Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Related Concept Videos

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.

What is Climate?

What is Climate?

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.

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.

Conservation of Small Populations

Conservation of Small Populations

Small population sizes put a species at extreme risk of extinction due to a lack of variation, and a consequent decrease in adaptability. This weakens the chances of survival under pressures such as climate change, competition from other species, or new diseases. Large populations are more likely to survive pressures such as these, as such populations are more likely to harbor individuals that have genetic variants that are adaptive under new stresses. Small populations are much less...

Habitat Fragmentation

Habitat Fragmentation

Habitat fragmentation describes the division of a more extensive, continuous habitat into smaller, discontinuous areas. Human activities such as land conversion, as well as slower geological processes leading to changes in the physical environment, are the two leading causes of habitat fragmentation. The fragmentation process typically follows the same steps: perforation, dissection, fragmentation, shrinkage, and attrition.

Threats to Biodiversity

Threats to Biodiversity

There have been five major extinction events throughout geological history, resulting in the elimination of biodiversity, followed by a rebound of species that adapted to the new conditions. In the current geological epoch, the Holocene, there is a sixth extinction event in progress. This mass extinction has been attributed to human activities and is thus provisionally called the Anthropocene. In 2019 the human population reached 7.7 billion people and is projected to comprise 10 billion by...

You might also read

Related Articles

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

Sort by

Same author

Diverse sampling programs highlight pulses of <i>Velella velella</i> along the US West Coast.

Journal of plankton research·2026

Same author

Compound climate events threaten tropical semi-enclosed marine ecosystems.

Science (New York, N.Y.)·2026

Same author

Vulnerability of marine megafauna to global at-sea anthropogenic threats.

Conservation biology : the journal of the Society for Conservation Biology·2025

Same author

Comparative life-cycle analyses reveal interacting climatic and biotic drivers of population responses to climate change.

PNAS nexus·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

Perceived and observed biases within scientific communities: a case study in movement ecology.

Proceedings. Biological sciences·2025

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 23, 2025

A Real-Time Interactive System for Studying Confrontational Pursuit Behavior in Rodents

A Real-Time Interactive System for Studying Confrontational Pursuit Behavior in Rodents

Published on: May 16, 2025

Spatial match-mismatch between predators and prey under climate change.

Gemma Carroll¹, Briana Abrahms², Stephanie Brodie³

¹Environmental Defense Fund, Seattle, WA, USA. gcarroll@edf.org.

Nature Ecology & Evolution

|June 24, 2024

Summary

Climate change causes species to shift their ranges, creating spatial mismatches between predators and prey. These mismatches can disrupt ecosystems and alter food webs, with impacts varying by predator traits.

More Related Videos

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

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

Published on: March 12, 2013

Field-Based Thermal Physiology Assay: Cold Shock Recovery under Ambient Conditions

Field-Based Thermal Physiology Assay: Cold Shock Recovery under Ambient Conditions

Published on: March 9, 2021

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jun 23, 2025

A Real-Time Interactive System for Studying Confrontational Pursuit Behavior in Rodents

A Real-Time Interactive System for Studying Confrontational Pursuit Behavior in Rodents

Published on: May 16, 2025

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

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

Published on: March 12, 2013

Field-Based Thermal Physiology Assay: Cold Shock Recovery under Ambient Conditions

Field-Based Thermal Physiology Assay: Cold Shock Recovery under Ambient Conditions

Published on: March 9, 2021

Area of Science:

Ecology
Climate Change Biology
Conservation Biology

Background:

Climate change is causing global species redistribution.
Species range shifts alter predator-prey spatial overlap.
Phenological (timing) mismatches are known, but spatial mismatches are less understood.

Purpose of the Study:

To synthesize global evidence on climate-driven changes in spatial predator-prey overlap.
To understand the ecosystem-level consequences of these spatial shifts.
To identify research gaps regarding spatial match-mismatch dynamics.

Main Methods:

Global synthesis of evidence for climate-driven species redistribution.
Analysis of changes in spatial overlap between predators and prey across marine and terrestrial ecosystems.
Illustration of ecosystem-level consequences, including food web restructuring.

Main Results:

Climate change significantly alters spatial predator-prey overlap globally.
The impact of spatial mismatches on predator populations depends on diet specialization and ecological role.
Observed consequences include food web restructuring and altered socio-ecological interactions.

Conclusions:

Spatial match-mismatch dynamics are a critical, yet understudied, consequence of climate change.
Understanding these dynamics is crucial for predicting ecosystem responses and managing biodiversity.
Further research is needed to link landscape-scale overlap to local interactions and ecosystem function.