Concepts

When a genotype produces different phenotypes under differing environmental conditions

Natural selection on floral traits that occurs through differential pollinator visitation and resulting differences in reproductive success

An evolutionary process in which a population evolves to become more suited to its local environment through natural selection, resulting in higher fitness in the home environment compared to individu...

The proportion of phenotypic variation in a trait that is due to genetic variation, estimated using parent-offspring regression methods

Alternative life history strategy where some individuals retain larval traits and become sexually mature in aquatic environment while others metamorphose to terrestrial adults

The formation of new species involves divergence of phenotypes and development of reproductive isolation, where initial divergence results from divergent natural selection and reproductive isolation a...

The process by which traits influence fitness, measured through directional and quadratic selection differentials relating trait values to reproductive success

A process by which adaptive evolutionary change occurs sufficiently rapidly to counteract a decline in population size under initially unfavorable conditions

Behavioral displays performed by animals during mating season to attract mates or compete for breeding opportunities

Differential expression of genotypes across environmental conditions, indicating genetic variation in phenotypic plasticity

Interbreeding between taxa that alters the pool of genetic variation available for population responses to changing environments

Natural selection that favors behaviors that benefit relatives, even at a cost to the individual performing the behavior

The tendency for related species to resemble each other more than expected by chance, measured by Blomberg's K and Pagel's lambda

Reproduction in which pollen from a flower fertilizes ovules in the same flower or on the same plant

Differences between males and females in morphology, physiology, and/or behaviour resulting from differences in strength and shape of selection acting on each sex

A mode of sex expression where male sterile (female) plants and hermaphroditic plants coexist within a population

The study of traits controlled by multiple loci with continuous phenotypic distributions and measurable heritability

Statistical approach that includes individual identity as a random effect linked to a pedigree to estimate additive genetic variance

Differences in chromosome copy number among individuals, specifically diploid (two copies) versus triploid (three copies) chromosome sets

When previously adaptive traits become maladaptive due to rapid environmental change, such that organisms are attracted to resources that reduce their fitness

Reduced fitness in inbred individuals compared to outbred individuals due to expression of deleterious recessive alleles

The reciprocal evolutionary change in interacting species driven by natural selection, where adaptations of one species create selective pressures on another species

Individual's reaction to being trapped and handled, measured on behavioral scale from aggressive to passive responses

Evolutionary divergence time between species measured in millions of years, calculated from molecular phylogenetic reconstructions

asexual reproduction via seeds

Fitness benefits that include both direct fitness (individual's own reproductive success) and indirect fitness (fitness gained by helping relatives reproduce), weighted by coefficient of relatedness

The extent of possible variation in a particular phenotypic trait where different dimensions represent the extent of phenotypic variation in two traits

Conflicts between opportunities of a flower to receive fitness contributions from different visitor groups due to competition over limited floral resources

When single genes or alleles influence multiple, seemingly unrelated traits

Plasticity that occurs across generations where parental environmental effects influence offspring phenotype or fitness

Genetic variation maintained in populations by natural selection where different alleles are favored under different conditions

Signals that meet criteria of stimulus-class specificity and contextual independence, where alarm calls are said to be functionally referential when there is tight association between predator type an...

Transmission of endosymbionts from mother to clonal offspring through the maternal lineage.

Selection pressure from non-biological environmental factors such as rain or wind

Explains how acoustic signal structure is shaped by habitat-driven selection that enhances the propagation of relatively undegraded vocalizations

When populations have not yet adapted to current environmental conditions due to time delays

Chromosomal rearrangement where a segment is reversed in orientation, potentially suppressing recombination and maintaining linkage between beneficial alleles

An individual locus shows strong adaptive fitness effects in one habitat, but little or no cost in other habitats

Limitations on evolutionary divergence imposed by genetic architecture and patterns of genetic covariation

Improvement in population fitness through the introduction of new genetic material

Reduced fitness in F2 hybrids compared to F1 hybrids, often attributed to genetic incompatibilities between nuclear genes

Rate of nonsynonymous substitutions per nonsynonymous site normalized by synonymous substitutions per synonymous site (dN/dS)

Males infected with parasites will have reduced mate attraction as a consequence of less enhanced secondary sexual characters due to energy allocation to immune response

Selection pressures that oppose each other within or between levels of biological organization

Non-random mating where individuals preferentially mate with similar individuals

Paedomorphosis becomes the preferred life strategy when growing conditions such as prey abundance, water temperature, and population density are poor, so individuals opt to cut losses and become sexua...

The evolutionary processes leading to the development of multiple distinct call types in animal communication systems

The degree to which novel resources resemble historical resources in their chemical or physical cues