How can we empirically study eco-evo feedbacks?

Eco-evolutionary interactions begin when alternative phenotypes in a population exert different effects on the environment that significantly alters that environment. They become more dynamic when that environmental change alters relative fitness, which could then cause a new round of environmental alteration (eco-evo feedback). It is unclear how often these reciprocal feedbacks are sufficiently pervasive and sufficiently strong to create differences among communities across space or alter the dynamics within communities. I will outline the challenges to studying these feedbacks in natural and semi-natural populations with complex life histories and show how my colleagues and I are addressing these issues.