Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 2, 2026

Monitoring Spatial Segregation in Surface Colonizing Microbial Populations
07:40

Monitoring Spatial Segregation in Surface Colonizing Microbial Populations

Published on: October 29, 2016

13.2K

Spatial structure mitigates fitness costs in host-parasite coevolution.

Ben Ashby1, Sunetra Gupta, Angus Buckling

  • 1Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3PS, United Kingdom.

The American Naturalist
|February 25, 2014
PubMed
Summary

Population structure impacts host-parasite evolution. Spatial structuring, unlike well-mixed conditions, reduces the constraining effect of fitness costs on the evolution of generalism in microbial communities.

More Related Videos

Inoculating Anopheles gambiae Mosquitoes with Beads to Induce and Measure the Melanization Immune Response08:24

Inoculating Anopheles gambiae Mosquitoes with Beads to Induce and Measure the Melanization Immune Response

Published on: January 12, 2017

7.4K
Quantifying Fitness Costs in Transgenic Aedes aegypti Mosquitoes09:41

Quantifying Fitness Costs in Transgenic Aedes aegypti Mosquitoes

Published on: September 15, 2023

1.4K

Related Concept Videos

Microbial Interactions: Parasitism01:22

Microbial Interactions: Parasitism

Parasitism is a form of microbial interaction in which parasitic microbes exploit a host organism for nutrients and shelter, often at the host's expense. Unlike mutualistic relationships, where both organisms benefit, parasitism benefits only the parasite and harms the host.Classification of ParasitesMicrobial parasites are broadly classified based on their location relative to the host.Ectoparasites remain on the host’s surface, such as the skin or outer tissues, drawing nutrients...
108
Inclusive Fitness00:57

Inclusive Fitness

Most altruistic behavior—in which one animal helps another at a cost to themselves—occurs between relatives. Scientists think these altruistic behaviors evolved because they increase the inclusive fitness of the animal providing help.
23.6K
Competition02:34

Competition

When organisms require the same limited resources within an environment, they may have to compete for them. Competition is a net-negative interaction. Even if two competing individuals or populations do not interact directly, the overall fitness of both competitors is lowered as a result of not having full access to the limited resource.
21.3K
Symbiosis00:58

Symbiosis

Symbiotic relationships are long-term, close interactions between individuals of different species that affect the distribution and abundance of those species. When a relationship is beneficial to both species, this is called mutualism. When the relationship is beneficial to one species but neither beneficial nor harmful to the other species, this is called commensalism. When one organism is harmed to benefit another, the relationship is known as parasitism. These types of relationships often...
27.8K
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.
20.1K
Hybrid Zones02:29

Hybrid Zones

Hybrid zones are narrow regions where two closely related species interact, mate, and produce hybrids. Relative to either parent species, hybrids may possess distinct phenotypic or genetic differences that impact their survival and reproductive success. The genetic variances introduced by hybridization influence species diversity and speciation processes within the hybrid zone.
16.3K