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Speciation Rates

Speciation Rates

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.

Limits to Natural Selection

Limits to Natural Selection

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.

Pollination and Flower Structure

Pollination and Flower Structure

Flowers are the reproductive, seed-producing structures of angiosperms. Typically, flowers consist of sepals, petals, stamens, and carpels. Sepals and petals are the vegetative flower organs. Stamens and carpels are the reproductive organs.

Types of Selection

Types of Selection

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...

Mutation, Gene Flow, and Genetic Drift

Mutation, Gene Flow, and Genetic Drift

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: Dec 18, 2025

Determination of Photoreceptor Cell Spectral Sensitivity in an Insect Model from In Vivo Intracellular Recordings

Determination of Photoreceptor Cell Spectral Sensitivity in an Insect Model from In Vivo Intracellular Recordings

Published on: February 26, 2016

Evolutionary constraints on flicker fusion frequency in Lepidoptera.

Payel Chatterjee¹, Umesh Mohan¹, Anand Krishnan²

¹National Centre for Biological Sciences, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Bangalore, 560065, India.

Journal of Comparative Physiology. A, Neuroethology, Sensory, Neural, and Behavioral Physiology

|June 13, 2020

Summary

Butterflies

Keywords:

Diel activity Evolutionary constraint Flicker fusion frequency Lepidoptera

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Last Updated: Dec 18, 2025

Determination of Photoreceptor Cell Spectral Sensitivity in an Insect Model from In Vivo Intracellular Recordings

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Published on: February 26, 2016

Electrophysiological Recordings from the Giant Fiber Pathway of D. melanogaster

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Automated Charting of the Visual Space of Housefly Compound Eyes

Automated Charting of the Visual Space of Housefly Compound Eyes

Published on: March 31, 2022

Area of Science:

Insect vision
Evolutionary biology
Sensory ecology

Background:

Flying insects adapt visual systems for diurnal or nocturnal niches, facing different light challenges.
Superposition eyes (moths) offer low-light sensitivity, while apposition eyes (butterflies) provide high spatial resolution.
Diel activity's role in visual system evolution is understudied, with Lepidoptera offering a model system.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate how diel activity patterns and phylogenetic position influence visual transduction in diverse Lepidoptera.
To compare temporal response profiles of butterfly and moth eyes using electroretinography.

Main Methods:

Electroretinography was used to measure temporal response profiles.
Light stimuli flickering at various frequencies were presented to diverse Lepidoptera species.
Temporal sensitivity was compared between diurnal butterflies and nocturnal moths.

Main Results:

Diurnal butterflies showed higher sensitivity to high temporal frequencies than nocturnal moths.
Hesperiid skippers displayed intermediate temporal sensitivity, suitable for crepuscular or diurnal activity.
Intrafamilial species exhibited similar temporal phenotypes regardless of diel activity.

Conclusions:

Lepidopteran photoreceptor evolution may be constrained by phylogeny.
Increased sensitivity to higher temporal frequencies likely co-evolved with diurnal lifestyles.
Diel activity patterns significantly shape insect visual system evolution.