Disruptive selection
natural selection for extreme trait values over intermediate ones
In evolutionary biology, disruptive selection, also called diversifying selection, describes changes in population genetics in which extreme values for a trait are favored over intermediate values. In this case, the variance of the trait increases and the population is divided into two distinct groups. In this more individuals acquire peripheral character value at both ends of the distribution curve.
Overview
Natural selection is known to be one of the most important biological processes behind evolution . There are many variations of traits, and some cause greater or lesser reproductive success of the individual. The effect of selection is to promote certain alleles, traits, and individuals that have a higher chance to survive and reproduce in their specific environment. Since the environment has a carrying capacity, nature acts on this mode of selection on individuals to let only the most fit offspring survive and reproduce to their full potential. The more advantageous the trait is the more common it will become in the population. Disruptive selection is a specific type of natural selection that actively selects against the intermediate in a population, favoring both extremes of the spectrum.
Disruptive selection is inferred to oftentimes lead to sympatric speciation through a phyletic gradualism mode of evolution.
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This entry incorporates text from “Disruptive selection” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.