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Genetic variability is either the presence of, or the generation of, genetic differences. It is defined as "the formation of individuals differing in genotype , or the presence of genotypically different individuals, in contrast to environmentally induced differences which, as a rule, cause only temporary, nonheritable changes of the phenotype ."
In the course of searching for potential mates, it would benefit females to be able to discriminate against "bad" genes in order to increase the health and viability of their offspring. If female mate choice occurs for "good" genes, then it is implied that genetic variation exists among males. Furthermore, one would presume that said difference ...
All modern research has shown that this significant genetic variation is ubiquitous in panmictic populations. There are several mechanisms (which are not exclusive within any given population) by which balancing selection works to maintain polymorphism. The two major and most studied are heterozygote advantage and frequency-dependent selection.
However, in small populations there is much more relative variance, which can in turn cause extinction. [3] Environmental stochasticity Small, random changes in the abiotic and biotic components of the ecosystem that a population inhabits fall under environmental stochasticity. Examples are changes in climate over time and the arrival of ...
Nevertheless, the concept is still widely used in evolutionary genetics, e.g. to explain the persistence of deleterious alleles as in the case of spinal muscular atrophy, [5] [4] or, in theoretical models, mutation-selection balance can appear in a variety of ways and has even been applied to beneficial mutations (i.e. balance between selective ...
Genetic viability is the ability of the genes present to allow a cell, organism or population to survive and reproduce. [1] [2] The term is generally used to mean the chance or ability of a population to avoid the problems of inbreeding. [1] Less commonly genetic viability can also be used in respect to a single cell or on an individual level. [1]
Genetic 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. [1] It is distinguished from genetic variability, which describes the tendency of genetic characteristics to ...
The lek paradox is a conundrum in evolutionary biology that addresses the persistence of genetic variation in male traits within lek mating systems, despite strong sexual selection through female choice. This paradox arises from the expectation that consistent female preference for particular male traits should erode genetic diversity ...