Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 5, 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

Sources and sinks: a stochastic model of evolution in heterogeneous environments

Rutger Hermsen1, Terence Hwa

  • 1Center for Theoretical Biological Physics, University of California at San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093, USA. hermsen@ctbp.ucsd.edu

Physical Review Letters
|January 15, 2011
PubMed

More Related Videos

Following the Dynamics of Structural Variants in Experimentally Evolved Populations04:52

Following the Dynamics of Structural Variants in Experimentally Evolved Populations

Published on: February 3, 2023

Experimental Protocol for Manipulating Plant-induced Soil Heterogeneity08:16

Experimental Protocol for Manipulating Plant-induced Soil Heterogeneity

Published on: March 13, 2014

Related Concept Videos

Evolution of New Traits in Microbes01:24

Evolution of New Traits in Microbes

Microorganisms evolve rapidly due to their large population sizes and short generation times, often exhibiting measurable changes within days under laboratory conditions. Natural selection acts on standing genetic variation, enabling the retention and amplification of beneficial traits that confer fitness advantages in changing environments.Adaptive Pigment Regulation in RhodobacterIn Rhodobacter, a genus of purple non-sulfur bacteria, light-harvesting pigments such as bacteriochlorophyll and...
Modeling with Differential Equations01:25

Modeling with Differential Equations

Population dynamics can be described mathematically by considering the population size P(t) as a function of time. The rate of change of the population is then represented by the derivative of P(t). A simple assumption is that the rate of growth is proportional to the size of the population itself. This leads to an exponential growth model, where the population increases rapidly without bound. While this is a useful first approximation, it does not reflect realistic long-term...
Mutation, Gene Flow, and Genetic Drift01:09

Mutation, Gene Flow, and Genetic Drift

In a population that is not at Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium, the frequency of alleles changes over time. Therefore, any deviations from the five conditions of Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium can alter the genetic variation of a given population. Conditions that change the genetic variability of a population include mutations, natural selection, non-random mating, gene flow, and genetic drift (small population size).Mechanisms of Genetic VariationThe original sources of genetic variation are mutations,...
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.
Genetics of Speciation02:16

Genetics of Speciation

Speciation is the evolutionary process resulting in the formation of new, distinct species—groups of reproductively isolated populations.The genetics of speciation involves the different traits or isolating mechanisms preventing gene exchange, leading to reproductive isolation. Reproductive isolation can be due to reproductive barriers that have effects either before or after the formation of a zygote. Pre-zygotic mechanisms prevent fertilization from occurring, and post-zygotic mechanisms...
Evolutionary Processes in Microbes01:26

Evolutionary Processes in Microbes

Microbial evolution occurs rapidly due to short generation times and a variety of genetic processes, including horizontal gene transfer, mutation, recombination, and genetic drift. These mechanisms collectively enable microbes to adapt swiftly to changing environments.Horizontal gene transfer (HGT) allows genes to move between different species and occurs through three main mechanisms: conjugation, transformation, and transduction. Conjugation involves direct cell-to-cell contact for DNA...