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Natural Selection and Mating Preferences

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 Choice

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 Selection

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...

Mutation, Gene Flow, and Genetic Drift

Mutation, Gene Flow, and Genetic Drift

In a population that is not at Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium, the frequency of alleles changes over time. Therefore, any deviations from the five conditions of Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium can alter the genetic variation of a given population. Conditions that change the genetic variability of a population include mutations, natural selection, non-random mating, gene flow, and genetic drift (small population size).

Frequency-dependent Selection

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.

Asexual Reproduction

Asexual Reproduction

Asexual reproduction allows plants to reproduce without growing flowers, attracting pollinators, or dispersing seeds. Offspring are genetically identical to the parent and produced without the fusion of male and female gametes.

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Related Experiment Video

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Determination of the Mating Efficiency of Haploids in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

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Published on: December 2, 2022

Mutation-selection balance and mixed mating with asexual reproduction.

Tara N Marriage¹, Maria E Orive

¹Division of Biology, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS 66506, USA.

Journal of Theoretical Biology

|June 2, 2012

Summary

Asexual reproduction increases mean fitness and reduces deleterious mutations per gamete. This occurs in both finite and infinite populations, impacting genetic load and mutation-selection balance.

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Area of Science:

Evolutionary biology
Population genetics

Background:

Understanding mutation-selection balance is crucial for evolutionary studies.
The role of asexual reproduction in shaping genetic load is complex and requires further investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the effects of asexual reproduction on deleterious mutations and mean fitness.
To compare these effects in finite and infinite populations under varying genetic models.

Main Methods:

Utilized two simulation models to explore asexual reproduction with varying outcrossing/selfing rates.
Incorporated different degrees of dominance and selection coefficients.
Compared mean fitness and deleterious mutation rates across simulated populations.

Main Results:

Increased asexual reproduction led to higher mean fitness and fewer deleterious mutations per gamete.
These findings held true for nearly recessive and additive alleles in both finite and infinite populations.
Asexual reproduction's impact on genetic load was influenced by population size (genetic drift).

Conclusions:

Asexual reproduction can enhance mean fitness by allowing selection on heterozygotes and shielding from meiotic mutations.
Results underscore the importance of including asexual and mixed mating systems in models of genetic load.
Further research is needed to fully elucidate the interplay between asexual reproduction, genetic drift, and evolutionary dynamics.