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

Predator-Prey Interactions02:39

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...
Optimal Foraging00:48

Optimal Foraging

How animals obtain and eat their food is called foraging behavior. Foraging can include searching for plants and hunting for prey and depends on the species and environment.
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...
What is Natural Selection?01:32

What is Natural Selection?

Natural selection is an evolutionary process in which individuals with survival-promoting traits reproduce at higher rates. These favorable traits become more common within a population or species. Naturally selected traits initially arise via random genetic mutations. In order for selection to occur, there must be variation within a population, the trait controlling the variation must be heritable, and there must be an evolutionary advantage for variation in the trait.The Theory of Natural...
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...
Population Growth00:57

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...

You might also read

Related Articles

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

Sort by
Same author

A secreted endosymbiont protein essential for colonizing host cells.

Nature·2026
Same author

Symbiotic bacteria produce non-lytic vesicles with nucleic acid cargo.

Nature communications·2026
Same author

Gut microbiota of Brazilian Melipona stingless bees: Dominant members and their localization in different gut regions.

PloS one·2026
Same author

Colibactin produced by a honeybee symbiont defends against pathogens and shapes the gut community.

bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology·2026
Same author

A secreted endosymbiont protein essential for colonizing host cells.

bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology·2025
Same author

Honey wasps differ from other wasps in possessing large gut communities dominated by host-restricted bacteria.

mBio·2025

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 25, 2026

Resurrection of Dormant Daphnia magna: Protocol and Applications
07:37

Resurrection of Dormant Daphnia magna: Protocol and Applications

Published on: January 19, 2018

Species response to environmental change: impacts of food web interactions and evolution.

Jason P Harmon1, Nancy A Moran, Anthony R Ives

  • 1Department of Zoology, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI 53706, USA. jharmon@wisc.edu

Science (New York, N.Y.)
|March 7, 2009
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Environmental change impacts species populations through food webs and evolution. Pea aphids showed rapid evolution of heat tolerance, influenced by predator behavior and bacterial endosymbionts, highlighting ecological and evolutionary complexities.

More Related Videos

Linking Predation Risk, Herbivore Physiological Stress and Microbial Decomposition of Plant Litter
10:20

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

Published on: March 12, 2013

Daily Transfers, Archiving Populations, and Measuring Fitness in the Long-Term Evolution Experiment with Escherichia coli
15:00

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: Jun 25, 2026

Resurrection of Dormant Daphnia magna: Protocol and Applications
07:37

Resurrection of Dormant Daphnia magna: Protocol and Applications

Published on: January 19, 2018

Linking Predation Risk, Herbivore Physiological Stress and Microbial Decomposition of Plant Litter
10:20

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

Published on: March 12, 2013

Daily Transfers, Archiving Populations, and Measuring Fitness in the Long-Term Evolution Experiment with Escherichia coli
15:00

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
  • Climate Change Biology

Background:

  • Environmental changes, such as heat waves, can significantly impact species abundances.
  • Species interactions within food webs and their capacity for evolution are crucial factors in determining population responses.
  • Pea aphids (Acyrthosiphon pisum) are common agricultural pests sensitive to environmental fluctuations.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the ecological and evolutionary responses of pea aphids to increased frequency of episodic heat shocks.
  • To determine how predator-prey interactions and aphid evolutionary potential influence population dynamics under heat stress.
  • To assess the role of bacterial endosymbionts in mediating aphid heat tolerance.

Main Methods:

  • Field experiments were conducted to simulate increased heat shock frequency.
  • Ecological responses were measured by monitoring aphid population growth in the presence of different predator species.
  • Evolutionary responses were assessed by comparing heat-tolerant and non-tolerant aphid strains, with a focus on endosymbiont-mediated tolerance.

Main Results:

  • One predator species mitigated aphid population decline under heat shocks due to behavioral differences, while another did not.
  • Aphid strains with endosymbiont-conferred heat tolerance demonstrated potential for rapid evolution of heat-shock resistance.
  • Predator behavior and aphid evolutionary capacity significantly modified population responses to heat stress.

Conclusions:

  • Ecological interactions, particularly predator behavior, play a key role in modulating aphid population responses to environmental change.
  • Rapid evolutionary adaptation, facilitated by endosymbionts, can enhance species' resilience to environmental stressors like heat shocks.
  • Accurate predictions of environmental change impacts require integrating both ecological and evolutionary dynamics in population studies.