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Related Concept Videos

Mate Choice

Mate Choice

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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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...

Limits to Natural Selection

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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.

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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.
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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.

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Aug 14, 2025

Operant Conditioning Task to Measure Song Preference in Zebra Finches

Operant Conditioning Task to Measure Song Preference in Zebra Finches

Published on: December 26, 2019

Polygamy and purifying selection in birds.

Kees Wanders¹, Guangji Chen^2,3, Shaohong Feng^4,5

¹Milner Centre for Evolution, Department of Biology and Biochemistry, University of Bath, Bath, United Kingdom.

Evolution; International Journal of Organic Evolution

|January 10, 2023

Summary

Polygamous bird species exhibit more effective removal of harmful genetic mutations, supporting "good genes" sexual selection theories. This finding was consistent across various population sizes.

Keywords:

evolutionary genomics mating systems molecular evolution natural selection polymorphism sexual selection

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Last Updated: Aug 14, 2025

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Area of Science:

Evolutionary Biology
Genetics
Animal Behavior

Background:

Sexual selection theories propose differing impacts of mating systems on genetic quality.
Good genes theories predict polygamy enhances purifying selection, while runaway selection theories do not.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the relationship between mating systems (monogamy vs. polygamy) and the efficiency of purifying selection in birds.
To test whether observed patterns align with "good genes" or runaway selection hypotheses.

Main Methods:

Analysis of polymorphism data from 150 bird genome assemblies.
Comparison of nonsynonymous to synonymous polymorphism ratios between monogamous and polygamous species.
Statistical analysis controlling for effective population size.

Main Results:

Polygamous species showed significantly fewer nonsynonymous polymorphisms relative to synonymous polymorphisms compared to monogamous species.
This effect was independent of effective population size, supporting "good genes" theories.
Polygamy did not significantly impact overall genetic diversity, but female polygamy (polyandry) showed a marginal effect.

Conclusions:

Polygamy is associated with more efficient purifying selection in birds, consistent with "good genes" sexual selection.
The findings support the alignment of sexual and natural selection in polygamous systems.
Mating systems play a role in shaping genome-wide genetic variation and selection efficiency.