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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.

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...

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.

Limits to Natural Selection

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.

What is Natural Selection?

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.

Distribution and Dispersion

Distribution and Dispersion

To understand intra-specific interactions in populations, scientists measure the spatial arrangement of species individuals. This geographic arrangement is known as the species distribution or dispersion. Highly territorial species exhibit a uniform distribution pattern, in which individuals are spaced at relatively equal distances from one another. Species that are highly tied to particular resources, such as food or shelter, tend to concentrate around those resources, and thus exhibit a...

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 8, 2026

Conditions Affecting Social Space in Drosophila melanogaster

Conditions Affecting Social Space in Drosophila melanogaster

Published on: November 5, 2015

The spatial patterns of directional phenotypic selection.

Adam M Siepielski¹, Kiyoko M Gotanda, Michael B Morrissey

¹Department of Biology, University of San Diego, 5998 Alcala Park, San Diego, CA, 92110, USA.

Ecology Letters

|September 14, 2013

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Selection varies mostly in strength, not direction, across natural populations. This spatial variation in selection may limit adaptive population divergence and speciation, highlighting a need for further research.

Keywords:

Adaptation environmental variation evolution local adaptation natural selection selection mosaic sexual selection spatial variation

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Area of Science:

Evolutionary biology
Ecology
Population genetics

Background:

Local adaptation, population divergence, and speciation are theorized to arise from spatial variation in selection.
A comprehensive understanding of spatial selection patterns, including variation in strength and direction among populations, is lacking.

Purpose of the Study:

To analyze spatial patterns of directional phenotypic selection in natural populations.
To characterize the variation in strength and direction of selection among populations.

Main Methods:

Meta-analysis of 60 spatially replicated studies.
Inclusion of 3937 estimates of directional selection across an average of five populations per study.

Main Results:

Directional selection primarily varies in strength, with less variation in direction among populations.
Differences in selection direction occur mainly when selection is weakest, potentially hindering adaptive divergence.
Spatial variation in selection appears comparable to temporal (annual) variation within populations, though data limitations exist.

Conclusions:

Spatial variation in selection is a key factor in evolutionary processes.
The observed patterns suggest limitations on adaptive population divergence due to weaker variation in selection direction.
Further research is needed to fully understand spatial selection patterns and their evolutionary consequences.