Darwinian fitness

Darwinian fitness, also known as Survival of the Fittest, is a central concept in Evolutionary Biology. It refers to the capacity of an individual of certain genotype to reproduce, and it is equal to the average contribution to the gene pool of the next generation that is made by an average individual of the specified genotype.

Definition

The term "Darwinian fitness" is named after the evolutionary biologist Charles Darwin. It is used to quantify the ability of an individual to pass on its genes to the next generation. The more likely that an individual is able to survive and live longer to reproduce, the higher the individual's fitness.

Components of Fitness

Darwinian fitness includes several components:

• Survival: The ability to live until the age of reproduction.
• Mating success: The ability to find a mate or mates.
• Fecundity: The number of offspring produced per mating.
• Gamete viability: The proportion of an individual's gametes that are viable.
• Fertility: The ability to produce viable offspring.

Fitness in Different Environments

The fitness of a genotype can vary greatly between different environments. This is known as Phenotypic Plasticity. For example, a genotype that confers resistance to a certain disease will have higher fitness in an environment where the disease is present than in an environment where it is absent.

Relative Fitness

In population genetics, fitness values are often normalized by the fitness of a particular genotype, which is set as a reference. This is known as Relative Fitness.

See Also

• Natural Selection
• Genetic Drift
• Mutation
• Gene Flow
• Adaptation

References

Darwinian fitness Resources
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