What is the difference between directional disruptive and stabilizing selection

Biology Extra Credit Science Uncategorized. Teaching Staff April 17, No Comments. If we look at a distribution of traits in the population, it is noticeable that a standard distribution is followed: Example: For a plant, the plants that are very tall are exposed to more wind and are at risk of being blown over.

Directional Selection This type of natural selection occurs when selective pressures are working in favour of one extreme of a trait. Therefore when looking at a distribution of traits in a population, a graph tends to lean more to one side: Example: Giraffes with the longest necks are able to reach more leaves to each. Disruptive Selection This type of natural selection occurs when selective pressures are working in favour of the two extremes and against the intermediate trait.

When looking at a trait distribution, there are two higher peaks on both ends with a minimum in the middle as such: Example: An area that has black, white and grey bunnies contains both black and white rocks. You might also like. How to Multiply Fractions. Heats of Dissociation.

Skip to content Home Philosophy What is the difference between directional disruptive and stabilizing selection? Ben Davis September 26, What is the difference between directional disruptive and stabilizing selection? What do stabilizing and disruptive selection have in common? What is the difference between balancing and stabilizing selection? What is balancing natural selection? What are the limitations to natural selection?

Is Sickle Cell Anemia stabilizing selection? What is the strongest evidence for evolution from common ancestor? Why hasnt natural selection eliminated sickle cell anemia? Which scenario best provides evidence of evolution? Directional selection is a type of natural selection that leads to the selection of the phenotype that is most fitted to the environment. Therefore, environmental changes are the driving force of the directional selection. Moreover, as it selects a particular phenotype over its opposite phenotype, the existing variation moves towards one end.

It occurs through the elevation of the allele frequency of the desired phenotype over generations. Figure 1: Patterns of Natural Selection. Furthermore, the selection of dark-colored moths over light-colored moths is an example of directional selection.

Prior to the industrial revolution, light-colored peppered moths were predominant. But, with the industrial revolution, the barks of trees became dark in color due to the soot spewing from factories. Ultimately it makes a uniform population. In contrast, disruptive selection is a type of natural selection which favours both extreme traits together.

It increases the genetic variance of the population. Thus, this summarizes the difference between disruptive selection and stabilizing selection. Samanthi Udayangani holds a B. Degree in Plant Science, M. Your email address will not be published. Figure Disruptive Selection. Figure Stabilizing Selection. Leave a Reply Cancel reply Your email address will not be published.