What is Apostatic selection?
'''Apostatic selection''' is frequency-dependent [[natural selection|selection]] by [[predator]]s. It applies when [[prey]] are two or more forms (morphs) which look quite different. This is a kind of [[Polymorphism|polymorphic species]], where the predator learns to select the more common form. Then there is an advantage in looking different, and this advantage keeps the frequency above the [[mutation]] rate. The second form, or 'morph', becomes better known by predators as its number increases. So the population tends to have a kind of balance between the frequency of the two morphs. Apostatic selection is similar to the idea of [[prey switching]]. Apostatic selection is the term used when the different forms are [[genetics|genetic]] morphs. In comparison, 'prey switching' is used when describing the predator's choice between different [[species]].<ref>Allen J.A. 1988. Frequency-dependent selection by predators. ''Phil Trans Roy Soc B'' '''319''', 485-503</ref> == References == {{Reflist}} {{biology-stub}} [[Category:Evolutionary biology]]