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Related Concept Videos

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...
Frequency-dependent Selection01:21

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...
What is Natural Selection?01:32

What is Natural Selection?

Natural selection is an evolutionary process in which individuals with survival-promoting traits reproduce at higher rates. These favorable traits become more common within a population or species. Naturally selected traits initially arise via random genetic mutations. In order for selection to occur, there must be variation within a population, the trait controlling the variation must be heritable, and there must be an evolutionary advantage for variation in the trait.The Theory of Natural...
Natural Selection and Mating Preferences01:06

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 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.

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 24, 2026

In situ Protocol for Butterfly Pupal Wings Using Riboprobes
06:19

In situ Protocol for Butterfly Pupal Wings Using Riboprobes

Published on: May 28, 2007

Accommodating natural and sexual selection in butterfly wing pattern evolution.

Jeffrey C Oliver1, Kendra A Robertson, Antónia Monteiro

  • 1Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Yale University, 165 Prospect Street, New Haven, CT 06520-8106, USA. jeffrey.oliver@yale.edu

Proceedings. Biological Sciences
|April 15, 2009
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Butterfly wing patterns evolve separately for attracting mates and avoiding predators. This spatial separation allows for optimized visual signals, supporting evolutionary diversification in Bicyclus butterflies.

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Published on: May 28, 2007

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Methods for Staging Pupal Periods and Measurement of Wing Pigmentation of Drosophila guttifera
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Area of Science:

  • Evolutionary Biology
  • Animal Behavior
  • Ecology

Background:

  • Animal visual signals serve multiple functions, like mate attraction and predator avoidance.
  • Multiple functions can lead to signal conflict, hindering optimal signal evolution.
  • The Bicyclus butterfly genus offers a model to study spatial separation of visual signal functions.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To test the hypothesis that visual signal functions are spatially separated in Bicyclus butterflies.
  • To investigate if dorsal and ventral wing surfaces, and forewings versus hindwings, have evolved for different signaling roles.
  • To determine if spatial separation aids in accommodating multiple visual signal functions.

Main Methods:

  • Phylogenetic reconstructions of character evolution were used.
  • Comparisons of evolutionary rates between different wing regions (dorsal vs. ventral, forewing vs. hindwing) were conducted.
  • Sex-based differences in evolutionary rates were analyzed.

Main Results:

  • Dorsal wing characters evolved at higher rates than ventral characters.
  • Dorsal characters showed more sex-based differences in evolutionary rates, suggesting a role in mate signaling.
  • Ventral characters appear crucial for predator avoidance, and forewing characters align with mate signaling.
  • Forewing characters exhibited higher evolutionary rates than hindwing characters.

Conclusions:

  • Spatial separation of visual signal functions (mate signaling and predator avoidance) has occurred in Bicyclus butterflies.
  • This strategy allows for the optimization of signals serving different purposes.
  • The findings have implications for the developmental evolution of wing patterns and butterfly species diversification.