Frequency-dependent selectionFrequency-dependent selection is an evolutionary process by which the fitness of a phenotype or genotype depends on the phenotype or genotype composition of a given population. In positive frequency-dependent selection, the fitness of a phenotype or genotype increases as it becomes more common.In negative frequency-dependent selection, the fitness of a phenotype or genotype decreases as it becomes more common.Prey switchingPrey switching is frequency-dependent predation, where the predator preferentially consumes the most common type of prey. The phenomenon has also been described as apostatic selection, however the two terms are generally used to describe different parts of the same phenomenon. Apostatic selection has been used by authors looking at the differences between different genetic morphs.
Polymorphism (biology)In biology, polymorphism is the occurrence of two or more clearly different morphs or forms, also referred to as alternative phenotypes, in the population of a species. To be classified as such, morphs must occupy the same habitat at the same time and belong to a panmictic population (one with random mating). Put simply, polymorphism is when there are two or more possibilities of a trait on a gene.
Natural selectionMechanism of evolution by differential reproductionMutation and selectionNatural selection is the differential survival and reproduction of individuals due to differences in the relative fitness endowed on them by their own particular complement of observable characteristics. It is a key law or mechanism of evolution which changes the heritable traits characteristic of a population or species over generations.
Bryan ClarkeBryan Campbell ClarkeFRS (24 June 1932 – 27 February 2014) was a British Professor of genetics, latterly emeritus at the University of Nottingham. Clarke is particularly noted for his work on apostatic selection (which is a term he coined in 1962) and other forms of frequency-dependent selection, and work on polymorphism in snails, much of it done during the 1960s. Later, he studied molecular evolution.
Genetic diversityGenetic diversity is the total number of genetic characteristics in the genetic makeup of a species. It ranges widely, from the number of species to differences within species, and can be correlated to the span of survival for a species. It is distinguished from genetic variability, which describes the tendency of genetic characteristics to vary. Genetic diversity serves as a way for populations to adapt to changing environments.
EvolutionChange in the heritable traits of populationsEvolution is the change in the heritable characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. It happens when individuals in a population vary in their genetic characteristics and in the numbers of their surviving offspring. Mutation introduces new genetic variation, and processes such as genetic drift, gene flow, and natural selection result in some genetic variants becoming more or less common over time.
MutationAlteration in the nucleotide sequence of a genomeThree major single-chromosome mutations: deletion (1), duplication (2) and inversion (3).In biology, a mutation is an alteration in the nucleic acid sequence of the genome of an organism, virus, or extrachromosomal DNA. Mutations result from errors during replication, mitosis, meiosis, or damage to DNA, which then may trigger error-prone repair or cause an error during replication (translesion synthesis).
Prey detectionPrey detection is the process by which predators are able to detect and locate their prey via sensory signals. This article treats predation in its broadest sense, i.e. where one organism eats another. Evolutionary struggle and prey defensesPredators are in an evolutionary arms race with their prey, for which advantageous mutations are constantly preserved by natural selection.
Cepaea nemoralisCepaea nemoralis, the grove snail, brown-lipped snail or lemon snail, is a species of air-breathing land snail, a terrestrialpulmonategastropod mollusc. Cepaea nemoralis is the type species of the genus Cepaea. The species is one of the most common large land snails in Europe and has been introduced to North America. It is used as a model organism in ecological genetics, including in citizen science projects. TaxonomyCepaea nemoralis is the type species of the genus Cepaea.
PredationPredation is a biological interaction in which one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. The predator-prey relationship is one of a family of common feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation (which usually do not kill the host) and parasitoidism (which always does, eventually).*As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.