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

Free Energy01:21

Free Energy

42.3K
Free energy—abbreviated as G for the scientist Gibbs who discovered it—is a measurement of useful energy that can be extracted from a reaction to do work. It is the energy in a chemical reaction that is available after entropy is accounted for. Reactions that take in energy are considered endergonic and reactions that release energy are exergonic. Plants carry out endergonic reactions by taking in sunlight and carbon dioxide to produce glucose and oxygen. Animals, in turn, break...
42.3K
Inclusive Fitness00:57

Inclusive Fitness

23.6K
Most altruistic behavior—in which one animal helps another at a cost to themselves—occurs between relatives. Scientists think these altruistic behaviors evolved because they increase the inclusive fitness of the animal providing help.
23.6K
Production Efficiency01:01

Production Efficiency

15.5K
Net production efficiency (NPE) is the efficiency at which organisms assimilate energy into biomass for the next trophic level. Due to low metabolic rates and less energy spent on thermoregulatory processes, the NPE of ectotherms (cold-blooded animals) is 10 times higher than endotherms (warm-blooded animals).
15.5K
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
Free Energy and Equilibrium02:56

Free Energy and Equilibrium

20.2K
The free energy change for a process may be viewed as a measure of its driving force. A negative value for ΔG represents a driving force for the process in the forward direction, while a positive value represents a driving force for the process in the reverse direction. When ΔGrxn is zero, the forward and reverse driving forces are equal, and the process occurs in both directions at the same rate (the system is at equilibrium).
Recall that Q is the numerical value of the mass action...
20.2K
Free Energy and Equilibrium00:55

Free Energy and Equilibrium

7.6K
The free energy change for a process may be viewed as a measure of its driving force. A negative value for ΔG represents a driving force for the process in the forward direction, while a positive value represents a driving force for the process in the reverse direction. When ΔG is zero, the forward and reverse driving forces are equal, and the process occurs in both directions at the same rate (the system is at equilibrium).
The reaction quotient, Q, is a convenient measure of the...
7.6K

You might also read

Related Articles

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

Sort by
Same author

Uniqueness and predictability in evolution and the history of mollusks.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·2026
Same author

Pushed waves, trailing edges, and extreme events: Eco-evolutionary dynamics of a geographic range shift in the owl limpet, Lottia gigantea.

Global change biology·2024
Same author

The temperate marine Peruvian Province: How history accounts for its unusual biota.

Ecology and evolution·2024
Same author

The illusion of balance in the history of the biosphere.

Geobiology·2024
Same author

Amniote metabolism and the evolution of endothermy.

Nature·2023
Same author

When does natural selection take place?

Evolution; international journal of organic evolution·2023
Same journal

Chemotactic self-organization captures the dynamics of mammalian hair follicle patterning.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·2026
Same journal

Tomographic imaging of superconducting order using particle-hole interference.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·2026
Same journal

Inhibitory potential of autologous neutralizing antibodies sets quantitative limits on the rebound-competent HIV-1 reservoir.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·2026
Same journal

Inferring epidemiological parameters under an infectious phylogeography model with visitor dynamics.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·2026
Same journal

Analytical modeling for suction cup designs for skin-interfaced wearable devices.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·2026
Same journal

Improving cell-free metabolism through direct integration of artificial respiratory chains.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·2026
See all related articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Apr 29, 2026

A Protocol for Functional Assessment of Whole-Protein Saturation Mutagenesis Libraries Utilizing High-Throughput Sequencing
11:36

A Protocol for Functional Assessment of Whole-Protein Saturation Mutagenesis Libraries Utilizing High-Throughput Sequencing

Published on: July 3, 2016

10.3K

Energetics and evolutionary fitness.

Geerat J Vermeij1, Richard K Grosberg2, Peter D Roopnarine3

  • 1Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of California, Davis, CA 95616.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
|May 16, 2025
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Energy is key to evolution, but the equal fitness paradigm (EFP) oversimplifies its role. Evolution favors increased power, not constant fitness, challenging the EFP

Keywords:
adaptationenergyequal fitness paradigmfitnesspower

More Related Videos

Development of a Mobile Mitochondrial Physiology Laboratory for Measuring Mitochondrial Energetics in the Field
08:54

Development of a Mobile Mitochondrial Physiology Laboratory for Measuring Mitochondrial Energetics in the Field

Published on: August 27, 2021

1.4K
Daily Transfers, Archiving Populations, and Measuring Fitness in the Long-Term Evolution Experiment with Escherichia coli
15:00

Daily Transfers, Archiving Populations, and Measuring Fitness in the Long-Term Evolution Experiment with Escherichia coli

Published on: August 18, 2023

5.1K

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Apr 29, 2026

A Protocol for Functional Assessment of Whole-Protein Saturation Mutagenesis Libraries Utilizing High-Throughput Sequencing
11:36

A Protocol for Functional Assessment of Whole-Protein Saturation Mutagenesis Libraries Utilizing High-Throughput Sequencing

Published on: July 3, 2016

10.3K
Development of a Mobile Mitochondrial Physiology Laboratory for Measuring Mitochondrial Energetics in the Field
08:54

Development of a Mobile Mitochondrial Physiology Laboratory for Measuring Mitochondrial Energetics in the Field

Published on: August 27, 2021

1.4K
Daily Transfers, Archiving Populations, and Measuring Fitness in the Long-Term Evolution Experiment with Escherichia coli
15:00

Daily Transfers, Archiving Populations, and Measuring Fitness in the Long-Term Evolution Experiment with Escherichia coli

Published on: August 18, 2023

5.1K

Area of Science:

  • Evolutionary biology
  • Ecological energetics
  • Paleontology

Background:

  • Energy is recognized as fundamental to evolutionary processes.
  • Contrasting theories exist regarding energy's role in adaptation.
  • The equal fitness paradigm (EFP) assumes constant fitness in a closed system.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To re-evaluate the relationship between energy, power, and adaptation in evolution.
  • To challenge the universal applicability of the equal fitness paradigm (EFP).
  • To explore how natural selection drives increases in power over evolutionary time.

Main Methods:

  • Comparative analysis of evolutionary theory and fossil records.
  • Examination of energy availability and access trends over geological time.
  • Investigation of how innovations and collaborations affect reproductive trade-offs.

Main Results:

  • Fossil records show increasing energy and space availability over time.
  • Natural selection favors traits that enhance power (energy per unit time).
  • Collaborations and innovations relax reproductive trade-offs, allowing variable offspring allocation.

Conclusions:

  • The equal fitness paradigm (EFP) is applicable only under limited, locally constant conditions.
  • Evolutionary fitness is not necessarily constant and varies across species and time.
  • Measuring fitness in extant and fossil taxa presents significant challenges.