Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Related Concept Videos

Limits to Natural Selection

Limits to Natural Selection

Organisms that are well-adapted to their environment are more likely to survive and reproduce. However, natural selection does not lead to perfectly adapted organisms. Several factors constrain natural selection.

Evolution of New Traits in Microbes

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...

Speciation Rates

Speciation Rates

What is Natural Selection?

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.

Positive and Negative Feedback Loops

Positive and Negative Feedback Loops

Animal organs and organ systems constantly adjust to internal and external changes through a process called homeostasis ("steady state"). Examples of these changes include regulation of the level of glucose or calcium in the blood or internal responses to external temperatures. Homeostasis requires maintaining an internal dynamic equilibrium:

Evolutionary Psychology

Evolutionary Psychology

Evolutionary psychology explores the origins of human behavior and mental processes by framing them within the context of natural selection, a theory famously propounded by Charles Darwin. This field asserts that many behaviors common across human societies — ranging from instinctive fear reactions to complex social interactions — arose as evolutionary adaptations. These adaptations enhanced the survival and reproductive success of our ancestors, thereby becoming embedded in the...

You might also read

Related Articles

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

Sort by

Same author

Divergence From Temperate Models: Pollution Dominance and Stochastic Assembly in a Continental Freshwater System Under Compressed Modernity.

Global change biology·2026

Same author

A unified analysis of global riverine eDNA reveals common associations of fish biodiversity with drainage characteristics.

Nature ecology & evolution·2026

Same author

Biodiversity and habitat complexity buffer the destabilizing effects of anthropogenic activities on riverine fish communities.

Nature communications·2026

Same author

Local Resource Availability and Subsidy Flow Mediate the Effects of Disturbances in Meta-Ecosystems.

Ecology and evolution·2026

Same author

From proteins to species ranges: a framework for understanding thermal adaptation during range expansions.

Proceedings. Biological sciences·2026

Same author

Integrated Reanalysis of Global Riverine Fish eDNA Datasets Shows Robustness and Congruence of Biodiversity Conclusions.

Molecular ecology·2026

Same journal

PCSK5 promotes angiogenesis and cardiac repair after myocardial infarction.

Nature communications·2026

Same journal

PfApiAT2 is a proline transporter essential for the transmission of Plasmodium falciparum by the mosquito vector.

Nature communications·2026

Same journal

Transient distortions of the South Atlantic Anomaly radiation environments driven by electric fields.

Nature communications·2026

Same journal

Structural basis of the regulation by CDK11 kinase of early spliceosome activation and evidence for its proofreading by DHX15 helicase.

Nature communications·2026

Same journal

Structural and mechanistic insights into primer synthesis initiation by DNA primase.

Nature communications·2026

Same journal

Changes in heritability and shared environmentality of educational attainment across twentieth-century Norway.

Nature communications·2026

See all related articles

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Apr 14, 2026

Daily Transfers, Archiving Populations, and Measuring Fitness in the Long-Term Evolution Experiment with Escherichia coli

Daily Transfers, Archiving Populations, and Measuring Fitness in the Long-Term Evolution Experiment with Escherichia coli

Published on: August 18, 2023

Eco-evolutionary feedbacks during experimental range expansions.

Emanuel A Fronhofer¹, Florian Altermatt²

¹Eawag: Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, Department of Aquatic Ecology, Überlandstrasse 133, CH-8600 Dübendorf, Switzerland.

Nature Communications

|April 23, 2015

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Biological range expansions drive the evolution of increased dispersal. This rapid evolution alters population density patterns, with higher densities at range margins due to a dispersal-foraging trade-off.

More Related Videos

Following the Dynamics of Structural Variants in Experimentally Evolved Populations

Following the Dynamics of Structural Variants in Experimentally Evolved Populations

Published on: February 3, 2023

Resurrection of Dormant Daphnia magna: Protocol and Applications

Resurrection of Dormant Daphnia magna: Protocol and Applications

Published on: January 19, 2018

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Apr 14, 2026

Daily Transfers, Archiving Populations, and Measuring Fitness in the Long-Term Evolution Experiment with Escherichia coli

Daily Transfers, Archiving Populations, and Measuring Fitness in the Long-Term Evolution Experiment with Escherichia coli

Published on: August 18, 2023

Following the Dynamics of Structural Variants in Experimentally Evolved Populations

Following the Dynamics of Structural Variants in Experimentally Evolved Populations

Published on: February 3, 2023

Resurrection of Dormant Daphnia magna: Protocol and Applications

Resurrection of Dormant Daphnia magna: Protocol and Applications

Published on: January 19, 2018

Area of Science:

Ecology
Evolutionary Biology
Population Dynamics

Background:

Biological invasions and range expansions have significant ecological and economic impacts.
Spatial dynamics during expansions are influenced by rapid evolution and ecological context.

Purpose of the Study:

To experimentally investigate how range expansions drive evolutionary changes in dispersal.
To analyze the feedback of evolved traits on macroecological patterns, specifically population density distributions.

Main Methods:

Experimental evolution using replicated microcosm landscapes.
Numerical analyses to study spatial dynamics and eco-evolutionary feedbacks.
Investigating the role of competition and resource dynamics.

Main Results:

Range expansions experimentally led to the evolution of increased dispersal.
Contrary to existing theory, population densities increased towards range margins.
A dispersal-foraging trade-off, with 'prudent' foraging at margins, explains the observed pattern.

Conclusions:

Rapid multi-trait evolution significantly impacts macroecological patterns.
Eco-evolutionary feedbacks are crucial for understanding species distributions.
Findings inform conservation strategies for expanding populations.