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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...
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...
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...
Evolutionary Psychology01:20

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...
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.
Inclusive Fitness00:57

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.

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 5, 2026

Exploring Life History Choices: Using Temperature and Substrate Type as Interacting Factors for Blowfly Larval and Female Preferences
12:14

Exploring Life History Choices: Using Temperature and Substrate Type as Interacting Factors for Blowfly Larval and Female Preferences

Published on: November 17, 2023

Path analyses of selection.

J G Kingsolver1, D W Schemske

  • 1Dept of Zoology at the University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA.

Trends in Ecology & Evolution
|January 15, 2011
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Path analysis offers a statistical approach to identify targets and mechanisms of phenotypic selection in natural populations. This method aids evolutionary biologists by suggesting selection targets and evaluating causal pathways.

More Related Videos

A Pathway Association Study Tool for GWAS Analyses of Metabolic Pathway Information
05:01

A Pathway Association Study Tool for GWAS Analyses of Metabolic Pathway Information

Published on: July 1, 2020

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jun 5, 2026

Exploring Life History Choices: Using Temperature and Substrate Type as Interacting Factors for Blowfly Larval and Female Preferences
12:14

Exploring Life History Choices: Using Temperature and Substrate Type as Interacting Factors for Blowfly Larval and Female Preferences

Published on: November 17, 2023

A Pathway Association Study Tool for GWAS Analyses of Metabolic Pathway Information
05:01

A Pathway Association Study Tool for GWAS Analyses of Metabolic Pathway Information

Published on: July 1, 2020

Area of Science:

  • Evolutionary Biology
  • Ecology
  • Quantitative Genetics

Background:

  • Identifying targets and causal mechanisms of phenotypic selection is a key challenge in evolutionary biology.
  • Statistical modeling can help address this challenge.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To describe path models relevant to selection analysis.
  • To review empirical applications of path models in evolutionary studies.
  • To highlight the utility of path analysis in understanding phenotypic selection.

Main Methods:

  • Description of various path model types for selection analysis.
  • Review of empirical studies applying path models to pollination biology, phenotypic integration, and trait selection.
  • Discussion of path analysis as an exploratory and evaluative tool.

Main Results:

  • Path analysis can suggest potential targets of selection for experimental testing.
  • Path analysis helps evaluate the relative importance of different causal pathways in selection.
  • Empirical studies demonstrate the application of path models across diverse biological systems.

Conclusions:

  • Path analysis is a valuable statistical tool for investigating phenotypic selection in natural populations.
  • It serves dual roles: exploratory for identifying selection targets and evaluative for understanding selection mechanisms.
  • This approach enhances our understanding of evolutionary processes driven by selection.