Siobhan O'Brien

1 Introduction Mental health difficulties frequently emerge during adolescence, with up to 75% of mental illnesses beginning before the age of 25 (Kessler et al. 2005). Global evidence points to worsening youth mental health (McGorry et al. 2024). In response, countries have reformed services to prioritise early intervention for those aged 12–25 years (McGorry et al. 2018; Uhlhaas et al. 2023).

Abstract Evolution can occur over ecological timescales, suggesting a potentially important role for rapid evolution in shaping community trait distributions. However, evidence of concordant eco-evolutionary dynamics often comes from in vitro studies of highly simplified communities, and measures of ecological and evolutionary dynamics are rarely directly comparable.

Waves broke over the sound of children’s laughter. Near the high-water mark, eight-year-old Clara Greensborough cleared a space in the sand. She swept aside dried bluebottles and rotting seaweed. Then she bobbed on her hands and knees and made the outline of a rectangle, like an artist preparing a canvas. She was resolute. She’d win Make a Man today. The rules of the game were simple: the first one to assemble a human skeleton on the beach was the winner.