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Updated: May 29, 2026

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Published on: December 2, 2022
Assortative mating counteracts the evolution of dispersal polymorphisms.
Emanuel A Fronhofer1, Alexander Kubisch, Thomas Hovestadt
1Field Station Fabrikschleichach, University of Würzburg, Glashüttenstr. 5, D-96181 Rauhenebrach, Germany. fronhofer@biozentrum.uni-wuerzburg.de
Assortative mating does not maintain dispersal polymorphisms in insect metapopulations. Instead, it favors intermediate dispersal types, suggesting other mechanisms like mechanism dominance may drive the evolution of discrete morphs.
Area of Science:
- Evolutionary biology
- Ecology
- Population genetics
Background:
- Polymorphic dispersal strategies are common in nature, but the maintenance of genetic variation underlying these traits is poorly understood.
- Assortative mating is hypothesized to preserve variation and drive the evolution of dispersal polymorphisms, particularly in sympatric speciation contexts.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the role of assortative mating in the evolution of trade-off-driven dispersal polymorphisms.
- To model univoltine insect species within a metapopulation framework to test this hypothesis.
Main Methods:
- Mathematical modeling of univoltine insect populations in a metapopulation.
- Analysis of the impact of assortative mating on dispersal trait evolution.
Main Results:
- Assortative mating does not favor the evolution or maintenance of dispersal polymorphisms.
- Assortative mating promotes the evolution of an intermediate dispersal type, leading to a unimodal trait distribution within populations.
Conclusions:
- Assortative mating is unlikely to be the primary driver of dispersal polymorphisms.
- Mechanism dominance may offer a more plausible explanation for the observed occurrence of discrete dispersal morphs in natural populations.
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