Richter and von Kortzfleisch support our recommendations for a paradigm shift from rigorous standardization to systematic heterogenization in animal research (It is time for an e...

Historical commons represent self-governed governance regimes that regulate the use and management of natural and man-made shared resources. Despite growing scientific interests, analyses of commons evolution and temporal dynamics are rare and drivers of change (birth, adaptation, dissolution) remain obscure. We apply an interdisciplinary approach...

Biodiversity is challenged worldwide by exploitation, global warming, changes in land use and increasing urbanization. It is hypothesized that communities in urban areas should consist primarily of generalist species with broad niches that are able to cope with novel, variable, fragmented, warmer and unpredictable environments shaped by human press...

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.

Phenotypic flexibility may incur a selective advantage in changing and heterogeneous environments, and is increasingly recognized as an integral aspect of organismal adaptation. Despite the widespread occurrence and potential importance of rapid and reversible background-mediated color change for predator avoidance, knowledge gaps remain regarding...

We present an analysis of regulatory activities in historical commons offering a unique picture of their long-term institutional dynamics. The analysis took into account almost 3,800 regulatory activities in eighteen European commons in two countries across seven centuries. Despite differences in time and space, we found a shared pattern where an i...

Animal colour patterns long have provided information about key processes that drive the ecological and evolutionary dynamics of biological diversity. Theory and empirical evidence indicate that variation in colour patterns and other traits among individuals generally improves the performance of populations and species, for example by reducing pred...

The strength of biotic interactions is generally thought to increase toward the equator, but support for this hypothesis is contradictory. We explored whether predator attacks on artificial prey of eight different colors vary among climates and whether this variation affects the detection of latitudinal patterns in predation. Bird attack rates nega...

Institutions are key to avoid the “tragedy” of the commons where a shared resource is at risk of depletion due to the collective action problem underlying its management (Ostrom 1990). Therefore, understanding institutional forms and how they emerge and evolve over time is of crucial importance. This research used ABM to study the dynamics of insti...

• Aquatic systems often lack physical boundaries for gene flow, but ecological and behavioural barriers can form surprisingly fine spatial scale genetic patterns that challenge traditional, large scale management. To detect fine spatial scale structures, understand sources of intraspecific diversity, and design appropriate management plans requires...

Background: In the wake of climate change many environments will be exposed to increased and more variable temperatures. Knowledge about how species and populations respond to altered temperature regimes is therefore important to improve projections of how ecosystems will be affected by global warming, and to aid management. We conducted a common g...

Migration strategies in fishes comprise a rich, ecologically important, and socioeconomically valuable example of biological diversity. The variation and flexibility in migration is evident between and within individuals, populations, and species, and thereby provides a useful model system that continues to inform how ecological and evolutionary pr...

A high capacity for long-distance dispersal is a key to success for species confronted with environmental heterogeneity, habitat modification, fragmentation and loss. However, dispersal capacity is difficult to quantify and therefore poorly known in most taxa. Here, we report on a test for an association of variation in dispersal capacity with vari...

Knowledge of patterns and drivers of the spatiotemporal distribution of top predatory fish is key to understand ecological dynamics and to successful management. Here, we integrated field and laboratory approaches to study vertical movements of pike (Esox lucius) in relation to season, light regimes and body temperature. We tagged pike from the Bal...

It has been hypothesized that species with more variable color patterns should have higher establishment success and be less sensitive to environmental changes and local extinction compared with species that do not vary in color. This difference in colonization/extinction balance should manifest as larger continental range distributions and modulat...

Genetic structure among and diversity within natural populations is influenced by a combination of ecological and evolutionary processes. These processes can differently influence neutral and functional genetic diversity and also vary according to environmental settings. To investigate the roles of interacting processes as drivers of population‐lev...

Intraspecific genetic admixture occurs when previously separated populations within a species start interbreeding, and it can have either positive, negative, or neutral effects on reproductive performance. As there currently is no reliable predictor for the outcome of admixture, an increased knowledge about admixture effects in different species an...

One contribution of 14 to a theme issue 'Linking local adaptation with the evolution of sex differences'. Electronic supplementary material is available online at https://dx. Much research has been devoted to study evolution of local adaptations by natural selection, and to explore the roles of neutral processes and developmental plasticity for p...

Most animals including humans use vision to detect, identify, evaluate and respond to potential prey items in complex environments. Theories predict that predators' visual search performance is better when targets are similar than when targets are dissimilar and require divided attention, and this may contribute to colour pattern polymorphism in pr...

In terrestrial environments, cold-blooded animals can attain higher body temperatures by sun basking, and thereby potentially benefit from broader niches, improved performance and higher fitness. The higher heat capacity and thermal conductivity of water compared with air have been universally assumed to render heat gain from sun basking impossible...

A correction to this article has been published and is linked from the HTML and PDF versions of this paper. The error has been fixed in the paper.

We asked whether ambient temperatures can affect morph frequencies within a subarctic population of the polymorphic leaf beetle Chrysomela lapponica through thermal melanism and/or developmental plasticity. Body temperature increased faster in beetles of dark morph than in beetles of light morph under exposure to artificial irradiation. Dark males...

Environmental heterogeneity is a key determinant of genetic and phenotypic diversity. Stable and homogenous environments tends to result in evolution of specialism and local adaptations, while temporally unpredictable environments may maintain a diversity of specialists, promote generalist strategies, or favour diversified bet hedging strategies. W...

Patterns of genetic and phenotypic variation within and among populations are influenced by a complex interplay of ecological and evolutionary processes. Theory posits that gene flow should increase diversity within and reduce differentiation between populations. Evaluating these predictions is potentially complicated by selection, population dynam...

Spatial sorting is a process that can contribute to microevolutionary change by assembling phenotypes through space, owing to nonrandom dispersal. Here we first build upon and develop the “neutral” version of the spatial sorting hypothesis by arguing that in systems that are not characterized by repeated range expansions, the evolutionary effects o...

It is broadly accepted that continued global warming will pose a major threat to biodiversity in the 21st century. But how reliable are current projections regarding consequences of future climate change for biodiversity? To address this issue, we review the methodological approaches in published studies of how life in marine and freshwater environ...

Range shifts have been documented in many organisms, and climate change has been implicated as a contributing driver of latitudinal and altitudinal range modifications. However, little is known about what species trait(s) allow for faster environmental tracking and improved capacity for distribution expansions. We used data for 416 species of moths...

Genetic diversity within and among populations and species is influenced by complex demographic and evolutionary processes. Despite extensive research, there is no consensus regarding how landscape structure, spatial distribution, gene flow, and population dynamics impact genetic composition of natural populations. Here, we used amplified fragment...