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Frequency-dependent Selection

Frequency-dependent Selection

When the fitness of a trait is influenced by how common it is (i.e., its frequency) relative to different traits within a population, this is referred to as frequency-dependent selection. Frequency-dependent selection may occur between species or within a single species. This type of selection can either be positive—with more common phenotypes having higher fitness—or negative, with rarer phenotypes conferring increased fitness.Positive Frequency-Dependent SelectionIn positive...

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...

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Modeling frequency-dependent selection with an application to cichlid fish.

Sheree L Arpin¹, J M Cushing

¹University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA. sarpin@frc.mass.edu

Mathematical Biosciences and Engineering : MBE

|March 13, 2009

Summary

Negative frequency-dependent selection drives mouth-handedness evolution in cichlid fish (Perissodus microlepis). Mathematical modeling explains observed population oscillations and predicts conditions for stability or periodic cycles.

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Area of Science:

Evolutionary Biology
Microevolutionary Dynamics
Population Genetics

Background:

Perissodus microlepis, a cichlid fish from Lake Tanganyika, exhibits lepidophagy (scale-eating).
This feeding strategy is linked to lateralized jaw morphology, with mouths opening left or right.
Field observations show cyclical changes in mouth-handedness phenotypes within P. microlepis populations.

Purpose of the Study:

To develop a discrete-time model integrating genetic and population dynamics for P. microlepis.
To analyze conditions for population extinction versus survival equilibrium.
To explain the observed phenotypic oscillations through frequency-dependent selection and bifurcation analysis.

Main Methods:

Development of a discrete-time mathematical model for P. microlepis population dynamics.
Analysis of model parameters to determine conditions for extinction and survival equilibria.
Application of local stability and bifurcation analysis to investigate equilibrium stability and oscillations.

Main Results:

The model identifies conditions for population extinction and a unique positive equilibrium.
A 1:1 phenotypic ratio is predicted at the positive equilibrium.
Sufficiently strong negative frequency-dependent selection leads to bifurcation, causing periodic oscillations, explaining observed mouth-handedness cycles.

Conclusions:

The developed model successfully explains the phenotypic frequency oscillations in P. microlepis mouth-handedness.
Bifurcation analysis provides a mechanism for the observed cyclical evolutionary dynamics.
The study offers predictions regarding the behavior of the bifurcating periodic cycle.