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Related Concept Videos

Types of Selection01:46

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...
Mate Choice01:20

Mate Choice

Mate choice—the decision about whom to mate with—is a type of natural selection, since animals must reproduce to pass down their genes. Mate choice is also called intersexual selection because the behavior occurs between the sexes.
Hybrid Zones02:29

Hybrid Zones

Hybrid zones are narrow regions where two closely related species interact, mate, and produce hybrids. Relative to either parent species, hybrids may possess distinct phenotypic or genetic differences that impact their survival and reproductive success. The genetic variances introduced by hybridization influence species diversity and speciation processes within the hybrid zone.Gene flow and natural selection are evolutionary mechanisms that shape the outcome of a hybrid zone. Gene flow...
Testing a Claim about Mean: Unknown Population SD01:21

Testing a Claim about Mean: Unknown Population SD

A complete procedure of testing a hypothesis about a population mean when the population standard deviation is unknown is explained here.
Estimating a population mean requires the samples to be approximately normally distributed. The data should be collected from the randomly selected samples having no sampling bias. There is no specific requirement for sample size. But if the sample size is less than 30, and we don't know the population standard deviation, a different approach is used; instead...
Background and Environment Affect Phenotype02:27

Background and Environment Affect Phenotype

Although the genetic makeup of an organism plays a major role in determining the phenotype, there are also several environmental factors, such as temperature, oxygen availability, presence of mutagens, that can alter an organism’s phenotype.
An example of how genetic background affects phenotype can be seen in horses. The Extension gene in horses is responsible for their coat color. A wild-type gene (EE) produces black pigment in the coat, while a mutant gene (ee) produces red pigment. A...
Speciation Rates01:07

Speciation Rates

Speciation can proceed at markedly different rates, and evolutionary biologists commonly describe these differences through the models of gradualism and punctuated equilibrium. Both patterns explain how new species arise, but they differ in the tempo and continuity of evolutionary change. In both cases, evolutionary change arises from heritable variation within populations, with natural selection often shaping traits that improve survival and reproduction under specific environmental conditions.

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Manipulation of Color Patterns in Jumping Spiders for Use in Behavioral Experiments
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Mating system variation and morph fluctuations in a polymorphic lizard.

Mats Olsson1, Mo Healey, Erik Wapstra

  • 1School of Biological Sciences, University of Wollongong, NSW 2522, Australia. molsson@uow.edu.au

Molecular Ecology
|December 21, 2007
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Male painted dragon lizards

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Area of Science:

  • Evolutionary biology
  • Animal behavior
  • Genetics

Background:

  • Male painted dragon lizards (Ctenophorus pictus) exhibit color polymorphism, with red and yellow morphs.
  • Red males win contests for females, while yellow males perform better in sperm competition.
  • This suggests differing reproductive strategies, with red males potentially being more coercive or better mate guarders.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the actual reproductive success and mating strategies of red and yellow male painted dragons in the wild.
  • To determine the frequency of mixed paternity in offspring and its relation to male morphs.
  • To explore the influence of territory characteristics, like perch density, on mating systems and selection pressures.

Main Methods:

  • Microsatellite genotyping was used to assess parentage and determine the frequency of mixed paternity.
  • Data on offspring sired per year and mating system variation were collected and analyzed.
  • Logistic regression was employed to analyze the relationship between male color morph, population dominance, and mating success.

Main Results:

  • The frequency of mixed paternity in the wild was found to be low, averaging less than 20% across years.
  • All male color morphs sired a similar number of offspring annually on average.
  • Mating system variation (polyandry vs. monandry) strongly correlated with perch density within male territories.
  • Red males experienced negative selection when they were dominant in the population, indicating frequency-dependent selection.

Conclusions:

  • Contrary to predictions based on contest and sperm competition outcomes, wild reproductive success is similar across male morphs.
  • Mating system dynamics in painted dragons are influenced by territory characteristics rather than solely by male color morph.
  • The population likely experiences ongoing frequency-dependent selection on male color, with red males facing disadvantages when common.