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Related Concept Videos

Types of Selection01:46

Types of Selection

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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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Limits to Natural Selection01:38

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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Natural Selection and Mating Preferences01:06

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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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Natural Selection and Adaptation01:15

Natural Selection and Adaptation

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Natural selection, a fundamental concept in evolutionary biology, is the mechanism by which evolution is driven, favoring organisms that are best adapted to their environments. This process enhances their chances of survival and reproduction. Adaptation, a key outcome of this process, involves genetic modifications that optimize an organism's functionality under specific environmental challenges, such as extreme cold or thinner air at high altitudes.
Beyond physical adaptations,...
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What is Natural Selection?01:32

What is Natural Selection?

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Natural selection is an evolutionary process in which individuals with survival-promoting traits reproduce at higher rates. These favorable traits become more common within a population or species. Naturally selected traits initially arise via random genetic mutations. In order for selection to occur, there must be variation within a population, the trait controlling the variation must be heritable, and there must be an evolutionary advantage for variation in the trait.
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Frequency-dependent Selection01:21

Frequency-dependent Selection

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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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Selection on weapon allometry in the wild.

Zachary Emberts1,2, Ummat Somjee3,4, John J Wiens2

  • 1Department of Integrative Biology, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK, United States.

Evolution; International Journal of Organic Evolution
|July 3, 2023
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Giant mesquite bugs show that sexual selection can shape weapon allometry. Both large males with large weapons and small males with small weapons can reproduce, increasing the allometric slope.

Keywords:
allometrybody sizeinsectssexual selectionweapons

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Area of Science:

  • Evolutionary biology
  • Ecology
  • Animal behavior

Background:

  • Allometry, the scaling of traits with body size, explains significant morphological variation.
  • Factors driving allometric patterns, especially in closely related species, are not fully understood.
  • Directional selection on allometry, specifically its slope, is rarely observed in natural populations.

Purpose of the Study:

  • Investigate selection on weapon allometry (weapon size vs. body size) in Pachylis neocalifornicus.
  • Determine how sexual selection influences the evolution of weapon scaling relationships.
  • Test for direct observation of selection on allometric slopes in a wild population.

Main Methods:

  • Field study of a wild population of giant mesquite bugs (Pachylis neocalifornicus).
  • Analysis of the relationship between male weapon size (enlarged femurs) and body size.
  • Observation of mating success in relation to weapon size and body size allometry.

Main Results:

  • Large males with proportionally large weapons achieved mating success.
  • Small males with proportionally small weapons also achieved mating success.
  • These combined mating patterns suggest an increase in the allometric slope of sexually selected weapons.

Conclusions:

  • Sexual selection can directly influence the evolution of allometric slopes.
  • The observed mating patterns provide evidence for a straightforward mechanism driving allometric evolution.
  • This study highlights the role of selection in shaping scaling relationships in natural populations.