accidental selection

[/ˌæksɪˈdɛntəl sɪˈlɛkʃən/]
nounpl: accidental selections
seleção acidental
1. In evolutionary biology, changes in allele frequencies in a population that occur by chance rather than through natural selection, particularly common in small populations
Accidental selection can lead to the fixation of neutral or even slightly deleterious alleles in isolated populations.
A seleção acidental pode levar à fixação de alelos neutros ou até ligeiramente deletérios em populações isoladas.
2. Unintended selection pressures that result from environmental factors or breeding practices not deliberately designed for genetic change
The researcher discovered that accidental selection had favored larger body size in the captive population.
O pesquisador descobriu que a seleção acidental havia favorecido um tamanho corporal maior na população em cativeiro.
This is primarily a scientific and academic term used in biology, genetics, and evolutionary studies. It is not commonly used in everyday conversation in either Brazil or the USA, but is essential terminology in university-level biology courses and scientific research. The concept is central to understanding modern evolutionary theory and population genetics.
Synonyms / Sinônimos
genetic driftrandom selectionunintentional selectionchance selection
Antonyms / Antônimos
artificial selectionnatural selectiondirectional selectionintentional selection

Regional Variations

General Brazilian Portuguese
seleção acidental
Standard term used in biology and genetics textbooks
Portugal
seleção acidental
Same as Brazilian Portuguese; technical term in evolutionary biology
Academic English
drift
Often shortened to 'drift' in scientific literature

Related Words

genetic driftallele frequencypopulation geneticsevolutionary biologyneutral mutationfitness

Related Idioms & Phrases

by chance
by accident
random walk (in evolutionary context)
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