{"681221":{"#nid":"681221","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Nature\u0027s Time Machine: How Long-Term Studies Unlock Evolution\u0027s Secrets","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003EGeorgia Tech scientists are revealing how decades-long research programs have transformed our understanding of evolution, from laboratory petri dishes to tropical islands \u2014 along the way uncovering secrets that would remain hidden in shorter studies.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003EThrough a new review paper published in\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.nature.com\/\u0022\u003E\u003Cem\u003ENature\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E, the researchers underscore how long-term studies have captured evolution\u0027s most elusive processes, including the real-time formation of new species and the emergence of biological innovations.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003E\u0022Evolution isn\u0027t just about change over millions of years in fossils \u2014 it\u0027s happening all around us, right now,\u0022 says\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/biosciences.gatech.edu\/people\/james-stroud\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EJames Stroud\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E, the paper\u2019s lead author and an Elizabeth Smithgall Watts Early Career Assistant Professor in the\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/biosciences.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003ESchool of Biological Sciences\u003C\/a\u003E at Georgia Tech. \u0022However, to understand evolution, we need to watch it unfold in real time, often over many generations. Long-term studies allow us to do that by giving us a front-row seat to evolution in action.\u0022\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003EThe paper, \u201c\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.nature.com\/articles\/s41586-025-08597-9\u0022\u003ELong-term studies provide unique insights into evolution\u003C\/a\u003E,\u201d is the first-ever comprehensive analysis of these types of long-term evolutionary studies, and examines some of the longest-running evolutionary experiments and field studies to date, highlighting how they provide new perspectives on evolution. For example, in the Gal\u00e1pagos, a 40-year field study of Darwin\u2019s finches \u2014 songbirds named after evolutionary biology\u2019s famous founder \u2014 documented the formation of a new species through hybridization. In the lab, a study spanning 75,000 generations of bacteria showed populations unexpectedly evolving completely new metabolic abilities.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003E\u201cThese remarkable evolutionary events were only caught because of the long-term nature of the research programs,\u201d Stroud says. \u201cEven if short-term studies captured similar events, their evolutionary significance would be hard to assess without the historical context that long-term research provides.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003E\u201cThe most fascinating results from long-term evolution studies are often completely unexpected \u2014 they\u0027re serendipitous discoveries that couldn\u0027t have been predicted at the start,\u201d explains the paper\u2019s co-author,\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/biosciences.gatech.edu\/people\/will-ratcliff\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWill Ratcliff\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E, Sutherland Professor in the School of Biological Sciences and co-director of the\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/qbios.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003EInterdisciplinary Ph.D. in Quantitative Biosciences\u003C\/a\u003E at Georgia Tech.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003E\u201cWhile we can accelerate many aspects of scientific research today, evolution still moves at its own pace,\u201d Ratcliff adds. \u201cThere\u0027s no technological shortcut for watching species adapt across generations.\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch3\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EDecades of discovery \u2014 from labs to islands\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/h3\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003EThe new paper also highlights a growing challenge in modern science: the critical importance of supporting long-term research in an academic landscape that increasingly favors quick results and short-term funding. Yet, they say, some of biology\u0027s most profound insights emerge only through multi-decadal efforts.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003EThose challenges and rewards are familiar to Stroud and Ratcliff, who operate their own long-term evolutionary research programs at Georgia Tech.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003EIn South Florida, Stroud\u2019s \u2018Lizard Island\u2019 is helping document evolution in action across the football field-sized island\u2019s 1,000-lizard population. By studying a community of five species, his research is providing unique insights into\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.pnas.org\/doi\/10.1073\/pnas.2222071120\u0022\u003Ehow evolution maintains species\u2019 differences\u003C\/a\u003E, and\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.nature.com\/articles\/s41467-024-54302-1\u0022\u003Ehow species evolve when new competitors arrive\u003C\/a\u003E. Now operating for a decade, it is one of the world\u2019s longest-running active evolutionary studies of its kind.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003EIn his lab at Georgia Tech, Ratcliff studies the origin of complex life \u2014 specifically,\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.nature.com\/articles\/s41586-023-06052-1\u0022\u003Ehow single-celled organisms become multicellular\u003C\/a\u003E. His\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/cos.gatech.edu\/news\/new-study-discovers-how-altered-protein-folding-drives-multicellular-evolution\u0022\u003EMulticellularity Long Term Evolution Experiment\u003C\/a\u003E (MuLTEE) on snowflake yeast has run for more than 9,000 generations, with aims to continue for the next 25 years. The work has shown how key steps in the evolutionary transition from single-celled organisms to multi-celled organisms occur far more easily than previously understood.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch3\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EImportant work in a changing world\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/h3\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003EStroud says that the insights from these types of studies, and this review paper, are arriving at a crucial moment. \u201cThe world is rapidly changing, which poses unprecedented challenges to Earth\u0027s biodiversity,\u201d he explains. \u201cIt has never been more important to understand how organisms adapt to changing environments over time.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003E\u201cLong-term studies provide our best window into achieving this,\u201d he adds. \u201cWe can document, in real time, both short-term and long-term evolutionary responses of species to changes in their environment like climate change and habitat modification.\u0022\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003EBy drawing together evolution\u0027s longest-running experiments and field studies for the first time, Stroud and Ratcliff offer key insights into studying this fundamental process, suggesting that understanding life\u0027s past \u2014 and predicting its future \u2014 requires not just advanced technology or new methods, but also the simple power of time.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003E\u003Cem\u003EFunding: The US National Institutes of Health and the NSF Division of Environmental Biology\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003E\u003Cem\u003EDOI: \u003C\/em\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1038\/s41586-025-08597-9\u0022\u003E\u003Cem\u003Ehttps:\/\/doi.org\/10.1038\/s41586-025-08597-9\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EThrough a new review paper published in\u0026nbsp;\u003Cem\u003ENature\u003C\/em\u003E, Georgia Tech scientists are revealing how decades-long research programs have transformed our understanding of evolution, uncovering secrets that would remain hidden in shorter studies.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Through a new review paper published in\u00a0Nature, Georgia Tech scientists are revealing how decades-long research programs have transformed our understanding of evolution, uncovering secrets that would remain hidden in shorter studies."}],"uid":"35599","created_gmt":"2025-03-19 13:26:28","changed_gmt":"2025-03-26 19:06:08","author":"sperrin6","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","location":"Atlanta, GA","dateline":{"date":"2025-03-19T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2025-03-19T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"676594":{"id":"676594","type":"image","title":"A 40-year field study of Gal\u00e1pagos ground finches (Geospiza sp.) has provided unparalleled insights into how natural selection operates in the wild and how new species might form. (Illustration: Mark Belan\/ArtSciStudios)","body":"\u003Cp\u003EA 40-year field study of Gal\u00e1pagos ground finches (\u003Cem\u003EGeospiza\u003C\/em\u003E sp.) has provided unparalleled insights into\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1126\/science.1070315\u0022\u003Ehow natural selection operates in the wild\u003C\/a\u003E and\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1126\/science.aao4593\u0022\u003Ehow new species might form\u003C\/a\u003E. (Illustration: Mark Belan\/ArtSciStudios)\u003C\/p\u003E","created":"1742392983","gmt_created":"2025-03-19 14:03:03","changed":"1742392983","gmt_changed":"2025-03-19 14:03:03","alt":"A 40-year field study of Gal\u00e1pagos ground finches (Geospiza sp.) has provided unparalleled insights into how natural selection operates in the wild and how new species might form. (Illustration: Mark Belan\/ArtSciStudios)","file":{"fid":"260401","name":"StroudRatcliff_Fig1-copy.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2025\/03\/19\/StroudRatcliff_Fig1-copy_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2025\/03\/19\/StroudRatcliff_Fig1-copy_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":443498,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2025\/03\/19\/StroudRatcliff_Fig1-copy_0.jpg?itok=_c3-8gIx"}},"676593":{"id":"676593","type":"image","title":"A long-term field study of Californian stick insects (Timema cristinae) reveals how competing selection pressures shape their evolution. (Illustration: Mark Belan\/ArtSciStudios)","body":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1126\/science.aap9125\u0022\u003EA long-term field study of Californian stick insects (\u003Cem\u003ETimema cristinae\u003C\/em\u003E)\u003C\/a\u003E reveals how competing selection pressures shape their evolution. While brown-colored stick insects experience lower predation rates from Californian scrub jays (\u003Cem\u003EAphelocoma californica\u003C\/em\u003E) than their green counterparts during hot, dry years when bright green leaves are scarce, they face higher mortality due to reduced heat tolerance. This trade-off demonstrates how climate and predation simultaneously drive evolutionary adaptation in natural populations, and this case study has been used to develop statistical models that predict future evolutionary outcomes. (Illustration: Mark Belan\/ArtSciStudios)\u003C\/p\u003E","created":"1742392614","gmt_created":"2025-03-19 13:56:54","changed":"1742392614","gmt_changed":"2025-03-19 13:56:54","alt":"A long-term field study of Californian stick insects (Timema cristinae) reveals how competing selection pressures shape their evolution. (Illustration: Mark Belan\/ArtSciStudios)","file":{"fid":"260399","name":"StroudRatcliff_Fig2.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2025\/03\/19\/StroudRatcliff_Fig2.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2025\/03\/19\/StroudRatcliff_Fig2.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":611105,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2025\/03\/19\/StroudRatcliff_Fig2.jpg?itok=cmUnaXaz"}},"676595":{"id":"676595","type":"image","title":"Founded in 1988, the Long-Term Evolution Experiment (LTEE) is the world\u2019s longest-running ongoing evolution experiment now spanning 75,000 generations. (Illustration: Mark Belan\/ArtSciStudios)","body":"\u003Cp\u003EFounded in 1988,\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1007\/s00239-023-10095-3\u0022\u003Ethe Long-Term Evolution Experiment (LTEE)\u003C\/a\u003E is the world\u2019s longest-running ongoing evolution experiment now spanning 75,000 generations. Twelve genetically identical populations of the bacterium\u0026nbsp;\u003Cem\u003EEscherichia coli\u003C\/em\u003E have been allowed to evolve under constant conditions, and have uncovered\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1038\/nature24287\u0022\u003Egeneral principles of evolutionary dynamics\u003C\/a\u003E, such\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1073\/pnas.0803151105\u0022\u003E as how evolutionary novelties arise\u003C\/a\u003E. (Illustration: Mark Belan\/ArtSciStudios)\u003C\/p\u003E","created":"1742393278","gmt_created":"2025-03-19 14:07:58","changed":"1742393278","gmt_changed":"2025-03-19 14:07:58","alt":"Founded in 1988, the Long-Term Evolution Experiment (LTEE) is the world\u2019s longest-running ongoing evolution experiment now spanning 75,000 generations. Twelve genetically identical populations of the bacterium Escherichia coli have been allowed to evolve under constant conditions, and have uncovered general principles of evolutionary dynamics, such as how evolutionary novelties arise. (Illustration: Mark Belan\/ArtSciStudios)","file":{"fid":"260402","name":"StroudRatcliff_Fig55.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2025\/03\/19\/StroudRatcliff_Fig55.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2025\/03\/19\/StroudRatcliff_Fig55.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":247886,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2025\/03\/19\/StroudRatcliff_Fig55.jpg?itok=9VV-tQAF"}},"676596":{"id":"676596","type":"image","title":"Long-term studies at the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory in Colorado, USA, reveal that Drummond\u2019s rockcress (Boechera stricta), a North American wildflower, bloom almost 4 days earlier each decade since the 1970s. (Illustration: Mark Belan\/ArtSci)","body":"\u003Cp\u003ELong-term studies at the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory in Colorado, USA, reveal that\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1098\/rspb.2012.1051\u0022\u003EDrummond\u2019s rockcress (\u003Cem\u003EBoechera stricta\u003C\/em\u003E), a North American wildflower, now bloom almost 4 days earlier each decade since the 1970s\u003C\/a\u003E, responding to earlier snowmelt in the region. Long-term field studies are the key to understanding how species in the wild are evolving in response to climate change. (Illustration: Mark Belan\/ArtSciStudios)\u003C\/p\u003E","created":"1742393474","gmt_created":"2025-03-19 14:11:14","changed":"1742393474","gmt_changed":"2025-03-19 14:11:14","alt":"Long-term studies at the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory in Colorado, USA, reveal that Drummond\u2019s rockcress (Boechera stricta), a North American wildflower, now bloom almost 4 days earlier each decade since the 1970s, responding to earlier snowmelt in the region. Long-term field studies are the key to understanding how species in the wild are evolving in response to climate change. (Illustration: Mark Belan\/ArtSciStudios)","file":{"fid":"260403","name":"StroudRatcliff_Fig44.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2025\/03\/19\/StroudRatcliff_Fig44.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2025\/03\/19\/StroudRatcliff_Fig44.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":273664,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2025\/03\/19\/StroudRatcliff_Fig44.jpg?itok=iuGEubZG"}},"676597":{"id":"676597","type":"image","title":"A series of experiment spanning 40 years on small islands in the Bahamas have revealed how prey species, like small brown anole lizards (Anolis sagrei), evolve in response to predators. (Illustration: Mark Belan\/ArtSciStudios)","body":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1643\/CE-16-549\u0022\u003EA series of experiment spanning 40 years on small islands in the Bahamas\u003C\/a\u003E have revealed how prey species, like small brown anole lizards (\u003Cem\u003EAnolis sagrei\u003C\/em\u003E),\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1038\/nature03039\u0022\u003Eevolve in response to predators\u003C\/a\u003E, like the larger curly-tailed lizard (\u003Cem\u003ELeiocepahlus carinatus\u003C\/em\u003E). Importantly, due to the long-term nature of this research,\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1890\/0012-9615(2002)072[0383:POACAL]2.0.CO;2\u0022\u003Escientists were able to track ecosystem changes in response to this predator-driven rapid evolution\u003C\/a\u003E. (Illustration: Mark Belan\/ArtSciStudios)\u003C\/p\u003E","created":"1742393920","gmt_created":"2025-03-19 14:18:40","changed":"1742393920","gmt_changed":"2025-03-19 14:18:40","alt":"A series of experiment spanning 40 years on small islands in the Bahamas have revealed how prey species, like small brown anole lizards (Anolis sagrei), evolve in response to predators, like the larger curly-tailed lizard (Leiocepahlus carinatus). Importantly, due to the long-term nature of this research, scientists were able to track ecosystem changes in response to this predator-driven rapid evolution. (Illustration: Mark Belan\/ArtSciStudios)","file":{"fid":"260404","name":"JamesStroud_LizardImage.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2025\/03\/19\/JamesStroud_LizardImage.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2025\/03\/19\/JamesStroud_LizardImage.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":396641,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2025\/03\/19\/JamesStroud_LizardImage.jpg?itok=S7ODWT8q"}}},"media_ids":["676594","676593","676595","676596","676597"],"related_links":[{"url":"https:\/\/cos.gatech.edu\/news\/when-two-lizards-meet-first-time-scientists-witness-evolution-action","title":"When Two Lizards Meet for the First Time, Scientists Witness Evolution in Action"},{"url":"https:\/\/research.gatech.edu\/scientists-uncover-key-mechanism-evolution-whole-genome-duplication-drives-long-term-adaptation","title":"Scientists uncover key mechanism in evolution: Whole-genome duplication drives long-term adaptation"}],"groups":[{"id":"1278","name":"College of Sciences"},{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"},{"id":"1275","name":"School of Biological Sciences"}],"categories":[{"id":"154","name":"Environment"},{"id":"146","name":"Life Sciences and Biology"},{"id":"135","name":"Research"}],"keywords":[{"id":"192254","name":"cos-climate"},{"id":"187423","name":"go-bio"},{"id":"187915","name":"go-researchnews"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39441","name":"Bioengineering and Bioscience"},{"id":"193653","name":"Georgia Tech Research Institute"}],"news_room_topics":[{"id":"71911","name":"Earth and Environment"}],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EWritten by Selena Langner\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EContact: \u003Ca href=\u0022mailto: jess.hunt@cos.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EJess Hunt-Ralston\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}