Biology terms for sexual selection, artificial selection
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Definition and Comparision:
-sexual selection / artificial selection
-ring species / biological species concept
-hybrid inviability / temporal isolation
-autopolyploidy / allopatric speciation
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Solution Summary
Definitions and comparisons of sexual selection, artificial selection, ring species, biological species concept, hybrid inviability, temporal isolation, autopolyploidy, and allopatric speciation.
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-sexual selection / artificial selection
Sexual selection is a "special case" of natural selection. Sexual selection acts on an organism's ability to obtain (often by any means necessary!) or successfully copulate with a mate.
Selection makes many organisms go to extreme lengths for sex: peacocks maintain elaborate tails, elephant seals fight over territories, fruit flies perform dances, and some species deliver persuasive gifts. After all, what female Mormon cricket could resist the gift of a juicy sperm-packet? Going to even more extreme lengths, the male redback spider literally flings itself into the jaws of death in order to mate successfully.
Sexual selection is often powerful enough to produce features that are harmful to the individual's survival. For example, extravagant and colorful tail feathers or fins are likely to attract predators as well as interested members of the opposite sex.
Farmers and breeders use the idea of selection to cause major changes in the features of their plants and animals over the course of decades. Farmers and breeders allowed only the plants and animals with desirable characteristics to reproduce, causing the evolution of farm stock. This process is called artificial ...
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