Evidence for evolution in response to natural selection in a contemporary human population.

ABSTRACT: It is often claimed that modern humans have stopped evolving because cultural and technological advancements have annihilated natural selection. In contrast, recent studies show that selection can be strong in contemporary populations. However, detecting a response to selection is particularly challenging; previous evidence from wild animals has been criticized for both applying anticonservative statistical tests and failing to consider random genetic drift. Here we study life-history variation in an insular preindustrial French-Canadian population and apply a recently proposed conservative approach to testing microevolutionary responses to selection. As reported for other such societies, natural selection favored an earlier age at first reproduction (AFR) among women. AFR was also highly

SUBMITTER: Milot E 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3193187 | biostudies-literature | 2011 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature