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

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.Although predation is commonly associated with carnivory, for...

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.However, realistic environmental conditions limit the number of...

Threats to Biodiversity

Threats to Biodiversity

There have been five major extinction events throughout geological history, resulting in the elimination of biodiversity, followed by a rebound of species that adapted to the new conditions. In the current geological epoch, the Holocene, there is a sixth extinction event in progress. This mass extinction has been attributed to human activities and is thus provisionally called the Anthropocene. In 2019 the human population reached 7.7 billion people and is projected to comprise 10 billion by...

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...

Ecological Disturbance

Ecological Disturbance

An ecological disturbance is a temporary disruption in the environment resulting from abiotic, biotic, or anthropogenic factors, causing a pronounced change in an ecosystem. The impact of an ecological disturbance, which can depend on its intensity, frequency, and spatial distribution, plays a significant role in shaping the species diversity within the ecosystem.Ecological disturbances can be caused by an event as small as the trampling of underbrush to an incident as wide-ranging as a forest...

What is Evolutionary History?

What is Evolutionary History?

Scientists record evolutionary history by analyzing fossil, morphological, and genetic data. The fossil record documents the history of life on Earth and provides evidence for evolution. However, both fossil and living organisms offer evidence that outlines Earth’s evolutionary history.Phylogenetic trees illustrate the evolutionary relationships among these organisms. Scientists infer organisms’ common ancestry by evaluating shared morphological and genetic characteristics. Together, the fossil...

You might also read

Related Articles

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

Sort by

Same author

Reduced gray-white matter contrast localizes the motor cortex on double inversion recovery (DIR) 3T MRI.

Neuroradiology·2021

Same author

Reporting on Renal Masses, Recommendations for Terminology, and Sample Templates.

Radiologic clinics of North America·2020

Same author

Spontaneous non-aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage in Takayasu arteritis: a case implicating hyperperfusion and cerebral dysautoregulation.

BJR case reports·2019

Same author

Combined task activation display as an effective method to teach introductory fMRI users.

Clinical imaging·2019

Same author

Adaptation Mechanisms of Small Ruminants to Environmental Heat Stress.

Animals : an open access journal from MDPI·2019

Same author

Radiology Reading Room Huddles: Our Initial Experience.

AJR. American journal of roentgenology·2019

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 25, 2026

Linking Predation Risk, Herbivore Physiological Stress and Microbial Decomposition of Plant Litter

Linking Predation Risk, Herbivore Physiological Stress and Microbial Decomposition of Plant Litter

Published on: March 12, 2013

Predation alters relationships between biodiversity and temporal stability.

Lin Jiang¹, Hena Joshi, Shivani N Patel

¹School of Biology, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30332, USA. lin.jiang@biology.gatech.edu

The American Naturalist

|February 10, 2009

Summary

Ecological diversity

Area of Science:

Ecology
Community Ecology
Ecological Stability

Background:

Ecologists debate the link between ecological diversity and stability.
Conflicting theoretical and empirical data exist regarding diversity-stability relationships.
Trophic complexity may influence the diversity-stability dynamic.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate how trophic complexity, specifically the presence of predators, affects the relationship between diversity and population stability.
To test the hypothesis that weak trophic interactions stabilize diverse multitrophic communities.
To reconcile conflicting findings on the diversity-stability relationship.

Main Methods:

Experimental manipulation of freshwater bacterivorous protist communities with varying diversity.

More Related Videos

JenaTron - An Experimental Approach to Study the Effects of Plant History and Soil History on Grassland Ecosystem Functioning

JenaTron - An Experimental Approach to Study the Effects of Plant History and Soil History on Grassland Ecosystem Functioning

Published on: March 21, 2025

Measuring the Structure, Composition, and Change of Underwater Environments with Large-area Imaging

Measuring the Structure, Composition, and Change of Underwater Environments with Large-area Imaging

Published on: April 18, 2025

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jun 25, 2026

Linking Predation Risk, Herbivore Physiological Stress and Microbial Decomposition of Plant Litter

Linking Predation Risk, Herbivore Physiological Stress and Microbial Decomposition of Plant Litter

Published on: March 12, 2013

JenaTron - An Experimental Approach to Study the Effects of Plant History and Soil History on Grassland Ecosystem Functioning

JenaTron - An Experimental Approach to Study the Effects of Plant History and Soil History on Grassland Ecosystem Functioning

Published on: March 21, 2025

Measuring the Structure, Composition, and Change of Underwater Environments with Large-area Imaging

Measuring the Structure, Composition, and Change of Underwater Environments with Large-area Imaging

Published on: April 18, 2025

Inclusion and exclusion of a predatory protist species to alter trophic complexity.

Analysis of population temporal variability and community biomass stability.

Main Results:

The inclusion of weak trophic interactions stabilized populations of strongly interacting species.
Predation reversed the diversity-stability relationship for strongly interacting species (negative without predators, positive with predators).
Diversity and trophic interactions significantly influenced the temporal stability of both population and community properties.

Conclusions:

Weak trophic interactions play a crucial role in stabilizing diverse communities.
Trophic complexity, particularly predation, is a key factor mediating the diversity-stability relationship.
Findings reconcile conflicting ecological theories on diversity and stability.