Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Concept Videos

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...
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.
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...
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...
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.
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...

You might also read

Related Articles

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

Sort by
Same author

Fertility of frozen-thawed stallion semen cannot be predicted by the currently used laboratory methods.

Acta veterinaria Scandinavica·2006
Same author

Cognitive and motor function in people with multiple sclerosis in Stockholm County.

Multiple sclerosis (Houndmills, Basingstoke, England)·2006
Same author

Morphometry of normal and teratozoospermic canine sperm heads using an image analyzer: work in progress.

Theriogenology·2006
Same author

Obstructive airways diseases, smoking and use of inhaled corticosteroids in southern Sweden in 1992 and 2000.

The international journal of tuberculosis and lung disease : the official journal of the International Union against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease·2006
Same author

Porcine field fertility with two different insemination doses and the effect of sperm morphology.

Reproduction in domestic animals = Zuchthygiene·2006
Same author

No signs of immunoactivation in the cerebrospinal fluid during treatment with infliximab.

Annals of the rheumatic diseases·2006
Same journal

The emerging field of wild animal welfare science.

Trends in ecology & evolution·2026
Same journal

Integrating nutritional mutualists into the evolution of defense.

Trends in ecology & evolution·2026
Same journal

Formation of three great Asian plateaus, climate change, and biodiversity: (Trends Ecol. Evol. 40, 970-982; 2025).

Trends in ecology & evolution·2026
Same journal

Digital twins as a tool for ecosystem research.

Trends in ecology & evolution·2026
Same journal

Constraint and convergence in the evolution of vertebrate sound production.

Trends in ecology & evolution·2026
Same journal

Is a comprehensive root economics space a chimera?

Trends in ecology & evolution·2026
See all related articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 5, 2026

Assessing Differences in Sperm Competitive Ability in Drosophila
09:34

Assessing Differences in Sperm Competitive Ability in Drosophila

Published on: August 22, 2013

Sexual selection.

M Andersson1, Y Iwasa

  • 1Dept of Zoology, University of Göteborg, Medicinaregatan 18, S-413 90 Göteborg, Sweden.

Trends in Ecology & Evolution
|January 18, 2011
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Sexual selection drives diverse mating strategies, including mate choice and sperm competition, influencing organismal evolution. Understanding these processes is key to explaining reproductive success and even plant pollination.

More Related Videos

Rearing and Long-Term Maintenance of Eristalis tenax Hoverflies for Research Studies
10:50

Rearing and Long-Term Maintenance of Eristalis tenax Hoverflies for Research Studies

Published on: May 19, 2018

Determination of the Mating Efficiency of Haploids in Saccharomyces cerevisiae
05:39

Determination of the Mating Efficiency of Haploids in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Published on: December 2, 2022

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jun 5, 2026

Assessing Differences in Sperm Competitive Ability in Drosophila
09:34

Assessing Differences in Sperm Competitive Ability in Drosophila

Published on: August 22, 2013

Rearing and Long-Term Maintenance of Eristalis tenax Hoverflies for Research Studies
10:50

Rearing and Long-Term Maintenance of Eristalis tenax Hoverflies for Research Studies

Published on: May 19, 2018

Determination of the Mating Efficiency of Haploids in Saccharomyces cerevisiae
05:39

Determination of the Mating Efficiency of Haploids in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Published on: December 2, 2022

Area of Science:

  • Evolutionary Biology
  • Behavioral Ecology
  • Reproductive Biology

Background:

  • Sexual selection encompasses various mechanisms influencing reproductive success.
  • Factors like relative reproductive rates, sperm competition, and mate quality impact sexual selection strength.
  • Sexual selection explains traits such as song, displays, ornaments, and resource offerings.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To review the diverse forms and consequences of sexual selection.
  • To highlight recent theoretical and empirical advances in understanding mate choice and other sexual selection mechanisms.
  • To explore the role of sexual selection in explaining phenomena in plant pollination biology.

Main Methods:

  • Literature review of recent theoretical and empirical studies on sexual selection.
  • Synthesis of findings on mate choice, sperm competition, contests, and coercion.
  • Examination of mathematical models and empirical evidence.

Main Results:

  • Mate choice, sperm competition, and contests are key drivers of sexual selection.
  • Relative reproductive rates and mate quality significantly affect sexual selection intensity.
  • Coercion and scrambles, though less studied, are important mating mechanisms.
  • Sexual selection offers explanations for complex patterns in plant pollination.

Conclusions:

  • Sexual selection is a multifaceted evolutionary force with broad implications across taxa.
  • Further research on less-studied mechanisms like coercion is warranted.
  • Sexual selection provides a unifying framework for understanding reproductive strategies and evolutionary outcomes.