Rapid evolution of zooplankton linked to urban transportation: Evidence from microgeography and resurrection ecology

Urban roadway runoff represents a widespread pollutant in the process of urbanization, and its eco-evolutionary influence on aquatic organisms remains poorly understood. This study focused on the dominant zooplankton species, Ceriodaphnia cornuta, and systematically investigated the rapid evolution driven by urban roadway runoff, simulated by tire wear particle (TWP) leachate, through multi-scale spatiotemporal experiments. On a microgeographic spatial scale, sampling sites were established along an urbanization gradient within the Huangpu River basin. The results showed that populations originating from highly urbanized waters exhibited significantly higher population intrinsic rate of increase under TWP stress, revealing a spatial pattern of evolutionary adaptation to the pollutant. On a temporal scale, historical populations were reconstructed by resurrecting dormant eggs from different periods (1980s to 2020s) in sediments. The findings demonstrated that as vehicle ownership and pollution pressure increased in the surrounding areas, contemporary populations exhibited significantly higher tolerance to TWP than historical populations, presenting a clear trajectory of adaptive evolution over time. By employing resurrection ecology and microgeography spatial gradient analysis, this study reveals direct associations between urban pollution-induced rapid evolution in aquatic organisms. It uncovers the short-term adaptive mechanisms of zooplankton to urban environmental stressors. These findings advance the understanding of contemporary evolution and enhance predictive capacity for aquatic ecosystem responses to anthropogenic pressures.