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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.

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.

Speciation Rates

Speciation Rates

Conservation of Declining Populations

Conservation of Declining Populations

Conservation of declining population focuses on ways of detecting, diagnosing, and halting a population decline. The approach uses methods to prevent populations from going extinct.

Genetic Drift

Genetic Drift

Natural selection—probably the most well-known evolutionary mechanism—increases the prevalence of traits that enhance survival and reproduction. However, evolution does not merely propagate favorable traits, nor does it always benefit populations.

Conservation of Small Populations

Conservation of Small Populations

Small population sizes put a species at extreme risk of extinction due to a lack of variation, and a consequent decrease in adaptability. This weakens the chances of survival under pressures such as climate change, competition from other species, or new diseases. Large populations are more likely to survive pressures such as these, as such populations are more likely to harbor individuals that have genetic variants that are adaptive under new stresses. Small populations are much less...

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Nov 16, 2025

Predicting the Effectiveness of Population Replacement Strategy Using Mathematical Modeling

Predicting the Effectiveness of Population Replacement Strategy Using Mathematical Modeling

Published on: July 4, 2007

Models for Eco-Evolutionary Extinction Vortices under Balancing Selection.

Peter Nabutanyi, Meike J Wittmann

The American Naturalist

|February 24, 2021

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Small populations rapidly lose genetic diversity, creating an eco-evolutionary extinction vortex. This study quantifies this vortex, linking genetic diversity loss to population decline and extinction risk.

Keywords:

early-warning signals extinction vortex fluctuating selection genetic diversity heterozygote advantage reversal of dominance

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Last Updated: Nov 16, 2025

Predicting the Effectiveness of Population Replacement Strategy Using Mathematical Modeling

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Following the Dynamics of Structural Variants in Experimentally Evolved Populations

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Published on: February 3, 2023

Area of Science:

Ecology
Evolutionary Biology
Population Genetics

Background:

Small populations lose genetic diversity faster due to genetic drift.
Loss of genetic diversity can decrease population growth, increasing vulnerability and extinction risk.
Eco-evolutionary extinction vortices are driven by interactions between population size and genetic diversity.

Purpose of the Study:

To develop quantitative eco-evolutionary models for extinction vortices driven by loss of genetic diversity.
To identify conditions under which these vortices arise and how to detect them.
To explore the relationship between population size, genetic diversity, and extinction.

Main Methods:

Developed stochastic individual-based simulations.
Employed deterministic approximations for eco-evolutionary dynamics.
Utilized mathematical analysis to link genetic diversity and population decline.

Main Results:

Identified parameter combinations showing strong interactions between population size and genetic diversity.
Defined eco-evolutionary vortex criteria: increasing decline and fixation rates with decreasing population size and polymorphic loci.
Found classical early-warning signals have limited utility in detecting these vortices.

Conclusions:

Quantitative models are crucial for understanding eco-evolutionary extinction vortices.
Specific interactions between population size and genetic diversity drive these vortices.
New detection methods may be needed as traditional signals are insufficient.