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Related Concept Videos

Types of Selection01:46

Types of Selection

46.0K
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...
46.0K
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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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,...
667
Mate Choice01:20

Mate Choice

11.9K
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.
11.9K
Limits to Natural Selection01:38

Limits to Natural Selection

35.7K
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.
35.7K
Mutation, Gene Flow, and Genetic Drift01:09

Mutation, Gene Flow, and Genetic Drift

65.5K
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).
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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Mar 11, 2026

Predicting the Effectiveness of Population Replacement Strategy Using Mathematical Modeling
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Sexual selection can both increase and decrease extinction probability: reconciling demographic and evolutionary

Carlos Martínez-Ruiz1, Robert J Knell1

  • 1School of Biological and Chemical Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, London, E1 4NS, UK.

The Journal of Animal Ecology
|November 19, 2016
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Sexual selection can boost population adaptation and survival, but its effects on fitness depend on environmental and demographic factors. This study reconciles conflicting findings between theory, lab, and field research.

Keywords:
adaptationclimate changeenvironmental changeevolutionextinctionindividual-based modelsexual selection

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Area of Science:

  • Evolutionary Biology
  • Population Genetics
  • Ecology

Background:

  • Theoretical models predict sexual selection enhances adaptation and clears mutations.
  • Empirical studies show mixed results, with field data often indicating negative effects due to selection costs.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate how sexual selection impacts population-level fitness, considering demographic and evolutionary feedback.
  • To reconcile discrepancies between theoretical predictions and empirical observations of sexual selection's effects.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized an individual-based model incorporating feedback between demographic and evolutionary processes.
  • Simulated populations under varying environmental change, carrying capacity, fecundity, and condition dependence.

Main Results:

  • Sexual selection can increase or decrease population fitness (extinction probability, adaptation rate).
  • Effects are contingent on environmental and demographic factors.
  • Small populations may face higher extinction risk, while larger populations benefit from faster adaptation.

Conclusions:

  • Sexual selection's impact on population fitness is complex and context-dependent.
  • Model findings align with both positive lab results and negative field observations.
  • Provides a framework for understanding the varied effects of sexual selection across different systems.