Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Related Concept Videos

Hybrid Zones

Hybrid Zones

Hybrid zones are narrow regions where two closely related species interact, mate, and produce hybrids. Relative to either parent species, hybrids may possess distinct phenotypic or genetic differences that impact their survival and reproductive success. The genetic variances introduced by hybridization influence species diversity and speciation processes within the hybrid zone.

What is a Species?

What is a Species?

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.

Incomplete Dominance

Incomplete Dominance

Gregor Mendel's work (1822 - 1884) was primarily focused on pea plants. Through his initial experiments, he determined that every gene in a diploid cell has two variants called alleles inherited from each parent. He suggested that amongst these two alleles, one allele is dominant in character and the other recessive. The combination of alleles determines the phenotype of a gene in an organism.

Complementation Tests

Complementation Tests

A complementation test is a simple cross to identify whether the two mutations are located on the same gene or different genes. It was first performed by Edward Lewis in the 1940s while working on fruit flies. He developed the test to identify the location and arrangement of different mutations on chromosomes.
Organisms heterozygous for different mutations are crossed pairwise in all combinations. If present on different genes, the mutations can complement each other by providing the missing...

Test Cross

Test Cross

Alleles are different forms of the same gene. Humans and other diploid organisms inherit two alleles of every gene, one from each parent.

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by

Same author

Continental-wide prioritization of protected areas to address global and habitat-specific goals for avian biodiversity conservation.

Conservation biology : the journal of the Society for Conservation Biology·2026

Same author

Changes in phenology mediate vertebrate population responses to temperature globally.

Nature communications·2026

Same author

Threats to and management of Natura 2000 protected areas relative to agricultural practices.

Conservation biology : the journal of the Society for Conservation Biology·2025

Same author

Inheritance of Material Wealth in a Natural Population.

Ecology letters·2024

Same author

Unclear relationships between mean survival rate and its environmental variance in vertebrates.

Ecology and evolution·2024

Same author

Partitioning variance in population growth for models with environmental and demographic stochasticity.

The Journal of animal ecology·2023

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Mar 1, 2026

Using the Fluorescent Dye, Rhodamine B, to Study Mating Competitiveness in Male Aedes aegypti Mosquitoes

Using the Fluorescent Dye, Rhodamine B, to Study Mating Competitiveness in Male Aedes aegypti Mosquitoes

Published on: May 7, 2021

PROBLEMS WITH TESTING INBREEDING AVOIDANCE: THE CASE OF THE COLLARED FLYCATCHER.

¹Department of Wildlife Ecology, The Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Box 7002, S-75007, Uppsala, Sweden.

Evolution; International Journal of Organic Evolution

|June 1, 2017

Summary

Collared flycatchers show low rates of inbreeding. While avoiding close kin is not the primary driver of dispersal, the costs of avoiding inbreeding appear higher than tolerating it.

Keywords:

Cost of dispersal Ficedula albicollis dispersal frequency of inbreeding inbreeding avoidance null models random mating

More Related Videos

Assessing Differences in Sperm Competitive Ability in Drosophila

Assessing Differences in Sperm Competitive Ability in Drosophila

Published on: August 22, 2013

Induction and Evaluation of Inbreeding Crosses Using the Ant, Vollenhovia Emeryi

Induction and Evaluation of Inbreeding Crosses Using the Ant, Vollenhovia Emeryi

Published on: October 5, 2018

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Mar 1, 2026

Using the Fluorescent Dye, Rhodamine B, to Study Mating Competitiveness in Male Aedes aegypti Mosquitoes

Using the Fluorescent Dye, Rhodamine B, to Study Mating Competitiveness in Male Aedes aegypti Mosquitoes

Published on: May 7, 2021

Assessing Differences in Sperm Competitive Ability in Drosophila

Assessing Differences in Sperm Competitive Ability in Drosophila

Published on: August 22, 2013

Induction and Evaluation of Inbreeding Crosses Using the Ant, Vollenhovia Emeryi

Induction and Evaluation of Inbreeding Crosses Using the Ant, Vollenhovia Emeryi

Published on: October 5, 2018

Area of Science:

Behavioral Ecology
Evolutionary Biology
Ornithology

Background:

Inbreeding avoidance is crucial for maintaining genetic diversity.
Understanding kin recognition and mating preferences is key to evolutionary processes.
Previous studies on inbreeding avoidance in birds have faced methodological challenges.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate inbreeding avoidance behaviors in collared flycatchers (Ficedula albicollis).
To compare observed inbreeding frequencies with null models.
To evaluate the costs associated with inbreeding avoidance versus toleration.

Main Methods:

Analysis of four years of breeding data from a nestbox plot on Gotland, Sweden.
Comparison of observed inbreeding events with expected frequencies derived from two distinct null models.
Contrasting the estimated costs of inbreeding avoidance (dispersal) with inbreeding toleration.

Main Results:

Only one instance (0.5%) of close inbreeding was observed.
Expected inbreeding frequencies varied significantly based on the null model used (1-15%).
Costs of avoiding inbreeding through dispersal appear substantially higher than tolerating it.

Conclusions:

Inbreeding avoidance is not the primary driver of dispersal in collared flycatchers, especially sex-biased dispersal.
Existing null models for random mating in finite populations may implicitly include inbreeding avoidance.
Experimental studies on individual movements and mating preferences are recommended for future research on inbreeding avoidance.