Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Experiment Videos

Artificial ecosystem selection.

W Swenson1, D S Wilson, R Elias

  • 1Department of Biological Sciences, Binghamton University, Binghamton, NY 13902-6000, USA.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
|July 13, 2000
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Acceptance of the use of silver fluoride among Brazilian parents of children with special health care needs.

Frontiers in oral health·2024
Same author

Abstracts of presentations to the Annual Meetings of the Canadian Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons Canadian Association of General Surgeons Canadian Association of Thoracic Surgeons: Canadian Surgery Forum, Toronto, Ont., September 6-9, 2007.

Canadian journal of surgery. Journal canadien de chirurgie·2023
Same author

Spatial-temporal variations of a SW Atlantic macrobenthic community affected by a chronic anthropogenic disturbance.

Marine pollution bulletin·2020
Same author

Neuromuscular organization of avian flight muscle: Morphology and contractile properties of motor units in the pectoralis (pars thoracicus) of pigeon (Columba livia).

Journal of morphology·2018
Same author

Rapid sewage pollution assessment by means of the coverage of epilithic taxa in a coastal area in the SW Atlantic.

The Science of the total environment·2018
Same author

Grand challenges for the study of cultural evolution.

Nature ecology & evolution·2017
Same journal

Chemotactic self-organization captures the dynamics of mammalian hair follicle patterning.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·2026
Same journal

Tomographic imaging of superconducting order using particle-hole interference.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·2026
Same journal

Inhibitory potential of autologous neutralizing antibodies sets quantitative limits on the rebound-competent HIV-1 reservoir.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·2026
Same journal

Inferring epidemiological parameters under an infectious phylogeography model with visitor dynamics.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·2026
Same journal

Analytical modeling for suction cup designs for skin-interfaced wearable devices.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·2026
Same journal

Improving cell-free metabolism through direct integration of artificial respiratory chains.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·2026
See all related articles

Artificial selection can shape entire ecosystems, not just individual organisms. This research demonstrates heritable variation in laboratory ecosystems, challenging the idea that selection is limited to lower biological levels.

Area of Science:

  • Ecology
  • Evolutionary Biology
  • Experimental Ecology

Background:

  • Artificial selection has historically focused on modifying traits of individual organisms.
  • Darwin utilized artificial selection as a key argument for his theory of natural selection.
  • The effectiveness of selection at different biological hierarchical levels is a subject of debate.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate whether artificial selection can be applied to shape the properties of entire ecosystems.
  • To determine if phenotypic variation observed in artificial ecosystems is heritable.
  • To explore the role of complex interactions in ecosystem-level evolution.

Main Methods:

  • Initiation of laboratory ecosystems composed of thousands of species and millions of individuals.

Related Experiment Videos

  • Application of artificial selection procedures to these experimental ecosystems.
  • Phenotypic assessment of ecosystem properties and analysis of heritability.

    • Main Results:

    • Laboratory-initiated ecosystems exhibit significant phenotypic variation.
    • A portion of this observed phenotypic variation within ecosystems is demonstrated to be heritable.
    • Artificial ecosystem selection is shown to be a viable procedure.

    Conclusions:

    • Artificial selection can effectively shape the characteristics of whole ecosystems.
    • Ecosystem-level artificial selection highlights the significant role of complex interactions in evolutionary processes.
    • This study challenges the prevailing view that selection is predominantly effective at lower biological organizational levels.