Disruptive selection favors which types of traits?

Disruptive selection is a type of natural selection that favors individuals at both extremes of a phenotypic range while selecting against the average traits. This means that individuals that exhibit extreme characteristics are more likely to survive and reproduce compared to those with average traits. For example, in a population of animals where there are both very small and very large individuals, disruptive selection may occur if both sizes are advantageous for different reasons, such as accessing different resources or occupying distinct ecological niches.

This phenomenon can lead to an increase in the frequency of the extreme traits over time and may eventually result in the emergence of two distinct phenotypes within the same population. It contrasts with stabilizing selection, which favors average traits, and directional selection, which favors one extreme over the other. The key aspect of disruptive selection is its emphasis on the extremes, illustrating how environmental factors can shape diversity within a species.