Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Related Concept Videos

Trophic Efficiency

Trophic Efficiency

Trophic level transfer efficiency (TLTE) is a measure of the total energy transfer from one trophic level to the next. Due to extensive energy loss as metabolic heat, an average of only 10% of the original energy obtained is passed on to the next level. This pattern of energy loss severely limits the possible number of trophic levels in a food chain.

Population Growth

Population Growth

Population size is dynamic, increasing with birth rates and immigration, and decreasing with death rates and emigration. In ideal conditions with unlimited resources, populations can increase exponentially, which plots as a J-shaped growth rate curve of population size against time. This type of curve is characteristic of newly-introduced invasive species, or populations that have suffered catastrophic declines and are rebounding.

Speciation Rates

Speciation Rates

Predator-Prey Interactions

Predator-Prey Interactions

Predators consume prey for energy. Predators that acquire prey and prey that avoid predation both increase their chances of survival and reproduction (i.e., fitness). Routine predator-prey interactions elicit mutual adaptations that improve predator offenses, such as claws, teeth, and speed, as well as prey defenses, including crypsis, aposematism, and mimicry. Thus, predator-prey interactions resemble an evolutionary arms race.

Evolution of New Traits in Microbes

Evolution of New Traits in Microbes

Microorganisms evolve rapidly due to their large population sizes and short generation times, often exhibiting measurable changes within days under laboratory conditions. Natural selection acts on standing genetic variation, enabling the retention and amplification of beneficial traits that confer fitness advantages in changing environments.Adaptive Pigment Regulation in RhodobacterIn Rhodobacter, a genus of purple non-sulfur bacteria, light-harvesting pigments such as bacteriochlorophyll and...

Microbial Interactions: Predation

Microbial Interactions: Predation

Microbial predation refers to the process by which one microorganism kills and consumes another to obtain nutrients and energy. It encompasses both bacterial and protozoan predators. This interaction plays a crucial role in shaping microbial communities and regulating nutrient cycling.Bacterial Predators: Epibiotic vs. EndobioticBacterial predators are classified based on their mode of attack as either epibiotic or endobiotic. Epibiotic predators, such as Vampirococcus, attach to the surface of...

You might also read

Related Articles

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

Sort by

Same author

What Have We Learned From Empirical Applications of Modern Coexistence Theory?

Ecology letters·2026

Same author

Aquaculture facility-specific microbiota shape the zebrafish gut microbiome.

Animal microbiome·2026

Same author

The island biology of the host microbiome.

Trends in microbiology·2026

Same author

Impact of dietary protein quantity on the non-dysbiotic human microbiome: a controlled feeding study.

Scientific reports·2026

Same author

Farming Becomes More Precarious With Age: Injury in Maine Agricultural Communities, 2008-2022, via Time Series Analysis.

American journal of industrial medicine·2026

Same author

Associations between suicidality and bullying victimization differ by sex and sexual orientation among U.S. high school students, 2011-2023.

Journal of affective disorders·2026

Same journal

Towards globally equitable bioinformatics adoption.

PLoS biology·2026

Same journal

The human claustrum supports cognitive networks for externally and internally driven task demands.

PLoS biology·2026

Same journal

Unusual decay: Recombination loss leads to splicing errors in green algae.

PLoS biology·2026

Same journal

Angptl5 restricts primitive hematopoiesis by promoting retinoic acid signaling in zebrafish.

PLoS biology·2026

Same journal

Engineered bipaternal mice reveal the consequences of life without a maternal genomic contribution.

PLoS biology·2026

Same journal

Multiple adhesion molecules act together in oligodendrocyte-mediated axonal selection and myelin formation.

PLoS biology·2026

See all related articles

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 12, 2026

Resurrection of Dormant Daphnia magna: Protocol and Applications

Resurrection of Dormant Daphnia magna: Protocol and Applications

Published on: January 19, 2018

Cryptic population dynamics: rapid evolution masks trophic interactions.

Takehito Yoshida¹, Stephen P Ellner, Laura E Jones

¹Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, United States of America.

|September 7, 2007

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Rapid evolution can mask strong ecological interactions, like predator-prey dynamics. This study reveals how prey evolution can hide tight species links, impacting food web stability and research methods.

More Related Videos

Following the Dynamics of Structural Variants in Experimentally Evolved Populations

Following the Dynamics of Structural Variants in Experimentally Evolved Populations

Published on: February 3, 2023

Daily Transfers, Archiving Populations, and Measuring Fitness in the Long-Term Evolution Experiment with Escherichia coli

Daily Transfers, Archiving Populations, and Measuring Fitness in the Long-Term Evolution Experiment with Escherichia coli

Published on: August 18, 2023

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: May 12, 2026

Resurrection of Dormant Daphnia magna: Protocol and Applications

Resurrection of Dormant Daphnia magna: Protocol and Applications

Published on: January 19, 2018

Following the Dynamics of Structural Variants in Experimentally Evolved Populations

Following the Dynamics of Structural Variants in Experimentally Evolved Populations

Published on: February 3, 2023

Daily Transfers, Archiving Populations, and Measuring Fitness in the Long-Term Evolution Experiment with Escherichia coli

Daily Transfers, Archiving Populations, and Measuring Fitness in the Long-Term Evolution Experiment with Escherichia coli

Published on: August 18, 2023

Area of Science:

Ecology
Evolutionary Biology
Theoretical Biology

Background:

Trophic relationships are fundamental to food web structure and stability.
Assessing interaction strength often relies on observational data of species abundance over time.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate how rapid evolution in prey or host species can obscure strong trophic links.
To understand the consequences of such cryptic dynamics for ecological food webs.

Main Methods:

Experimental studies using rotifer-alga and phage-bacteria chemostats.
Mathematical modeling to explain observed dynamics and predict outcomes.
Tracking bacterial evolution in phage-bacteria experiments.

Main Results:

Strong predator-prey or pathogen-host links can be missed when prey/hosts evolve rapidly.
Predator/pathogen populations can cycle dramatically while prey/host populations remain stable.
Rapid evolution for defense with low fitness costs drives these cryptic dynamics.

Conclusions:

Rapid evolution can confound ecological studies of interaction strength.
Specific experimental designs may be more robust to evolutionary confounding.
Understanding evolutionary dynamics is crucial for accurate ecological assessments.