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Related Concept Videos

Types of Selection01:46

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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...
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Genetic variations accumulating within populations over generations give rise to biological evolution. Evolutionary changes can result in the formation of novel varieties and entire new species. These changes are responsible for the diverse forms of life inhabiting the planet. The evidence for evolution suggests that all living organisms descended from common ancestors.
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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.
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Modeling the Size Spectrum for Macroinvertebrates and Fishes in Stream Ecosystems
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Phenotypic variation explains food web structural patterns.

Jean P Gibert1, John P DeLong2

  • 1School of Biological Sciences, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE 68588 jeanphisth@gmail.com.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
|October 5, 2017
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Organismal trait variation significantly impacts food web structure, influencing predator connectivity and food intake. Phenotypic variation shapes how predators interact with prey, affecting ecosystem dynamics.

Keywords:
complex networksconsumer–resource interactionsfood websindividual variabilityintraspecific variability

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Area of Science:

  • Ecology
  • Theoretical Ecology
  • Food Web Dynamics

Background:

  • Food webs exhibit consistent structural patterns across diverse ecosystems, yet the underlying drivers remain debated.
  • The influence of organismal traits and their intraspecific variation on food web architecture is largely unexplored.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate how variation in traits, such as body size, affects the structure of predator-prey interactions within food webs.
  • To determine the relationship between phenotypic variation, predator connectivity, and food intake rates.
  • To elucidate the role of trait variation in setting predator trophic levels and interaction strengths.

Main Methods:

  • Analysis of how phenotypic variation influences network connectivity and total food intake.
  • Examination of the differential effects of phenotypic variation on specialists versus generalists.
  • Assessment of how trait variation determines interaction strengths and predator trophic levels.

Main Results:

  • Increased phenotypic variation enhances predator-prey connectivity and overall food intake.
  • Specialist predators benefit from low phenotypic variation, while generalists benefit from high variation in intake rates.
  • Phenotypic variation dictates predator trophic levels and modulates interaction strengths with prey across trophic levels.

Conclusions:

  • Phenotypic variation is a key factor shaping food web structure, influencing connectivity, trophic positioning, and interaction strengths.
  • The study confirms predictions that trophic level increases with predator connectivity and interaction strength decreases with prey trophic level.
  • Incorporating functional traits and their variation provides crucial insights into the processes that structure ecological food webs.