Editing Stabilizing selection (section)

{{Short description|Type of selection in evolution where a trait stabilizes around the average value}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2024}}
[[File:Genetic Distribution.svg|thumb|225px|1: [[directional selection]]: a single extreme [[phenotype]] favoured.<br>2, [[stabilizing selection]]: intermediate favoured over extremes.<br>3: disruptive selection: extremes favoured over intermediate.<br>X-axis: [[phenotypic trait]]<br>Y-axis: number of organisms<br>Group A: original population<br>Group B: after selection]]<!--[[File:Genetic Distribution.svg|thumb|Types of genetic selection. On each graph, the x-axis is the type of phenotypic trait, the y-axis is the no. of organisms. A: original population, B: population after selection. Graph 1: directional selection, a single extreme phenotype is favored. Graph 2: stabilizing selection, intermediate phenotype favored over extremes. Graph 3: disruptive selection, extreme phenotypes favored.]]-->

'''Stabilizing selection''' (not to be confused with [[Negative selection (natural selection)|negative or purifying selection]]<ref>{{cite book |last1=Lemey |first1=Philippe | first2 = Marco | last2 = Salemi | first3 = Anne-Mieke | last3 = Vandamme | name-list-style = vanc |title=The Phylogenetic Handbook |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |year=2009 |isbn=978-0-521-73071-6}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | first = Laurence | last = Loewe | name-list-style = vanc | title = Negative Selection | url = http://www.nature.com/scitable/topicpage/Negative-Selection-1136 | journal = Nature Education | volume = 1 | issue = 1 | page = 59 }}</ref>) is a type of [[natural selection]] in which the population mean stabilizes on a particular non-extreme [[Trait (biological)|trait]] value. This is thought to be the most common mechanism of action for natural selection because most traits do not appear to change drastically over time.<ref name="Charlesworth_1982">{{cite journal | vauthors = Charlesworth B, Lande R, Slatkin M | title = A neo-Darwinian commentary on macroevolution | journal = Evolution; International Journal of Organic Evolution | volume = 36 | issue = 3 | pages = 474–498 | date = May 1982 | pmid = 28568049 | doi = 10.1111/j.1558-5646.1982.tb05068.x | jstor = 2408095 | s2cid = 27361293 | doi-access = free }}</ref> Stabilizing selection commonly uses negative selection (a.k.a. purifying selection) to select against extreme values of the character.  Stabilizing selection is the opposite of [[disruptive selection]]. Instead of favoring individuals with extreme phenotypes, it favors the intermediate variants. Stabilizing selection tends to remove the more severe phenotypes, resulting in the [[reproductive success]] of the norm or average phenotypes.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Campbell|first1=Neil A.|last2=Reece|first2=Jane B. | name-list-style = vanc |title=Biology|url=https://archive.org/details/biologyc00camp|url-access=registration|publisher=Benjamin Cummings|pages=[https://archive.org/details/biologyc00camp/page/450 450–451]|year=2002|isbn=9780805366242 }}</ref> This means that most common phenotype in the population is selected for and continues to dominate in [[future generations]].
[[File:Directional, Disruptive and Stabilizing Selections.svg|thumb|Depending on the environmental conditions, a grey wolf may have an advantage over wolves with other variations of fur color. Wolves with fur colors that do not camouflage appropriately with the environmental conditions will be spotted more easily by the deer, resulting in them not being able to sneak up on the deer (leading to natural selection).]]