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Related Concept Videos

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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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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Natural Selection and Mating Preferences01:06

Natural Selection and Mating Preferences

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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,...
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Background and Environment Affect Phenotype02:27

Background and Environment Affect Phenotype

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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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What is Behavior?00:54

What is Behavior?

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Behaviors are actions that an organism engages in—they can be related to finding food, reproducing, defending against threats, and many other possible actions. Behaviors include activities related to the environment around the animal—such as migration—as well as social interactions within a species or population. Many behaviors involve motor output—that is, muscle movements—while others involve less visible actions, such as learning.
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Selection on female behaviour fluctuates with offspring environment.

R W Taylor1, S Boutin, M M Humphries

  • 1Department of Zoology, 203 Natural Sciences, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA.

Journal of Evolutionary Biology
|October 9, 2014
PubMed
Summary

Ecological changes drive fluctuating natural selection in red squirrels, maintaining behavioral variation. This fluctuating selection impacts juvenile survival, not maternal reproduction, preserving heritable differences.

Keywords:
aggressionanimal personalitybehaviourbehavioural syndromefluctuating selectionintraspecific competitionmultivariate selectionnatural selection

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Area of Science:

  • Evolutionary biology
  • Behavioral ecology
  • Population genetics

Background:

  • Temporal variation in selection is a proposed mechanism for maintaining genetic diversity.
  • Fluctuating selection may explain consistent individual differences in behavior.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To test if ecological changes lead to fluctuating selection, maintaining variation in female behavioral traits in North American red squirrels.
  • To investigate the role of competition for territories in driving these selection fluctuations.

Main Methods:

  • Analyzed linear selection gradients on female aggression and activity over several years.
  • Assessed the impact of selection on juvenile overwinter survival and maternal fecundity.
  • Incorporated uncertainty in behavioral measures to evaluate its effect on selection estimates.

Main Results:

  • Selection gradients on female aggression and activity fluctuated annually, correlating with juvenile competition levels.
  • Selection primarily influenced juvenile overwinter survival, with minimal effect on maternal fecundity.
  • Accounting for behavioral measurement uncertainty did not alter the observed pattern of fluctuating selection.

Conclusions:

  • Temporal fluctuations in natural selection, driven by ecological changes like competition, can maintain heritable variation in female behavior.
  • This mechanism is crucial for preserving individual differences in behavior within wild populations.
  • The findings support the role of fluctuating selection in evolutionary processes.