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

Mate Choice

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.

Natural Selection and Mating Preferences

Natural Selection and Mating Preferences

The principle of natural selection posits that organisms better adapted to their environment are more likely to survive and reproduce. This principle is closely intertwined with mating preferences, a key aspect of sexual selection, which evolutionary psychologists believe is driven by instincts to propagate one's genes. Such instincts significantly influence mating behaviors and preferences between genders.
Females, due to their biological roles in conception, pregnancy, and nursing, inherently...

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...

Hardy-Weinberg Principle

Hardy-Weinberg Principle

Diploid organisms have two alleles of each gene, one from each parent, in their somatic cells. Therefore, each individual contributes two alleles to the gene pool of the population. The gene pool of a population is the sum of every allele of all genes within that population and has some degree of variation. Genetic variation is typically expressed as a relative frequency, which is the percentage of the total population that has a given allele, genotype or phenotype.In the early 20th century,...

Inclusive Fitness

Inclusive Fitness

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.

Evolutionary Psychology

Evolutionary Psychology

Evolutionary psychology explores the origins of human behavior and mental processes by framing them within the context of natural selection, a theory famously propounded by Charles Darwin. This field asserts that many behaviors common across human societies — ranging from instinctive fear reactions to complex social interactions — arose as evolutionary adaptations. These adaptations enhanced the survival and reproductive success of our ancestors, thereby becoming embedded in the human psyche...

You might also read

Related Articles

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

Sort by

Same author

Establishment in a new habitat by polygenic adaptation.

Theoretical population biology·2017

Same author

Genomic inbreeding depression for climatic adaptation of tropical beef cattle.

Journal of animal science·2017

Same author

The infinitesimal model: Definition, derivation, and implications.

Theoretical population biology·2017

Same author

A CHROMOSOMAL CLINE IN THE GRASSHOPPER PODISMA PEDESTRIS.

Evolution; international journal of organic evolution·2017

Same author

HABITAT PREFERENCE IN THE BOMBINA HYBRID ZONE IN CROATIA.

Evolution; international journal of organic evolution·2017

Same author

THE STRUCTURE OF THE HYBRID ZONE IN URODERMA BILOBATUM (CHIROPTERA: PHYLLOSTOMATIDAE).

Evolution; international journal of organic evolution·2017

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jul 5, 2026

Using the FishSim Animation Toolchain to Investigate Fish Behavior: A Case Study on Mate-Choice Copying In Sailfin Mollies

Using the FishSim Animation Toolchain to Investigate Fish Behavior: A Case Study on Mate-Choice Copying In Sailfin Mollies

Published on: November 8, 2018

A model for the evolution of assortative mating.

M A R de Cara¹, N H Barton, M Kirkpatrick

¹Institute of Evolutionary Biology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH9 3JT, United Kingdom. angeles.decara@ed.ac.uk

The American Naturalist

|April 19, 2008

Summary

Assortative mating, where individuals with similar traits pair up, evolves due to fitness epistasis between genes. Selection for increased assortative mating is weak and costly assortment does not spread.

More Related Videos

Determination of the Mating Efficiency of Haploids in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Determination of the Mating Efficiency of Haploids in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Published on: December 2, 2022

Manipulation of Color Patterns in Jumping Spiders for Use in Behavioral Experiments

Manipulation of Color Patterns in Jumping Spiders for Use in Behavioral Experiments

Published on: May 21, 2019

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jul 5, 2026

Using the FishSim Animation Toolchain to Investigate Fish Behavior: A Case Study on Mate-Choice Copying In Sailfin Mollies

Using the FishSim Animation Toolchain to Investigate Fish Behavior: A Case Study on Mate-Choice Copying In Sailfin Mollies

Published on: November 8, 2018

Determination of the Mating Efficiency of Haploids in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Determination of the Mating Efficiency of Haploids in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Published on: December 2, 2022

Manipulation of Color Patterns in Jumping Spiders for Use in Behavioral Experiments

Manipulation of Color Patterns in Jumping Spiders for Use in Behavioral Experiments

Published on: May 21, 2019

Area of Science:

Evolutionary Biology
Quantitative Genetics
Behavioral Ecology

Background:

Assortative mating, a non-random mating pattern, is widespread in nature.
The evolutionary drivers and mechanisms behind assortative mating remain incompletely understood.
This study focuses on assortative mating where the same trait influences mate choice in both sexes.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the conditions under which assortative mating evolves.
To explore the role of genetic architecture, specifically epistasis, in the evolution of assortative mating.
To analyze the strength and invasibility of selection for increased assortative mating.

Main Methods:

Utilized a multilocus formalism to model assortative mating in haploid populations.
Incorporated viability selection acting on the same trait under assortment.
Examined specific models of assortment in both haploid and diploid organisms, considering selective and nonselective mating scenarios.

Main Results:

Epistasis in fitness among loci controlling the trait is essential for assortative mating to evolve.
Conditions for the evolution of assortative mating were identified.
Selection favoring increased levels of assortative mating was found to be weak.
Costly increases in assortative mating were shown to be evolutionarily unstable.

Conclusions:

Genetic epistasis is a key factor facilitating the evolution of assortative mating.
Assortative mating may evolve under specific genetic architectures, even with weak selection.
The evolution of costly assortative mating is unlikely in natural populations.