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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...
Polygenic Traits01:18

Polygenic Traits

When more than one gene is responsible for a given phenotype, the trait is considered polygenic. Human height is a polygenic trait. Studies have uncovered hundreds of loci that influence height, and there are believed to be many more. Due to the high number of genes involved, as well as environmental and nutritional factors, height varies significantly within a given population. The distribution of height forms a bell-shaped curve, with relatively few individuals in the population at the...
Polygenic Traits01:18

Polygenic Traits

When more than one gene is responsible for a given phenotype, the trait is considered polygenic. Human height is a polygenic trait. Studies have uncovered hundreds of loci that influence height, and there are believed to be many more. Due to the high number of genes involved, as well as environmental and nutritional factors, height varies significantly within a given population. The distribution of height forms a bell-shaped curve, with relatively few individuals in the population at the...
Heritability01:06

Heritability

Heritability is a statistical concept that measures the degree to which genetic differences among individuals contribute to trait variations within a population. It is a fundamental idea in genetics, often prone to misinterpretation. Heritability is expressed as a percentage, reflecting the proportion of variation in a specific trait across a population that can be linked to genetic differences. However, it's important to understand that heritability does not determine how "genetic" a trait is,...
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...
Evolution of New Traits in Microbes01:24

Evolution of New Traits in Microbes

Microorganisms evolve rapidly due to their large population sizes and short generation times, often exhibiting measurable changes within days under laboratory conditions. Natural selection acts on standing genetic variation, enabling the retention and amplification of beneficial traits that confer fitness advantages in changing environments.Adaptive Pigment Regulation in RhodobacterIn Rhodobacter, a genus of purple non-sulfur bacteria, light-harvesting pigments such as bacteriochlorophyll and...

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jul 2, 2026

Experimental Manipulation of Body Size to Estimate Morphological Scaling Relationships in Drosophila
06:00

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Published on: October 1, 2011

Phenotypic selection on a heritable size trait revisited.

L E Kruuk1, J Merilä, B C Sheldon

  • 1Institute of Cell, Animal, and Population Biology, King's Buildings, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH9 3JT, United Kingdom. Loeske.Kruuk@ed.ac.uk

The American Naturalist
|August 19, 2008
PubMed
Summary

Evolutionary biologists investigated why traits don't change despite directional selection. In collared flycatchers, selection acted on heritable traits, yet body size did not evolve, challenging existing theories.

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Area of Science:

  • Evolutionary Biology
  • Quantitative Genetics

Background:

  • Directional selection on heritable traits in natural populations often fails to produce evolutionary responses.
  • This lack of response is a persistent puzzle in evolutionary biology.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To test three potential explanations for the absence of selection response in a collared flycatcher population.
  • To investigate the evolutionary dynamics of body size in relation to selection pressures.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized a restricted maximum likelihood "animal model" approach.
  • Analyzed body size data from over 23,000 collared flycatchers (Ficedula albicollis) over 18 years.
  • Quantified heritability, common environment effects, and selection differentials for tarsus length.

Main Results:

  • Found significant narrow-sense heritability for fledgling tarsus length and substantial common environment effects.
  • Identified a significant selection differential on tarsus length for survival to adulthood.
  • Observed no evolutionary response in tarsus length to selection over the study period.
  • Ruled out selection acting solely on environmental components, fluctuating selection, and antagonistic sexual selection.

Conclusions:

  • None of the tested hypotheses adequately explained the lack of evolutionary response to selection on body size in this flycatcher population.
  • Alternative hypotheses for the absence of a selection response require further investigation.