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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...
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.
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.
Evolution of New Traits in Microbes01:24

Evolution of New Traits in Microbes

Microorganisms evolve rapidly due to their large population sizes and short generation times, often exhibiting measurable changes within days under laboratory conditions. Natural selection acts on standing genetic variation, enabling the retention and amplification of beneficial traits that confer fitness advantages in changing environments.Adaptive Pigment Regulation in RhodobacterIn Rhodobacter, a genus of purple non-sulfur bacteria, light-harvesting pigments such as bacteriochlorophyll and...
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.
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...

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Related Experiment Video

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Following the Dynamics of Structural Variants in Experimentally Evolved Populations
04:52

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Published on: February 3, 2023

Eco-Evolutionary dynamics enable coexistence via neighbor-dependent selection.

David A Vasseur1, Priyanga Amarasekare, Volker H W Rudolf

  • 1Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut 06520, USA. david.vasseur@yale.edu

The American Naturalist
|October 28, 2011
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Neighbor-dependent selection can promote species coexistence by augmenting niche partitioning or enabling it through novel cyclic dynamics. This framework clarifies how selection and evolution drive coexistence in ecological communities.

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Area of Science:

  • Ecology
  • Evolutionary Biology
  • Theoretical Ecology

Background:

  • Species coexistence is often limited by competitive exclusion.
  • Trade-offs in traits interacting with conspecifics and heterospecifics are crucial for coexistence.
  • A general framework for selection-driven coexistence is lacking.

Purpose of the Study:

  • Develop a general framework for neighbor-dependent selection driving species coexistence.
  • Elucidate conditions under which selection enables or augments coexistence.
  • Investigate the role of heritability in eco-evolutionary feedbacks.

Main Methods:

  • Developed a theoretical framework for neighbor-dependent selection.
  • Analyzed eco-evolutionary feedbacks under different ecological conditions.
  • Modeled the impact of trait heritability on coexistence.

Main Results:

  • Neighbor-dependent selection can augment coexistence via niche partitioning.
  • Selection can enable coexistence when ecological conditions favor exclusion, via intransitive loops.
  • Selection drives species to be superior interspecific competitors when rare and inferior when abundant.

Conclusions:

  • The developed framework predicts conditions for selection-enabled coexistence.
  • Neighbor-dependent selection offers a mechanism for coexistence beyond niche partitioning.
  • Understanding selection's role in trait evolution is key to explaining species coexistence on ecological timescales.