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Predator-Prey Interactions

Predator-Prey Interactions

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.

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.

Mutation, Gene Flow, and Genetic Drift

Mutation, Gene Flow, and Genetic Drift

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).

Types of Selection

Types of Selection

Natural selection influences the frequencies of particular alleles and phenotypes within populations in several different ways. Primarily, natural selection can be directional, stabilizing, or disruptive. Directional selection favors one extreme trait and shifts the population towards that phenotype while selecting against individuals displaying alternate traits. Stabilizing selection favors an intermediate trait with a narrow range of variation. Deviation from the optimal phenotype towards an...

Frequency-dependent Selection

Frequency-dependent Selection

When the fitness of a trait is influenced by how common it is (i.e., its frequency) relative to different traits within a population, this is referred to as frequency-dependent selection. Frequency-dependent selection may occur between species or within a single species. This type of selection can either be positive—with more common phenotypes having higher fitness—or negative, with rarer phenotypes conferring increased fitness.

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.

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jul 9, 2025

Protocol for Assessing the Relative Effects of Environment and Genetics on Antler and Body Growth for a Long-lived Cervid

Protocol for Assessing the Relative Effects of Environment and Genetics on Antler and Body Growth for a Long-lived Cervid

Published on: August 8, 2017

A feedback loop between management, intraspecific trait variation and harvesting practices.

Jonathan Locqueville¹, Cyrille Violle¹, Doyle McKey¹

¹Centre d'Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Evolutive, Univ Montpellier, CNRS EPHE, IRD, Montpellier 34293, France.

|December 4, 2023

Summary

Human management shapes plant traits, affecting harvesting. Arnica montana

Keywords:

Grassland grazing habitat management intraspecific trait variation medicinal and aromatic plants mowing rangeland management

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Last Updated: Jul 9, 2025

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Published on: August 8, 2017

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Published on: March 13, 2014

Development of an Individual-Tree Basal Area Increment Model using a Linear Mixed-Effects Approach

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Published on: July 3, 2020

Area of Science:

Ecology and botany, focusing on plant intraspecific variation and human-nature interactions.

Background:

Intraspecific variation in plants is crucial but locally determined factors remain unclear.
Understanding the link between plant variation and human practices is key to human-nature relationships.
Arnica montana serves as a model due to its management-shaped niche and variability impacting harvesters.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate feedback loops between management actions, plant phenotype, and harvesting practices.
To analyze how human management influences functional traits of Arnica montana.
To determine the impact of observed plant variation on different harvesting methods.

Main Methods:

Functional trait analysis of Arnica montana across 27 sites in southeastern France.
Measurement of vegetative and reproductive traits, management actions (grazing, mowing), and ecological variables (vegetation height, tree cover).
Statistical analysis using linear mixed models and path analysis to assess trait responses and mediation effects.

Main Results:

Management actions significantly altered Arnica montana's functional traits.
Biomass removal practices led to smaller plants with reduced leaf size and specific leaf area.
Vegetation height mediated management effects, while tree cover reduced flowering.

Conclusions:

Human management directly influences plant phenotype, impacting both vegetative and reproductive traits.
Observed trait changes differentially affect flower-head versus whole-plant harvesting practices.
A feedback loop exists between human actions and plant intraspecific variability, offering new insights into human-related ecological dynamics.