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

Ecological Disturbance

Ecological Disturbance

An ecological disturbance is a temporary disruption in the environment resulting from abiotic, biotic, or anthropogenic factors, causing a pronounced change in an ecosystem. The impact of an ecological disturbance, which can depend on its intensity, frequency, and spatial distribution, plays a significant role in shaping the species diversity within the ecosystem.

Naturalistic Observations

Naturalistic Observations

If you want to understand how behavior occurs, one of the best ways to gain information is to simply observe the behavior in its natural context. However, people might change their behavior in unexpected ways if they know they are being observed. How do researchers obtain accurate information when people tend to hide their natural behavior? As an example, imagine that your professor asks everyone in your class to raise their hand if they always wash their hands after using the restroom. Chances...

Ecological Niches

Ecological Niches

All organisms have a position within an ecosystem. The complete set of living and nonliving factors—including food resources, climate, and terrain—that define the position of a given organism are collectively referred to as the organism’s ecological niche.

Symbiosis

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...

Epistasis Analysis

Epistasis Analysis

Although Mendel chose seven unrelated traits in peas to study gene segregation, most traits involve multiple gene interactions that create a spectrum of phenotypes. When the interaction of various genes or alleles at different locations influences a phenotype, this is called epistasis. Epistasis often involves one gene masking or interfering with the expression of another (antagonistic epistasis). Epistasis often occurs when different genes are part of the same biochemical pathway. The...

Relationship Formation

Relationship Formation

What do you think is the single most influential factor in determining with whom you become friends and whom you form romantic relationships? You might be surprised to learn that the answer is simple: the people with whom you have the most contact. This most important factor is proximity. You are more likely to be friends with people you have regular contact with. For example, there are decades of research that shows that you are more likely to become friends with people who live in your dorm,...

You might also read

Related Articles

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

Sort by

Same author

Author Correction: Restoration cannot be scaled up globally to save reefs from loss and degradation.

Nature ecology & evolution·2025

Same author

Restoration cannot be scaled up globally to save reefs from loss and degradation.

Nature ecology & evolution·2025

Same author

Projected loss of brown macroalgae and seagrasses with global environmental change.

Nature communications·2024

Same author

Time-travelling pathogens and their risk to ecological communities.

PLoS computational biology·2023

Same author

Estimating co-extinction threats in terrestrial ecosystems.

Global change biology·2023

Same author

India's path to sustainable oil palm production.

Nature food·2023

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Feb 25, 2026

Inherent Dynamics Visualizer, an Interactive Application for Evaluating and Visualizing Outputs from a Gene Regulatory Network Inference Pipeline

Inherent Dynamics Visualizer, an Interactive Application for Evaluating and Visualizing Outputs from a Gene Regulatory Network Inference Pipeline

Published on: December 7, 2021

Forbidden versus permitted interactions: Disentangling processes from patterns in ecological network analysis.

Giovanni Strona¹, Joseph A Veech²

¹European Commission Joint Research Centre Directorate D - Sustainable Resources - Bio-Economy UnitIspra Italy.

Ecology and Evolution

|August 4, 2017

Summary

Understanding species interactions in ecological networks is crucial. This study highlights the importance of identifying "permitted" interactions, based on traits, to accurately assess species sharing patterns and network stability.

Keywords:

artificial life co‐occurrence ecological networks food web functional traits mutualism nestedness pollinators

More Related Videos

Experimental Protocol for Manipulating Plant-induced Soil Heterogeneity

Experimental Protocol for Manipulating Plant-induced Soil Heterogeneity

Published on: March 13, 2014

Mapping Bacterial Functional Networks and Pathways in Escherichia Coli using Synthetic Genetic Arrays

Mapping Bacterial Functional Networks and Pathways in Escherichia Coli using Synthetic Genetic Arrays

Published on: November 12, 2012

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Feb 25, 2026

Inherent Dynamics Visualizer, an Interactive Application for Evaluating and Visualizing Outputs from a Gene Regulatory Network Inference Pipeline

Inherent Dynamics Visualizer, an Interactive Application for Evaluating and Visualizing Outputs from a Gene Regulatory Network Inference Pipeline

Published on: December 7, 2021

Experimental Protocol for Manipulating Plant-induced Soil Heterogeneity

Experimental Protocol for Manipulating Plant-induced Soil Heterogeneity

Published on: March 13, 2014

Mapping Bacterial Functional Networks and Pathways in Escherichia Coli using Synthetic Genetic Arrays

Mapping Bacterial Functional Networks and Pathways in Escherichia Coli using Synthetic Genetic Arrays

Published on: November 12, 2012

Area of Science:

Ecology
Network Theory
Evolutionary Biology

Background:

Species sharing interacting partners is vital for ecological network functioning and stability.
Assessing species overlap presents challenges, including metric selection and robust null modeling.

Purpose of the Study:

To address a neglected challenge in analyzing species interaction patterns.
To emphasize the critical role of identifying "permitted" interactions for understanding node overlap and segregation.

Main Methods:

Discussed theoretical considerations for identifying permitted interactions.
Illustrated the concepts with two distinct ecological case studies.
Focused on functional trait compatibility as a key determinant of permitted interactions.

Main Results:

The set of permitted interactions significantly influences the interpretation of species sharing patterns.
Failure to account for trait-based interaction limitations can lead to inaccurate conclusions about network structure.
Node overlap and segregation patterns are deeply rooted in the ecological and co-evolutionary processes governing permitted interactions.

Conclusions:

Accurate assessment of species interaction networks requires explicit consideration of trait-based interaction constraints.
Understanding permitted interactions is fundamental for ecological and co-evolutionary studies of network organization.
This framework advances the analysis of species sharing and network stability.