The relative contribution of drift and selection to phenotypic divergence: A test case using the horseshoe bats Rhinolophus simulator and Rhinolophus swinnyi.

ABSTRACT: Natural selection and drift can act on populations individually, simultaneously or in tandem and our understanding of phenotypic divergence depends on our ability to recognize the contribution of each. According to the quantitative theory of evolution, if an organism has diversified through neutral evolutionary processes (mutation and drift), variation of phenotypic characteristics between different geographic localities (B) should be directly proportional to the variation within localities (W), that is, B ∝ W. Significant deviations from this null model imply that non-neutral forces such as natural selection are acting on a phenotype. We investigated the relative contributions of drift and selection to intraspecific diversity using southern African horseshoe ba

SUBMITTER: Mutumi GL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5478076 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature