Strength and Tempo of Directional Selection in the Wild

Directional selection is a major force driving adaptation and evolutionary change. However, the distribution, strength, and tempo of phenotypic selection acting on quantitative traits in natural populations remain unclear across different study systems. We reviewed the literature (1984-1997) that re...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences - PNAS 2001-07, Vol.98 (16), p.9157-9160
Main Authors: Hoekstra, H. E., Hoekstra, J. M., Berrigan, D., Vignieri, S. N., Hoang, A., Hill, C. E., Beerli, P., Kingsolver, J. G.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Analytical estimating
Animal reproduction
Animals
Biological Evolution
Biological Sciences
Directional selection
Ecological genetics
Evolution
Frequency distribution
Genetics
Phenotype
Phenotypic traits
Population characteristics
Quantitative traits
Selection, Genetic
Sexual selection
Statistical analysis
Viability
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Summary:Directional selection is a major force driving adaptation and evolutionary change. However, the distribution, strength, and tempo of phenotypic selection acting on quantitative traits in natural populations remain unclear across different study systems. We reviewed the literature (1984-1997) that reported the strength of directional selection as indexed by standardized linear selection gradients (β). We asked how strong are viability and sexual selection, and whether strength of selection is correlated with the time scale over which it was measured. Estimates of the magnitude of directional selection (|β|) were exponentially distributed, with few estimates greater than 0.50 and most estimates less than 0.15. Sexual selection (measured by mating success) appeared stronger than viability selection (measured by survival). Viability selection that was measured over short periods (days) was typically stronger than selection measured over longer periods (months and years), but the strength of sexual selection did not vary with duration of selection episodes; as a result, sexual selection was stronger than viability selection over longer time scales (months and years), but not over short time scales (days).
ISSN:0027-8424
1091-6490
DOI:10.1073/pnas.161281098