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Related Concept Videos

Trophic Levels01:35

Trophic Levels

All organisms in an ecosystem occupy a trophic level in the food chain. The lowest level consists of primary producers, which synthesize their food from either solar or chemical energy. Each subsequent level obtains energy from the levels below. Detritivores can occupy any of the levels above primary producers.
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.
Population Growth00:57

Population Growth

Population size is dynamic, increasing with birth rates and immigration, and decreasing with death rates and emigration. In ideal conditions with unlimited resources, populations can increase exponentially, which plots as a J-shaped growth rate curve of population size against time. This type of curve is characteristic of newly-introduced invasive species, or populations that have suffered catastrophic declines and are rebounding.
Trophic Efficiency00:46

Trophic Efficiency

Trophic level transfer efficiency (TLTE) is a measure of the total energy transfer from one trophic level to the next. Due to extensive energy loss as metabolic heat, an average of only 10% of the original energy obtained is passed on to the next level. This pattern of energy loss severely limits the possible number of trophic levels in a food chain.
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...
Marine Microbial Ecology01:30

Marine Microbial Ecology

Marine microbial ecosystems are shaped by distinct physicochemical limits, including high salinity, low nutrient availability, and fluctuating oxygen levels. These conditions favor smaller microbial cell sizes, which maximize their surface-to-volume ratio for efficient nutrient uptake.Microbial activity and community composition are closely linked to biogeochemical cycles, particularly in dynamic environments like estuaries, where halotolerant microbes thrive in response to variable salinity...

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 8, 2026

Linking Predation Risk, Herbivore Physiological Stress and Microbial Decomposition of Plant Litter
10:20

Linking Predation Risk, Herbivore Physiological Stress and Microbial Decomposition of Plant Litter

Published on: March 12, 2013

Abrupt community transitions and cyclic evolutionary dynamics in complex food webs.

Daisuke Takahashi1, Åke Brännström, Rupert Mazzucco

  • 1Center for Ecological Research, Kyoto University, Hirano 2-509-3, Otsu 520-2113, Japan.

Journal of Theoretical Biology
|August 17, 2013
PubMed
Summary

This study models biodiversity dynamics, revealing how predator-prey evolution can lead to community collapse and recovery. Eco-evolutionary processes drive cycles between stable and unstable community states, impacting biodiversity maintenance.

Keywords:
Consumer collapseExtinction cascadeIndividual-based modelTrophic-level evolution

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Area of Science:

  • Evolutionary Ecology
  • Theoretical Ecology
  • Biodiversity Dynamics

Background:

  • Community assembly traditionally focuses on ecological factors, with less emphasis on evolutionary influences.
  • Understanding the long-term build-up and collapse of biodiversity requires integrating ecological and evolutionary processes.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To elucidate eco-evolutionary processes driving community diversity using an individual-based model.
  • To investigate the role of trophic interactions and competition in shaping community structure and biodiversity.

Main Methods:

  • Developed an individual-based model simulating coevolutionary dynamics of predator and prey traits.
  • Incorporated trophic interactions and interference competition within the model.
  • Analyzed community assembly, evolutionary transitions, and extinction cascades under varying model assumptions.

Main Results:

  • Demonstrated the emergence of communities with multiple trophic levels, a novel finding for stochastic models with linear functional responses.
  • Observed intermittent and cyclic evolutionary transitions between alternative community states.
  • Identified extinction cascades resulting from the interplay of ecological and evolutionary dynamics, leading to consumer trophic level loss.

Conclusions:

  • Eco-evolutionary dynamics are crucial for understanding biodiversity maintenance and collapse.
  • Consumer collapse and subsequent rebound are significant factors in natural community dynamics.
  • The model's robustness suggests broad applicability to real-world biodiversity patterns.