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Related Concept Videos

Competition

Competition

When organisms require the same limited resources within an environment, they may have to compete for them. Competition is a net-negative interaction. Even if two competing individuals or populations do not interact directly, the overall fitness of both competitors is lowered as a result of not having full access to the limited resource.

The Evidence for Evolution

The Evidence for Evolution

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.

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.

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.

Convergent Evolution

Convergent Evolution

Evolution shapes the features of organisms over time, ensuring that they are suited for the environments in which they live. Sometimes, selection pressure leads to the rise of similar but unrelated adaptations in organisms with no recent common ancestors, a process known as convergent evolution.

Speciation Rates

Speciation Rates

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jan 6, 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

Competition-driven evolution of organismal complexity.

Iaroslav Ispolatov¹, Evgeniia Alekseeva², Michael Doebeli³

¹Departamento de Fisica, Universidad de Santiago de Chile, Santiago, Chile.

Plos Computational Biology

|October 4, 2019

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Evolutionary increases in complexity aren't always gradual. Ecological pressures from diversification can drive species to evolve new traits, overcoming physiological costs to adapt.

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Area of Science:

Evolutionary Biology
Theoretical Ecology

Background:

Morphological evolution and organismal complexity exhibit non-uniform rates, challenging explanations based solely on gradual mutation accumulation.
Metaphors like "adaptive zones" and "punctuated equilibrium" highlight complex evolutionary patterns that require more sophisticated models.

Purpose of the Study:

To propose a mechanism for non-uniform increases in phenotypic complexity driven by ecological pressures.
To explain how diversification at a given complexity level can lead to threshold-like evolutionary responses.

Main Methods:

Development of a quantitative microevolutionary competition model.
Simulation of species interactions and evolutionary dynamics under increasing ecological pressures.

Main Results:

The model demonstrates sequential increases in phenotypic complexity.
Diversification at existing complexity levels intensifies competitive pressure.
This pressure can drive species to acquire new phenotypic features, overcoming physiological costs.

Conclusions:

Ecological pressure, amplified by diversification, can act as a catalyst for evolutionary leaps in complexity.
Phenotypic complexity evolves in non-uniform steps, influenced by a balance between adaptive advantage and physiological cost.
The proposed threshold model provides a framework for understanding complex evolutionary trajectories.