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

Competition02:34

Competition

When organisms require the same limited resources within an environment, they may have to compete for them. Competition is a net-negative interaction. Even if two competing individuals or populations do not interact directly, the overall fitness of both competitors is lowered as a result of not having full access to the limited resource.Intraspecific competition, which occurs between individuals of the same species, serves as a natural mechanism for regulating population size. Too much...
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...
Types of Selection01:46

Types of Selection

Natural selection influences the frequencies of particular alleles and phenotypes within populations in several different ways. Primarily, natural selection can be directional, stabilizing, or disruptive. Directional selection favors one extreme trait and shifts the population towards that phenotype while selecting against individuals displaying alternate traits. Stabilizing selection favors an intermediate trait with a narrow range of variation. Deviation from the optimal phenotype towards an...
Speciation Rates01:07

Speciation Rates

Speciation can proceed at markedly different rates, and evolutionary biologists commonly describe these differences through the models of gradualism and punctuated equilibrium. Both patterns explain how new species arise, but they differ in the tempo and continuity of evolutionary change. In both cases, evolutionary change arises from heritable variation within populations, with natural selection often shaping traits that improve survival and reproduction under specific environmental conditions.
Ecological Niches02:02

Ecological Niches

All organisms have a position within an ecosystem. The complete set of living and nonliving factors—including food resources, climate, and terrain—that define the position of a given organism are collectively referred to as the organism’s ecological niche.Multiple species cannot occupy the exact same niche within their habitat. If the niches of two or more species overlap to a large extent, the competitive exclusion principle dictates that one species will outcompete the other, forcing it to...
Frequency-dependent Selection01:21

Frequency-dependent Selection

When the fitness of a trait is influenced by how common it is (i.e., its frequency) relative to different traits within a population, this is referred to as frequency-dependent selection. Frequency-dependent selection may occur between species or within a single species. This type of selection can either be positive—with more common phenotypes having higher fitness—or negative, with rarer phenotypes conferring increased fitness.Positive Frequency-Dependent SelectionIn positive...

You might also read

Related Articles

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

Sort by
Same author

<i>Acropora millepora</i> 's microbiome is predicted by algal symbionts, host genetics, and environment.

bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology·2025
Same author

The Distribution and Dispersal of Large Haploblocks in a Superspecies.

Molecular ecology·2025
Same author

No evidence for sex-differential transcriptomes driving genome-wide sex-differential natural selection.

American journal of human genetics·2025
Same author

Two decades of bacterial ecology and evolution in a freshwater lake.

Nature microbiology·2025
Same author

The battle of the sexes in humans is highly polygenic.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·2024
Same author

Ant impacts on global patterns of bird elevational diversity.

Ecology letters·2024
Same journal

Chronic limb loading results in remarkable load carriage economy in growing fowl.

Proceedings. Biological sciences·2026
Same journal

Motion-from-structure in face perception: expectations of natural face motion depend on face shape.

Proceedings. Biological sciences·2026
Same journal

Unification and generalization of models of zygote survival.

Proceedings. Biological sciences·2026
Same journal

Phenological type- and diameter-dependent effects of individual light availability and interannual climate variation on tree growth.

Proceedings. Biological sciences·2026
Same journal

Interaction range of common goods shapes Black Queen dynamics beyond the cheater-cooperator narrative.

Proceedings. Biological sciences·2026
Same journal

Stingray spine diversity reflects performance trade-offs linked to puncture and breakability.

Proceedings. Biological sciences·2026
See all related articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 24, 2026

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

Evolutionarily stable range limits set by interspecific competition.

Trevor D Price1, Mark Kirkpatrick

  • 1Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA. pricet@uchicago.edu

Proceedings. Biological Sciences
|March 28, 2009
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Species range limits are shaped by competition for resources, not just environmental changes. Interspecific competition can drive species extinction even when alternative resources are available, establishing stable evolutionary boundaries.

More Related Videos

Thermal Limits Determination for Zooplankton Using a Heat Block
07:16

Thermal Limits Determination for Zooplankton Using a Heat Block

Published on: November 18, 2022

Monitoring Intraspecies Competition in a Bacterial Cell Population by Cocultivation of Fluorescently Labelled Strains
06:45

Monitoring Intraspecies Competition in a Bacterial Cell Population by Cocultivation of Fluorescently Labelled Strains

Published on: January 18, 2014

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jun 24, 2026

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

Thermal Limits Determination for Zooplankton Using a Heat Block
07:16

Thermal Limits Determination for Zooplankton Using a Heat Block

Published on: November 18, 2022

Monitoring Intraspecies Competition in a Bacterial Cell Population by Cocultivation of Fluorescently Labelled Strains
06:45

Monitoring Intraspecies Competition in a Bacterial Cell Population by Cocultivation of Fluorescently Labelled Strains

Published on: January 18, 2014

Area of Science:

  • Ecology
  • Evolutionary Biology
  • Theoretical Ecology

Background:

  • Species distribution is influenced by both abiotic and biotic factors.
  • Gene flow disrupting local adaptation is a prominent theory for range limits.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate how interspecific competition for limited resources shapes evolutionarily stable species range limits.
  • To model range limits in the absence of gene flow's disruptive effects.

Main Methods:

  • Modeling two competing species with different resource spectrum specializations.
  • Analyzing scenarios where resource availability declines across space.

Main Results:

  • Resource decline can lead to extinction if competition prevents niche switching.
  • Range limits are set in both evolutionary and ecological time.
  • Factors like resource gaps, niche fitness differences, and asymmetric competition promote this outcome.

Conclusions:

  • Interspecific competition is a significant driver of evolutionarily stable species range limits.
  • These competitive dynamics are likely common in multispecies communities.