Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 13, 2026
08:16
Experimental Protocol for Manipulating Plant-induced Soil Heterogeneity
Published on: March 13, 2014
Feedbacks between community assembly and habitat selection shape variation in local colonization
Johanna M Kraus1, James R Vonesh
1Department of Biology, Virginia Commonwealth University, 1000 West Cary Street, Richmond, VA 23284-2012, USA. jmkraus@vcu.edu
The Journal of Animal Ecology
|April 24, 2010
Summary
Community assembly alters how aquatic organisms choose habitats, changing their responses to predators over time. This highlights how non-consumptive predator effects shape ecological communities.
Area of Science:
- Ecology
- Aquatic Ecology
- Community Ecology
Background:
- Non-consumptive predator effects significantly influence ecological community structure and diversity.
- Habitat selection by organisms during colonization and oviposition is a key factor in determining community composition.
- Predator presence can alter habitat quality over time, potentially modifying subsequent colonization behaviors.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate how community assembly influences behavioral responses of colonizing species to predator presence.
- To determine if prior community assembly modifies habitat selection in response to top predators.
- To assess the independent and combined effects of community assembly and predator presence on colonization patterns.
Main Methods:
- Experimental manipulation of community assembly in artificial ponds.
- Introduction of a top predator (blue-spotted sunfish, Enneacanthus gloriosus) into experimental ponds.
- Measurement of colonization patterns of insects and amphibians in relation to predator presence and assembly history.
Main Results:
- Community assembly reversed or reduced avoidance of predator-containing habitats for some species, like dytiscid beetles and hylid frogs.
- Some species' habitat selection responses to predators were independent of assembly history (e.g., hydrophilid beetles, mosquitoes, chironomids).
- Taxa-dependent feedbacks resulting from community assembly can modify avoidance of predator habitats.
Conclusions:
- Community assembly significantly alters non-consumptive predator effects on habitat selection in a species-specific manner.
- The interaction between community assembly history and predator presence shapes colonization dynamics and resultant community structure.
- Understanding sequential ecological processes, including habitat selection and predator-prey interactions, is crucial for predicting community assembly in aquatic systems.
Related Concept Videos
02:31Habitat Fragmentation
Habitat fragmentation describes the division of a more extensive, continuous habitat into smaller, discontinuous areas. Human activities such as land conversion, as well as slower geological processes leading to changes in the physical environment, are the two leading causes of habitat fragmentation. The fragmentation process typically follows the same steps: perforation, dissection, fragmentation, shrinkage, and attrition.
00:48Optimal 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.
01:46Types 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...
01:21Frequency-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...
01:32What 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...
00:30What are Populations and Communities?
Populations are groups of individuals of the same species that inhabit a shared environment. Communities include multiple co-existing, interacting populations of different species. Metapopulations span multiple populations of the same species that occupy different areas. Metapopulations interact through immigration and emigration, providing genetic diversity that lends resilience to harsh environments. Population size and density can be estimated using quadrat and mark and recapture...