Types of Natural Selection 2024-25

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What is Stabilizing Selection?

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A type of natural selection that favors average individuals in a population, reducing variation and maintaining the status quo.

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What is Disruptive Selection?

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A type of natural selection that favors extreme phenotypes over intermediate phenotypes, leading to increased variation in a population.

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What is Directional Selection?

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A type of natural selection that favors one extreme phenotype over others, causing a shift in the population's traits.

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Example of Stabilizing Selection in Robins?

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Robins typically lay four eggs; more or fewer eggs lead to malnourished or non-viable chicks.

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Example of Disruptive Selection in Finches?

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Finches with large and small beaks increase in population while those with average beaks decrease.

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What happens during Directional Selection?

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The population shifts towards one extreme trait, such as larger beak size in finches due to food availability.

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How does Stabilizing Selection affect genetic diversity?

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It decreases genetic diversity by favoring average traits and reducing extremes.

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What is the role of fitness in natural selection?

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Fitness refers to an individual's ability to survive and reproduce, influencing which traits are favored.

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What is an example of Directional Selection in nature?

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The increase in size of the peppered moth during the Industrial Revolution due to pollution.

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How does Disruptive Selection lead to speciation?

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By favoring extreme traits, it can lead to the development of two distinct groups within a population.