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

Ecological Succession02:17

Ecological Succession

Ecological succession is influenced by the processes of facilitation, inhibition, and toleration. Facilitation occurs when early successional species create more favorable ecological conditions for subsequent species, such as enhanced nutrient, water, or light availability. In contrast, inhibition happens when early successional species create unfavorable ecological conditions for potential successive species, such as limiting resource availability. In some cases, later successional species...
Gene Flow02:39

Gene Flow

Gene flow is the transfer of genes among populations, resulting from either the dispersal of gametes or from the migration of individuals.
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...
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...
Formation of Species01:31

Formation of Species

Speciation describes the formation of one or more new species from one or sometimes multiple original species. The resulting species are discrete from the parent species, and barriers to reproduction will typically exist. There are two primary mechanisms, speciation with and without geographic isolation—allopatric and sympatric speciation, respectively.Allopatric SpeciationIn allopatric speciation, gene flow between two populations of the same species is prevented by a geographic barrier, like...
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.

You might also read

Related Articles

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

Sort by
Same author

Overcoming barriers to build partnerships for managing plant invasions under global change.

Conservation biology : the journal of the Society for Conservation Biology·2025
Same author

Biological invasions: a global assessment of geographic distributions, long-term trends, and data gaps.

Biological reviews of the Cambridge Philosophical Society·2025
Same author

Reimagining species on the move across space and time.

Trends in ecology & evolution·2025
Same author

Road Disturbance Shifts Root Fungal Symbiont Types and Reduces the Connectivity of Plant-Fungal Co-Occurrence Networks in Mountains.

Molecular ecology·2025
Same author

Dead leaf turnover in monodominant forest of the marcescent palm Lodoicea maldivica.

Oecologia·2025
Same author

Safety netting in primary care: managing the low incidence, high uncertainty of severe illness.

The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners·2025
Same journal

In This Issue.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·2026
Same journal

Correction for Otsuki et al., Extracellular sulfatases support cartilage homeostasis by regulating BMP and FGF signaling pathways.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·2026
Same journal

Hive mind: Microbial communities and the making of memory.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·2026
Same journal

Targets for disease modification in schizophrenia: New findings add to evidence for the involvement of the immune complement system.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·2026
Same journal

Correction for Wang et al., The role of reduced aerosol masking from air pollutant emission reductions in recent global warming acceleration (2013-2023).

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·2026
Same journal

Correction for Mishra, Ecology is not yet ready for AI-and why that matters.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·2026
See all related articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 5, 2026

Experimental Protocol for Manipulating Plant-induced Soil Heterogeneity
08:16

Experimental Protocol for Manipulating Plant-induced Soil Heterogeneity

Published on: March 13, 2014

Assembly of nonnative floras along elevational gradients explained by directional ecological filtering.

Jake M Alexander1, Christoph Kueffer, Curtis C Daehler

  • 1Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH Zurich), CH-8092 Zürich, Switzerland. jake.alexander@env.ethz.ch

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
|December 29, 2010
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

High-elevation nonnative plants are broad climatic generalists, not specialized stress tolerators. Their success is due to introduction pathways, not harsh conditions, a process termed directional ecological filtering.

More Related Videos

Monitoring Spatial Segregation in Surface Colonizing Microbial Populations
07:40

Monitoring Spatial Segregation in Surface Colonizing Microbial Populations

Published on: October 29, 2016

JenaTron - An Experimental Approach to Study the Effects of Plant History and Soil History on Grassland Ecosystem Functioning
09:23

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

Published on: March 21, 2025

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jun 5, 2026

Experimental Protocol for Manipulating Plant-induced Soil Heterogeneity
08:16

Experimental Protocol for Manipulating Plant-induced Soil Heterogeneity

Published on: March 13, 2014

Monitoring Spatial Segregation in Surface Colonizing Microbial Populations
07:40

Monitoring Spatial Segregation in Surface Colonizing Microbial Populations

Published on: October 29, 2016

JenaTron - An Experimental Approach to Study the Effects of Plant History and Soil History on Grassland Ecosystem Functioning
09:23

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

Published on: March 21, 2025

Area of Science:

  • Ecology
  • Invasive Species Biology
  • Biogeography

Background:

  • Nonnative species richness typically decreases along environmental gradients like elevation.
  • This pattern is often attributed to invaders lacking adaptations for extreme conditions.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the traits of nonnative plants at high elevations.
  • To understand the mechanisms driving nonnative species richness gradients.

Main Methods:

  • Analyzed nonnative plant species at high elevations globally.
  • Compared traits of nonnative species with native species.
  • Examined the role of introduction pathways and climatic tolerance.

Main Results:

  • Nonnative plants at high elevations exhibit broad climatic tolerances, unlike specialized native species.
  • Species with narrow elevational ranges drop out, a process termed directional ecological filtering.
  • Climatic generalists are more successful in colonizing extreme high-elevation environments.

Conclusions:

  • Invasion resistance is influenced by introduction pathways, not solely by extreme site conditions.
  • Directional ecological filtering explains nonnative species richness gradients and native flora assembly.
  • Future introductions of specialized nonnative species may increase invasion risk in mountain ecosystems.