Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Concept Videos

Genetic Drift03:33

Genetic Drift

44.3K
Natural selection—probably the most well-known evolutionary mechanism—increases the prevalence of traits that enhance survival and reproduction. However, evolution does not merely propagate favorable traits, nor does it always benefit populations.
44.3K
Mutation, Gene Flow, and Genetic Drift01:09

Mutation, Gene Flow, and Genetic Drift

64.7K
In a population that is not at Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium, the frequency of alleles changes over time. Therefore, any deviations from the five conditions of Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium can alter the genetic variation of a given population. Conditions that change the genetic variability of a population include mutations, natural selection, non-random mating, gene flow, and genetic drift (small population size).
64.7K
Modeling with Differential Equations01:25

Modeling with Differential Equations

107
Population dynamics can be described mathematically by considering the population size P(t) as a function of time. The rate of change of the population is then represented by the derivative of P(t). A simple assumption is that the rate of growth is proportional to the size of the population itself. This leads to an exponential growth model, where the population increases rapidly without bound. While this is a useful first approximation, it does not reflect realistic long-term...
107
Population Growth00:57

Population Growth

28.8K
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.
28.8K
Gene Flow02:39

Gene Flow

38.1K
Gene flow is the transfer of genes among populations, resulting from either the dispersal of gametes or from the migration of individuals.
38.1K
What is Population Genetics?01:25

What is Population Genetics?

65.0K
A population is composed of members of the same species that simultaneously live and interact in the same area. When individuals in a population breed, they pass down their genes to their offspring. Many of these genes are polymorphic, meaning that they occur in multiple variants. Such variations of a gene are referred to as alleles. The collective set of all the alleles within a population is known as the gene pool.
65.0K

You might also read

Related Articles

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

Sort by
Same author

Addressing multi-generational non-genetic responses in experimental studies of evolution.

Evolution; international journal of organic evolution·2026
Same author

Impacts of Epistasis, Recombination, and Genome Architecture on Population Recovery following Radical Habitat Change.

The American naturalist·2026
Same author

Divergent and stabilizing selection shape the phenotypic space of Arabidopsis thaliana.

PLoS biology·2025
Same author

The timeframe of prediction for eco-evolutionary dynamics.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·2025
Same author

Residence-colonization trade-off and niche differentiation enable coexistence of Escherichia coli phylogroups in healthy humans.

The ISME journal·2025
Same author

Evaluation of a Plant Disease Surveillance System Using the Animal-Health OASIS Method: Application to Sharka in France.

Plant disease·2025

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Feb 18, 2026

Following the Dynamics of Structural Variants in Experimentally Evolved Populations
04:52

Following the Dynamics of Structural Variants in Experimentally Evolved Populations

Published on: February 3, 2023

1.4K

Stochastic Evolutionary Demography under a Fluctuating Optimum Phenotype.

Luis-Miguel Chevin, Olivier Cotto, Jaime Ashander

    The American Naturalist
    |November 23, 2017
    PubMed
    Summary
    This summary is machine-generated.

    Random environmental changes significantly increase extinction risk for populations. Fluctuating selection and population dynamics, driven by a shifting optimum phenotype, create a skewed distribution of population size, favoring lower sizes and higher extinction probabilities.

    Keywords:
    density dependenceeco-evolutionary dynamicsenvironmental autocorrelationenvironmental stochasticityevolutionary rescuefluctuating selection

    More Related Videos

    High-Throughput Live Imaging of Microcolonies to Measure Heterogeneity in Growth and Gene Expression
    12:52

    High-Throughput Live Imaging of Microcolonies to Measure Heterogeneity in Growth and Gene Expression

    Published on: April 18, 2021

    5.5K
    Daily Transfers, Archiving Populations, and Measuring Fitness in the Long-Term Evolution Experiment with Escherichia coli
    15:00

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

    Published on: August 18, 2023

    4.4K

    Related Experiment Videos

    Last Updated: Feb 18, 2026

    Following the Dynamics of Structural Variants in Experimentally Evolved Populations
    04:52

    Following the Dynamics of Structural Variants in Experimentally Evolved Populations

    Published on: February 3, 2023

    1.4K
    High-Throughput Live Imaging of Microcolonies to Measure Heterogeneity in Growth and Gene Expression
    12:52

    High-Throughput Live Imaging of Microcolonies to Measure Heterogeneity in Growth and Gene Expression

    Published on: April 18, 2021

    5.5K
    Daily Transfers, Archiving Populations, and Measuring Fitness in the Long-Term Evolution Experiment with Escherichia coli
    15:00

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

    Published on: August 18, 2023

    4.4K

    Area of Science:

    • Evolutionary biology
    • Ecology
    • Population dynamics

    Background:

    • Natural populations experience fluctuations due to environmental changes.
    • Phenotypic selection, influenced by environment-phenotype interactions, contributes to demographic fluctuations.
    • Evolving populations face challenges from changing environmental optima.

    Purpose of the Study:

    • To analyze stochastic population dynamics under a randomly changing optimum phenotype.
    • To predict population size distributions and extinction risk.
    • To investigate the impact of environmental stochasticity on evolutionary rescue.

    Main Methods:

    • Derivation of analytical predictions for log population size distribution under Gompertz regulation.
    • Validation using population- and individual-based simulations.
    • Analysis of how environmental variance and autocorrelation affect population dynamics.

    Main Results:

    • Log population size distribution is approximately reverse gamma, with negative skew.
    • This skew increases extinction risk compared to symmetric distributions.
    • Random optimum fluctuations reduce growth rate and increase population size variance.

    Conclusions:

    • Random environmental changes and fluctuating selection elevate extinction risk.
    • The reverse gamma distribution of population size highlights increased vulnerability.
    • Understanding these dynamics is crucial for predicting evolutionary rescue success.