Timescale mismatch: redefining ecological opportunity for evolution in the Anthropocene.

Rapid environmental changes in the Anthropocene create fleeting ecological opportunities that often do not last long enough for significant evolution or diversification to occur.

• Why it matters: Understanding whether ecological opportunities persist long enough for evolution is crucial for explaining biodiversity loss and rebuilding in the face of accelerated environmental change.
• What they did: The authors review how microbiome, behavioral, and physiological plasticity can buffer organisms against short-term instability, but these are reversible and non-heritable, limiting their role in long-term diversification.
• The result: A new, integrated framework combining evolutionary, ecological, and microbiome dynamics is needed to identify when transient opportunities can be stabilized for lasting biodiversity recovery.