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 Concept Videos

Natural Selection and Adaptation01:15

Natural Selection and Adaptation

Natural selection, a fundamental concept in evolutionary biology, is the mechanism by which evolution is driven, favoring organisms that are best adapted to their environments. This process enhances their chances of survival and reproduction. Adaptation, a key outcome of this process, involves genetic modifications that optimize an organism's functionality under specific environmental challenges, such as extreme cold or thinner air at high altitudes.
Beyond physical adaptations, psychological...
Transduction01:16

Transduction

Among the three main modes of HGT—transformation, conjugation, and transduction—transduction is unique in that it is mediated by bacteriophages, or bacterial viruses.Transduction occurs in two ways. Generalized transduction occurs during the lytic cycle of a bacteriophage infection. In this process, bacteriophages infect bacterial cells, replicate within them, and ultimately cause cell lysis, releasing newly assembled virions. Occasionally, random fragments of the bacterial genome are...
Target Cell Response to Hormones01:22

Target Cell Response to Hormones

Hormones intricately bind to receptors on the surface or within target cells, initiating a cascade of cellular responses.
Notably, the cellular response can be regulated by altering the number of receptors expressed in the cell. For example, prolonged exposure to elevated hormone levels results in a gradual decline or down-regulation in the number of receptors for that specific hormone on the cell surface. Conversely, in response to low hormone levels, cells may use up-regulation, producing an...
Regulation of Hormone Secretion01:19

Regulation of Hormone Secretion

Regulation of hormone secretion is a finely tuned orchestration driven by various types of stimuli, encompassing neural, humoral, and hormonal signals. Environmental cues instigate neural stimuli, where action potentials traverse nerve fibers to reach their designated targets. An illustrative scenario is the body's response to stress, wherein the sympathetic nervous system releases epinephrine from the adrenal glands, inducing the well-known 'fight or flight' reaction.
Humoral stimuli,...
Natural Selection and Mating Preferences01:06

Natural Selection and Mating Preferences

The principle of natural selection posits that organisms better adapted to their environment are more likely to survive and reproduce. This principle is closely intertwined with mating preferences, a key aspect of sexual selection, which evolutionary psychologists believe is driven by instincts to propagate one's genes. Such instincts significantly influence mating behaviors and preferences between genders.
Females, due to their biological roles in conception, pregnancy, and nursing, inherently...
Limits to Natural Selection01:38

Limits to Natural Selection

Organisms that are well-adapted to their environment are more likely to survive and reproduce. However, natural selection does not lead to perfectly adapted organisms. Several factors constrain natural selection.For one, natural selection can only act upon existing genetic variation. Hypothetically, redtusks may enhance elephant survival by deterring ivory-seeking poachers. However, if there are no gene variants—or alleles—for redtusks, natural selection cannot increase the prevalence of...

You might also read

Related Articles

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

Sort by
Same author

Pick Your Poison: Tetrodotoxin Variants Give Pacific Newts a Potential Leg Up in the Coevolutionary Arms Race with Resistant Garter Snake Predators.

bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology·2026
Same author

Seasonal divergence in reproductive timing on the verge of spring: comparing hypothalamic transcriptome of two seasonally sympatric North American songbird populations.

Frontiers in physiology·2025
Same author

Temporal Patterns, Behavioral Drivers, and Physiological Correlates of West Nile Virus Exposure in American Robins (<i>Turdus migratorius</i>).

Ecological and evolutionary physiology·2025
Same author

The predictive power of genetic variation.

Science (New York, N.Y.)·2024
Same author

Determinants of spring migration departure dates in a New World sparrow: Weather variables reign supreme.

Ecology and evolution·2024
Same author

Demographic feedbacks during evolutionary rescue can slow or speed adaptive evolution.

Proceedings. Biological sciences·2024

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jul 9, 2026

Experimental Manipulation of Body Size to Estimate Morphological Scaling Relationships in Drosophila
06:00

Experimental Manipulation of Body Size to Estimate Morphological Scaling Relationships in Drosophila

Published on: October 1, 2011

Hormone-mediated suites as adaptations and evolutionary constraints.

Joel W McGlothlin1, Ellen D Ketterson

  • 1Department of Biology, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405, USA. jmcgloth@virginia.edu

Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological Sciences
|December 1, 2007
PubMed
Summary

Hormones influence multiple traits, impacting adaptive evolution by both enabling and limiting changes. Quantitative genetics can reveal how selection shapes these hormone-mediated trait suites, offering insights into their evolutionary roles.

More Related Videos

Protocol for Assessing the Relative Effects of Environment and Genetics on Antler and Body Growth for a Long-lived Cervid
09:09

Protocol for Assessing the Relative Effects of Environment and Genetics on Antler and Body Growth for a Long-lived Cervid

Published on: August 8, 2017

Field-Based Thermal Physiology Assay: Cold Shock Recovery under Ambient Conditions
07:54

Field-Based Thermal Physiology Assay: Cold Shock Recovery under Ambient Conditions

Published on: March 9, 2021

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jul 9, 2026

Experimental Manipulation of Body Size to Estimate Morphological Scaling Relationships in Drosophila
06:00

Experimental Manipulation of Body Size to Estimate Morphological Scaling Relationships in Drosophila

Published on: October 1, 2011

Protocol for Assessing the Relative Effects of Environment and Genetics on Antler and Body Growth for a Long-lived Cervid
09:09

Protocol for Assessing the Relative Effects of Environment and Genetics on Antler and Body Growth for a Long-lived Cervid

Published on: August 8, 2017

Field-Based Thermal Physiology Assay: Cold Shock Recovery under Ambient Conditions
07:54

Field-Based Thermal Physiology Assay: Cold Shock Recovery under Ambient Conditions

Published on: March 9, 2021

Area of Science:

  • Evolutionary biology
  • Endocrinology
  • Quantitative genetics

Background:

  • Hormones regulate correlated traits, influencing adaptive evolution.
  • Selection on one trait can alter hormone signals, affecting other traits.
  • Evolutionary quantitative genetics provides tools to study trait evolution.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To hypothesize how selection shapes hormone-mediated trait suites.
  • To explore the dual role of hormones in facilitating and constraining evolution.
  • To advocate for quantitative genetic methods in studying hormone-mediated traits.

Main Methods:

  • Applying evolutionary quantitative genetics theory.
  • Developing hypotheses for selection on hormone-mediated suites.
  • Using correlational selection concepts.
  • Assessing natural covariation and selection strength on traits.

Main Results:

  • Correlational selection may alter or conserve hormone-mediated suites.
  • Quantitative genetic methods are suitable for studying these suites.
  • Illustrative examples from dark-eyed juncos demonstrate testosterone-mediated suites.

Conclusions:

  • Future research integrating quantitative genetics and hormone-mediated suites can yield crucial insights.
  • Understanding these suites is key to their dual roles as adaptations and constraints.
  • Hormone-mediated suites present both opportunities and limitations for evolutionary adaptation.