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

Keystone Species01:39

Keystone Species

22.7K
Measures of species biodiversity, such as richness (i.e., the number of species present) and evenness (i.e., their relative abundance), describe an ecological community’s structure. Many factors affect community structure, including abiotic factors (e.g., sunlight and nutrients), disturbances (e.g., fire or flood), species interactions (e.g., predation or competition), and chance events (e.g., foreign species invasion). Certain species—such as keystone species—also play a...
22.7K
What are Populations and Communities?00:30

What are Populations and Communities?

35.5K
Overview
35.5K
Optimal Foraging00:48

Optimal Foraging

12.7K
How animals obtain and eat their food is called foraging behavior. Foraging can include searching for plants and hunting for prey and depends on the species and environment.
12.7K
Distribution and Dispersion00:54

Distribution and Dispersion

23.2K
To understand intra-specific interactions in populations, scientists measure the spatial arrangement of species individuals. This geographic arrangement is known as the species distribution or dispersion. Highly territorial species exhibit a uniform distribution pattern, in which individuals are spaced at relatively equal distances from one another. Species that are highly tied to particular resources, such as food or shelter, tend to concentrate around those resources, and thus exhibit a...
23.2K
Predator-Prey Interactions02:39

Predator-Prey Interactions

19.8K
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.
19.8K
Ecological Disturbance02:26

Ecological Disturbance

19.2K
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.
19.2K

You might also read

Related Articles

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

Sort by
Same author

The outcomes of integrating biological interactions into rebuilding plans depend on prey specialization.

Ecological applications : a publication of the Ecological Society of America·2026
Same author

Predators Can Reverse the Effects of Warming on a Marine Ecosystem Engineer.

Global change biology·2026
Same author

Climate-driven trans-Tasman population increase of the habitat-modifying, range extending sea urchin Centrostephanus rodgersii.

Journal of environmental management·2025
Same author

Threshold-based disease treatment approach modulates economic, conservation and evolutionary trade-offs in sea louse-salmon aquaculture system.

Theoretical ecology·2025
Same author

Meeting European Union biodiversity targets under future land-use demands.

Nature ecology & evolution·2025
Same author

Insights Into Spatial Synchrony Enabled by Long-Term Data.

Ecology letters·2025

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Oct 30, 2025

JenaTron - An Experimental Approach to Study the Effects of Plant History and Soil History on Grassland Ecosystem Functioning
09:23

JenaTron - An Experimental Approach to Study the Effects of Plant History and Soil History on Grassland Ecosystem Functioning

Published on: March 21, 2025

1.5K

Grazer behaviour can regulate large-scale patterning of community states.

Vadim A Karatayev1,2, Marissa L Baskett1, David J Kushner3

  • 1Department of Environmental Science and Policy, University of California, Davis, CA, USA.

Ecology Letters
|July 4, 2021
PubMed
Summary

Behavioral changes in species create distinct ecological patterns on temperate rocky reefs. These feedbacks explain why kelp forests and urchin barrens form either large patches or local mosaics.

Keywords:
alternative stable statesbehaviourdynamical modelskelp forestsspatial patterning

More Related Videos

Experimental Protocol for Manipulating Plant-induced Soil Heterogeneity
08:16

Experimental Protocol for Manipulating Plant-induced Soil Heterogeneity

Published on: March 13, 2014

19.1K
Linking Predation Risk, Herbivore Physiological Stress and Microbial Decomposition of Plant Litter
10:20

Linking Predation Risk, Herbivore Physiological Stress and Microbial Decomposition of Plant Litter

Published on: March 12, 2013

13.6K

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Oct 30, 2025

JenaTron - An Experimental Approach to Study the Effects of Plant History and Soil History on Grassland Ecosystem Functioning
09:23

JenaTron - An Experimental Approach to Study the Effects of Plant History and Soil History on Grassland Ecosystem Functioning

Published on: March 21, 2025

1.5K
Experimental Protocol for Manipulating Plant-induced Soil Heterogeneity
08:16

Experimental Protocol for Manipulating Plant-induced Soil Heterogeneity

Published on: March 13, 2014

19.1K
Linking Predation Risk, Herbivore Physiological Stress and Microbial Decomposition of Plant Litter
10:20

Linking Predation Risk, Herbivore Physiological Stress and Microbial Decomposition of Plant Litter

Published on: March 12, 2013

13.6K

Area of Science:

  • Marine ecology
  • Ecological modeling
  • Behavioral ecology

Background:

  • Ecosystem patterning results from environmental factors and biological feedbacks.
  • Density-dependent behavioral changes regulate species interactions and can create alternative ecological states.
  • Understanding these feedbacks is crucial for explaining large-scale community structure.

Discussion:

  • State-space models applied to large-scale surveys reveal behavioral feedbacks as key drivers of kelp and urchin barren distribution.
  • In California, starvation-induced grazing creates reef-wide, alternatively stable kelp- and urchin-dominated states.
  • In New Zealand, urchin avoidance of kelp increases predation and abrasion risk, leading to depth-dependent zonation and patchiness.

Key Insights:

  • Behavioral feedbacks are a primary mechanism generating alternative stable states in kelp forest ecosystems.
  • Community-wide patterns, such as reef-scale patches versus local mosaics, are explained by these behavioral dynamics.
  • The study connects local ecological processes with regional data to explain broad-scale community patterning.

Outlook:

  • Further research can explore the role of behavior in other marine ecosystems.
  • Investigating how environmental changes might alter these behavioral feedbacks is essential.
  • This work provides a framework for predicting ecosystem responses to environmental and biological shifts.