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Related Concept Videos

Mate Choice01:20

Mate Choice

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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.
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Types of Selection01:46

Types of Selection

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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...
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Epistasis01:39

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In addition to multiple alleles at the same locus influencing traits, numerous genes or alleles at different locations may interact and influence phenotypes in a phenomenon called epistasis. For example, rabbit fur can be black or brown depending on whether the animal is homozygous dominant or heterozygous at a TYRP1 locus. However, if the rabbit is also homozygous recessive at a locus on the tyrosinase gene (TYR), it will have an unshaded coat that appears white, regardless of its TYRP1...
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Background and Environment Affect Phenotype02:27

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Although the genetic makeup of an organism plays a major role in determining the phenotype, there are also several environmental factors, such as temperature, oxygen availability, presence of mutagens, that can alter an organism’s phenotype.
An example of how genetic background affects phenotype can be seen in horses. The Extension gene in horses is responsible for their coat color. A wild-type gene (EE) produces black pigment in the coat, while a mutant gene (ee) produces red pigment. A...
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Frequency-dependent Selection01:21

Frequency-dependent Selection

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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.
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Genetics of Speciation02:16

Genetics of Speciation

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Speciation is the evolutionary process resulting in the formation of new, distinct species—groups of reproductively isolated populations.
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Updated: Apr 23, 2026

Manipulation of Color Patterns in Jumping Spiders for Use in Behavioral Experiments
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Sexual selection and genetic colour polymorphisms in animals.

Maren Wellenreuther1, Erik I Svensson, Bengt Hansson

  • 1Evolutionary Ecology, Department of Biology, Lund University, SE-223 62, Lund, Sweden.

Molecular Ecology
|September 25, 2014
PubMed
Summary

Sexual selection drives animal color diversity. Genetic studies reveal color traits link to mate choice and are often controlled by complex genetic structures like supergenes, influencing polymorphism maintenance.

Keywords:
adaptive introgressioncolour polymorphismsfrequency-dependent selectioninversionslinkagemate choicerecombinationsexual selectionsupergenes

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Area of Science:

  • Evolutionary Biology
  • Genetics
  • Animal Behaviour

Background:

  • Genetic colour polymorphisms are common in animals and traditionally used to study evolutionary processes.
  • Advances in sequencing and analysis are revealing the molecular basis of these polymorphisms.

Purpose of the Study:

  • Review evidence for sexual selection on colour polymorphisms.
  • Highlight the genetic and developmental basis of colour diversification.
  • Discuss factors affecting the maintenance of colour polymorphisms.

Main Methods:

  • Review of recent studies on the genetics of sexually selected colour polymorphisms.
  • Analysis of genetic architecture, molecular, and developmental underpinnings.
  • Examination of linkage with mate preferences and sex determination.

Main Results:

  • Colour loci often cluster with other trait loci, forming inversions and supergenes.
  • Linkage between colour genes, mate preferences, and sex determination is observed.
  • Introgression and regulatory variation contribute to polymorphisms.

Conclusions:

  • Genetic architecture, including supergenes, plays a key role in colour polymorphism.
  • Understanding the interplay between sexual selection, genetics, and fitness is crucial.
  • Further research integrating fitness consequences with molecular targets is needed for insights into polymorphism maintenance.