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Related Concept Videos

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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Types of Selection01:46

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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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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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Mate Choice01:20

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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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Speciation is the evolutionary process resulting in the formation of new, distinct species—groups of reproductively isolated populations.
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Speciation describes the formation of one or more new species from one or sometimes multiple original species. The resulting species are discrete from the parent species, and barriers to reproduction will typically exist. There are two primary mechanisms, speciation with and without geographic isolation—allopatric and sympatric speciation, respectively.
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Determination of the Mating Efficiency of Haploids in Saccharomyces cerevisiae
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DYNAMICS OF SEXUAL SELECTION IN DIPLOID POPULATIONS.

I Lorraine Heisler1, James W Curtsinger1

  • 1Department of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior, University of Minnesota, 318 Church Street S.E., Minneapolis, MN, 55455, USA.

Evolution; International Journal of Organic Evolution
|June 1, 2017
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Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

This study models female mating preferences for male traits under selection. Computer simulations reveal complex evolutionary dynamics in diploid organisms, differing significantly from simpler models.

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Area of Science:

  • Evolutionary Biology
  • Population Genetics
  • Behavioral Ecology

Background:

  • Female mating preferences drive sexual selection and influence evolutionary trajectories.
  • Understanding the genetic basis of these preferences is crucial for evolutionary theory.
  • Diploid models offer a more realistic framework than haploid or polygenic models.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the evolution of female mating preference for an attractive male trait in a diploid, two-locus model.
  • To explore the impact of viability and fertility selection on the trait and preference loci.
  • To compare the dynamics of diploid models with haploid and polygenic models.

Main Methods:

  • Computer simulations of a diploid, two-locus genetic model.
  • Analysis of a large, random sample of parameter values.
  • Assumed additivity at the preference locus and partial dominance at the trait locus.

Main Results:

  • Simulation results classified into nine parameter set types, showing diverse equilibria and evolutionary paths.
  • Trajectories often converged on curves in the allelic frequency plane before fixation.
  • Fisherian models (viability/sexual selection) showed oscillations and unique equilibria, unlike "sexy son" models (reduced male fertility).
  • Reduced male fertility in "sexy son" models hindered trait/preference evolution, unless coupled with increased viability.

Conclusions:

  • Diploid models exhibit significantly more complex evolutionary behavior than haploid or polygenic models.
  • The interplay between preference and trait loci, along with selection pressures, dictates evolutionary outcomes.
  • Specific genetic architectures (e.g., dominance at the trait locus) influence the stability of equilibria and evolutionary rates.