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Limits to Natural Selection01:38

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.For one, natural selection can only act upon existing genetic variation. Hypothetically, redtusks may enhance elephant survival by deterring ivory-seeking poachers. However, if there are no gene variants—or alleles—for redtusks, natural selection cannot increase the prevalence of...
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In addition to multiple alleles at the same locus influencing traits, numerous genes or alleles at different locations may interact and influence phenotypes in a phenomenon called epistasis. For example, rabbit fur can be black or brown depending on whether the animal is homozygous dominant or heterozygous at a TYRP1 locus. However, if the rabbit is also homozygous recessive at a locus on the tyrosinase gene (TYR), it will have an unshaded coat that appears white, regardless of its TYRP1...
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Creating Objects and Object Categories for Studying Perception and Perceptual Learning
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A general model of functional constraints on phenotypic evolution.

Jeffrey A Walker1

  • 1epartment of Biology, University of Southern Maine, Portland, Maine, 04103, USA. walker@maine.edu

The American Naturalist
|October 11, 2007
PubMed
Summary

This study introduces a model showing how an organism's functional architecture shapes its evolutionary path. The F matrix reveals how performance traits influence morphophysiological evolution rates and directions.

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Area of Science:

  • Evolutionary biology
  • Quantitative genetics
  • Functional morphology

Background:

  • The Lande-Arnold model describes multivariate phenotypic evolution.
  • Understanding functional constraints on evolution is crucial.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To develop a general model of functional constraints on phenotypic evolution.
  • To link organismal functional architecture to evolutionary trajectories.

Main Methods:

  • Decomposition of the Lande-Arnold model.
  • Introduction of the F matrix of performance coefficients.
  • Analysis of functional architecture's impact on adaptive landscapes.

Main Results:

  • The F matrix structure constrains the adaptive landscape, influencing evolution rate and direction.
  • Evolvability is related to row sums and variances within the F matrix.
  • Functional covariances, derived from F matrix row covariances, determine evolutionary direction.

Conclusions:

  • Organismal functional architecture is a key determinant of evolutionary patterns.
  • The F matrix effectively models functional constraints on phenotypic evolution.
  • Standard genetic covariance matrices (G matrix) are insufficient for modeling these functional constraints.