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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.
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...
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.
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.
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).

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 22, 2026

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

Experimental Protocol for Manipulating Plant-induced Soil Heterogeneity

Published on: March 13, 2014

A simple plant mutation abets a predator-diversity cascade.

Tobin D Northfield1, William E Snyder, Gretchen B Snyder

  • 1Department of Entomology, Washington State University, Pullman, Washington 99164. USA tobin.northfield@email.wsu.edu

Ecology
|May 26, 2012
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Predator diversity boosts aphid suppression on low-wax plants, but not waxy ones. A plant mutation altered habitat structure, revealing how plant traits influence the cascading effects of predator biodiversity on ecosystems.

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Understanding the Development of Compensatory Pathways in a Mutant Malaria Parasite Harbouring Hypomorphic Allele of Plant-Like Kinases

Published on: November 22, 2024

Area of Science:

  • Ecology
  • Evolutionary Biology
  • Conservation Biology

Background:

  • Resource consumption often correlates with consumer biodiversity.
  • Distinguishing between complementarity and key species effects in biodiversity studies is challenging.
  • Plant traits can mediate the impacts of consumer diversity on ecosystems.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate how plant surface structure influences the effects of predator biodiversity on herbivore suppression and plant biomass.
  • To determine if a plant mutation affecting surface waxes alters the cascading impacts of predator species richness.
  • To elucidate the mechanisms by which habitat characteristics modulate predator diversity effects.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized a plant mutation (reduced surface waxes) in *Pisum sativum* to create distinct habitat conditions.
  • Compared aphid suppression and plant biomass across varying predator species richness on mutant and wild-type pea plants.
  • Conducted behavioral observations to assess predator foraging and interference within different plant and predator diversity contexts.

Main Results:

  • Increased predator species richness significantly enhanced prey suppression and plant biomass exclusively on low-wax mutant pea plants.
  • On wild-type (waxy) pea plants, predator species richness had no significant impact on herbivore suppression or plant biomass.
  • Low-wax plants facilitated predator foraging and herbivore dislodgement, mitigating interference in species-rich communities and enabling complementarity.

Conclusions:

  • Plant surface structure, modulated by a single gene mutation, can switch on or off the cascading effects of predator diversity.
  • Habitat characteristics are critical determinants of diversity effects in predator assemblages.
  • Understanding plant traits is essential for predicting and managing the ecological consequences of biodiversity changes.