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

Trophic Levels01:35

Trophic Levels

37.7K
All organisms in an ecosystem occupy a trophic level in the food chain. The lowest level consists of primary producers, which synthesize their food from either solar or chemical energy. Each subsequent level obtains energy from the levels below. Detritivores can occupy any of the levels above primary producers.
37.7K
Primary Production01:06

Primary Production

25.3K
The total amount of energy acquired by primary producers in an ecosystem is called gross primary production (GPP). However, of this energy, producers use some for metabolic processes, and some is lost as heat, decreasing the amount of energy available to the next trophic level. The remaining usable amount of energy is called the net primary productivity (NPP). In terrestrial ecosystems, NPP is driven by climate, while light penetration and nutrient availability drive NPP in aquatic ecosystems.
25.3K
Global Climate Change01:50

Global Climate Change

29.0K
Throughout its ~4.5 billion year history, the Earth has experienced periods of warming and cooling. However, the current drastic increase in global temperatures is well outside of the Earth’s cyclic norms, and evidence for human-caused global climate change is compelling. Paleoclimatology, the study of ancient climate conditions, provides ample evidence for human-caused global climate change by comparing recent conditions with those in the past.
29.0K
Trophic Efficiency00:46

Trophic Efficiency

25.2K
Trophic level transfer efficiency (TLTE) is a measure of the total energy transfer from one trophic level to the next. Due to extensive energy loss as metabolic heat, an average of only 10% of the original energy obtained is passed on to the next level. This pattern of energy loss severely limits the possible number of trophic levels in a food chain.
25.2K
What is Climate?01:16

What is Climate?

20.9K
Climate refers to the prevailing weather conditions in a specific area over an extended period. As the saying goes, “Climate is what you expect. Weather is what you get.” Climate is influenced by geographic factors, such as latitude, terrain, and proximity to bodies of water.
20.9K
Propagation of Waves01:07

Propagation of Waves

3.0K
When a wave propagates from one medium to another, part of it may get reflected in the first medium, and part of it may get transmitted to the second medium. In such a case, the interface of the two mediums can be considered as a boundary that is neither fixed nor free.
Consider a scenario where a wave propagates from a string of low linear mass density to a string of high linear mass density. In such a case, the reflected wave is out of phase with respect to the incident wave, however the...
3.0K

You might also read

Related Articles

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

Sort by
Same author

Acute drought desiccates highly used habitat and drives herbivores into irrigated croplands.

Ecological applications : a publication of the Ecological Society of America·2025
Same author

Wild canids and felids differ in their reliance on reused travel routeways.

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

Russian forests show strong potential for young forest growth.

Communications earth & environment·2025
Same author

Most Random-Encounter-Model Density Estimates in Camera-Based Predator-Prey Studies Are Unreliable.

Animals : an open access journal from MDPI·2024
Same author

Impacts of management practices on habitat selection during juvenile mountain lion dispersal.

Ecology and evolution·2024
Same author

A shift in transitional forests of the North American boreal will persist through 2100.

Communications earth & environment·2024
Same journal

Leaf Size in Conifers: Global Associations With Climate and Evolutionary History.

Global change biology·2026
Same journal

Prioritizing Conservation of Trailing-Edge Populations for Future Climate-Resilient Forests.

Global change biology·2026
Same journal

Cities at Sea: Coastal Urbanization Generates Local Biodiversity Hotspots but Homogenizes Marine Fish Communities Regionally.

Global change biology·2026
Same journal

High Densities of Large Herbivores Rapidly Disrupt Ecosystem Integrity.

Global change biology·2026
Same journal

Global Bias-Aware Synthesis of Meta-Analyses Reveals Agroforestry's Potential for Improving Soil Health.

Global change biology·2026
Same journal

IAM-FIRE: A Climate Emulator-Based Framework to Project Wildfire Impacts and Risks for Integrated Assessment Models.

Global change biology·2026
See all related articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Feb 6, 2026

Laboratory Estimation of Net Trophic Transfer Efficiencies of PCB Congeners to Lake Trout Salvelinus namaycush from Its Prey
12:24

Laboratory Estimation of Net Trophic Transfer Efficiencies of PCB Congeners to Lake Trout Salvelinus namaycush from Its Prey

Published on: August 29, 2014

11.4K

Climatically driven changes in primary production propagate through trophic levels.

David C Stoner1, Joseph O Sexton2,3, David M Choate4

  • 1Department of Wildland Resources, Utah State University, Logan, Utah.

Global Change Biology
|August 9, 2018
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Climate change impacts large carnivore and prey populations. Higher plant productivity supports more mule deer and mountain lions, maintaining a stable predator-prey ratio despite environmental shifts.

Keywords:
NDVIcarnivoreclimateherbivorephenologyprimary productionsatellite imagerytrophic levels

More Related Videos

Using Generative Art to Convey Past and Future Climate Transitions
06:10

Using Generative Art to Convey Past and Future Climate Transitions

Published on: March 31, 2023

1.5K
Light-driven Enzymatic Decarboxylation
09:58

Light-driven Enzymatic Decarboxylation

Published on: May 22, 2016

12.3K

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Feb 6, 2026

Laboratory Estimation of Net Trophic Transfer Efficiencies of PCB Congeners to Lake Trout Salvelinus namaycush from Its Prey
12:24

Laboratory Estimation of Net Trophic Transfer Efficiencies of PCB Congeners to Lake Trout Salvelinus namaycush from Its Prey

Published on: August 29, 2014

11.4K
Using Generative Art to Convey Past and Future Climate Transitions
06:10

Using Generative Art to Convey Past and Future Climate Transitions

Published on: March 31, 2023

1.5K
Light-driven Enzymatic Decarboxylation
09:58

Light-driven Enzymatic Decarboxylation

Published on: May 22, 2016

12.3K

Area of Science:

  • Ecology
  • Wildlife Conservation
  • Climate Change Impacts

Background:

  • Climate and land-use change are primary drivers of biodiversity loss.
  • The interactive effects of these drivers on large carnivore and prey dynamics are poorly understood.
  • Wide-ranging species are particularly vulnerable to these environmental changes.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate how climate and plant productivity influence the population densities of mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) and mountain lions (Puma concolor).
  • To determine the relationship between primary productivity, herbivore abundance, and predator home range size.
  • To assess the stability of the predator-prey ratio across a climatic gradient.

Main Methods:

  • Analysis of mule deer and mountain lion population densities across a climatic gradient in western North America.
  • Integration of satellite-derived plant productivity data with animal abundance estimates.
  • Utilization of Global Positioning System (GPS) telemetry data to derive animal abundance and foraging area.

Main Results:

  • Mule deer density showed a positive linear relationship with plant productivity (r² = 0.58), varying 18-fold.
  • Mountain lion home range size decreased with increasing productivity, correlating with herbivore abundance.
  • Mountain lion density positively correlated with plant productivity (r² = 0.67).
  • The ratio of mule deer to mountain lions remained constant (363 ± 29) across the gradient.

Conclusions:

  • Primary productivity is a key determinant of consumer density across trophic levels.
  • Climate change-induced habitat changes may reduce carrying capacity for large-bodied wildlife.
  • Expanding home ranges due to reduced habitat suitability could increase human-wildlife conflict.