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

Gene Flow02:39

Gene Flow

36.2K
Gene flow is the transfer of genes among populations, resulting from either the dispersal of gametes or from the migration of individuals.
36.2K
Genetic Drift03:33

Genetic Drift

41.4K
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.
41.4K
Energy Budgets00:51

Energy Budgets

9.8K
Organisms must balance energy intake with the energy required for growth, maintenance and reproduction. These trade-offs result in a variety of survivorship and reproductive strategies, including semelparity and iteroparity. Semelparous species, like annual plants, have only one reproductive episode in their lifetimes and consequently have short lifespans. Iteroparous species, by contrast, have many reproductive events during their lifetimes but have relatively few offspring. These two...
9.8K
Genetics of Speciation02:16

Genetics of Speciation

20.0K
Speciation is the evolutionary process resulting in the formation of new, distinct species—groups of reproductively isolated populations.
20.0K
Mutation, Gene Flow, and Genetic Drift01:09

Mutation, Gene Flow, and Genetic Drift

60.1K
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).
60.1K
What is Natural Selection?01:32

What is Natural Selection?

120.7K
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.
120.7K

You might also read

Related Articles

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

Sort by
Same author

Temporal scale and conspecific density drive moonlight preferences of a nocturnal granivore.

Behavioral ecology : official journal of the International Society for Behavioral Ecology·2026
Same author

Fear generalization: correlated individual differences in response to predator cues, smoke and pesticides.

Proceedings. Biological sciences·2026
Same author

Are Behavioral Ecotoxicity Endpoints Relevant at the Population Level? Evidence-Based Insights for Environmental Protection.

Environmental science & technology·2025
Same author

Coexistence and extinction in flow-kick systems: An invasion growth rate approach.

Journal of mathematical biology·2025
Same author

Density-dependent network structuring within and across wild animal systems.

Nature ecology & evolution·2025
Same author

Urban coyote spatiotemporal overlap with humans is associated with environmental characteristics not human sociodemographics.

Scientific reports·2025

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Oct 16, 2025

Reliable Method for Assessing Seed Germination, Dormancy, and Mortality under Field Conditions
07:03

Reliable Method for Assessing Seed Germination, Dormancy, and Mortality under Field Conditions

Published on: November 6, 2016

10.7K

Mast seeding promotes evolution of scatter-hoarding.

Rafał Zwolak1, Dale Clement2, Andrew Sih2,3

  • 1Department of Systematic Zoology, Institute of Environmental Biology, Adam Mickiewicz University, Umultowska 89, 61-614 Poznań, Poland.

Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological Sciences
|October 18, 2021
PubMed
Summary

Environmental variability, specifically masting, promotes the evolution of scatter-hoarding in seed-dispersing animals. Reduced population density during non-mast years and lower caching costs during mast years explain this phenomenon.

Keywords:
evolutionary stable strategiesmastingpilferagescatter-hoardingseed cachingsynzoochory

More Related Videos

Monitoring Spatial Segregation in Surface Colonizing Microbial Populations
07:40

Monitoring Spatial Segregation in Surface Colonizing Microbial Populations

Published on: October 29, 2016

11.2K
Resurrection of Dormant Daphnia magna: Protocol and Applications
07:37

Resurrection of Dormant Daphnia magna: Protocol and Applications

Published on: January 19, 2018

19.0K

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Oct 16, 2025

Reliable Method for Assessing Seed Germination, Dormancy, and Mortality under Field Conditions
07:03

Reliable Method for Assessing Seed Germination, Dormancy, and Mortality under Field Conditions

Published on: November 6, 2016

10.7K
Monitoring Spatial Segregation in Surface Colonizing Microbial Populations
07:40

Monitoring Spatial Segregation in Surface Colonizing Microbial Populations

Published on: October 29, 2016

11.2K
Resurrection of Dormant Daphnia magna: Protocol and Applications
07:37

Resurrection of Dormant Daphnia magna: Protocol and Applications

Published on: January 19, 2018

19.0K

Area of Science:

  • Ecology
  • Evolutionary Biology
  • Behavioral Ecology

Background:

  • Scatter-hoarding granivores disperse many plant species, but cache pilferage challenges the evolution of this behavior.
  • Previous models overlooked environmental variability, such as masting, in explaining scatter-hoarding evolution.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the influence of masting on the evolution of scatter-hoarding behavior using a mathematical model.
  • To understand how environmental variability in seed production affects seed dispersal strategies.

Main Methods:

  • Developed a mathematical model incorporating variable seed fall (masting), caching, pilfering, and scatter-hoarder demography.
  • Used parameter values from studies on European beech (Fagus sylvatica) and yellow-necked mice (Apodemus flavicollis).

Main Results:

  • Decreased scatter-hoarder population density between mast years reduces seed pilferage.
  • Satiation during mast years lowers the reproductive cost of caching.
  • These factors promote scatter-hoarding evolution, especially with high seed fall variation and long masting periods.

Conclusions:

  • Masting, a form of environmental variability, can drive the evolution of scatter-hoarding.
  • The interplay between resource availability fluctuations and animal behavior is crucial for understanding seed dispersal evolution.