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

Keystone Species

Keystone Species

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...

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.

Conservation of Declining Populations

Conservation of Declining Populations

Conservation of declining population focuses on ways of detecting, diagnosing, and halting a population decline. The approach uses methods to prevent populations from going extinct.

Trophic Efficiency

Trophic Efficiency

Trophic level transfer efficiency (TLTE) is a measure of the total energy transfer from one trophic level to the next. Due to extensive energy loss as metabolic heat, an average of only 10% of the original energy obtained is passed on to the next level. This pattern of energy loss severely limits the possible number of trophic levels in a food chain.

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...

Ecological Disturbance

Ecological Disturbance

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.

You might also read

Related Articles

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

Sort by

Same author

Regime shifts in rocky intertidal communities associated with a marine heatwave and disease outbreak.

Nature ecology & evolution·2024

Same author

Community theory: Testing environmental stress models.

Ecology letters·2023

Same author

Increasing instability of a rocky intertidal meta-ecosystem.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·2022

Same author

Biogeography of ocean acidification: Differential field performance of transplanted mussels to upwelling-driven variation in carbonate chemistry.

PloS one·2020

Same author

Remote sensing: generation of long-term kelp bed data sets for evaluation of impacts of climatic variation.

Ecology·2020

Same author

Testing the intermittent upwelling hypothesis: comment.

Ecology·2018

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 21, 2025

Collecting Marine Gnathiid Isopod Fish Parasites with Light Traps

Collecting Marine Gnathiid Isopod Fish Parasites with Light Traps

Published on: September 25, 2023

Impacts of Birds vs. Invertebrate Predators on Rocky Intertidal Community Structure.

Bruce A Menge¹

¹Department of Integrative Biology Oregon State University Corvallis Oregon USA.

Ecology and Evolution

|March 20, 2025

Summary

Shorebirds had minimal impact on rocky intertidal prey in Oregon, unlike in Washington and South Africa. This difference was linked to lower bird abundance at mainland Oregon sites compared to island colonies.

Keywords:

Oregon bird predation community structure oystercatchers rocky intertidal sea stars seagulls whelks

More Related Videos

Quantifying Corticolous Arthropods Using Sticky Traps

Quantifying Corticolous Arthropods Using Sticky Traps

Published on: January 19, 2020

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

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: May 21, 2025

Collecting Marine Gnathiid Isopod Fish Parasites with Light Traps

Collecting Marine Gnathiid Isopod Fish Parasites with Light Traps

Published on: September 25, 2023

Quantifying Corticolous Arthropods Using Sticky Traps

Quantifying Corticolous Arthropods Using Sticky Traps

Published on: January 19, 2020

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

Area of Science:

Marine Ecology
Predator-Prey Dynamics
Rocky Intertidal Ecosystems

Background:

Rocky intertidal studies often focus on invertebrate interactions.
Shorebirds are common predators in these habitats, consuming diverse invertebrate prey.
Previous research in Washington and South Africa highlighted strong bird predation effects.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the effects of bird predation relative to invertebrate predation in Oregon's rocky intertidal zones.
To compare predation impacts across different sites, wave exposures, and tidal zones.
To understand factors influencing the strength of bird predation in marine ecosystems.

Main Methods:

A crossed experimental design was employed, manipulating bird presence/absence and invertebrate predator abundance.
Exclusions and removals were conducted at multiple sites on the central Oregon coast.
Data were collected from spring 1996 to fall 1997 across various wave exposures and zones.

Main Results:

Birds exhibited minimal effects on the abundance of sessile and mobile prey in Oregon's intertidal zones.
Invertebrate predators (sea stars, whelks) were manipulated to compare their impact with bird predation.
Results contrasted with studies from Washington state and South Africa, where bird predation was more significant.

Conclusions:

Differences in bird abundance, particularly the absence of resident breeding colonies at mainland Oregon sites, likely explain the weaker bird predation effects.
Transient bird populations in Oregon had less impact compared to resident colonies in Washington and South Africa.
The strength of top-down control by birds varies, necessitating further research into the underlying ecological factors.