But why would a strong, inheritable trait that cuts fitness by half not be selected against?
Answer
Well, I suppose if you break it down, the question is regarding:
A trait that is possible to be inherited, is even favorable against other traits, but not a strictly dominant trait (otherwise “dominant trait” would be used instead of “strong, inheritable trait”).
And:
This trait reduces overall fitness by one half (the trait is maladaptive to the respective environment).
And:
Natural selection has not driven it out of the gene pool (when, ostensibly, such a maladaptive trait should have been driven out or at least not be potentially more and more pervasive over time; even if that “strong” means the trait is favorable slightly over stagnation).
So why the discord?
Hopefully that helps; in terms of the biological answer, I think more context is needed – but I can think of examples where this happens…
Attribution
Source : Link , Question Author : Zakaria Bennane , Answer Author : J. Mac Jordan
