--- _id: '3631' abstract: - lang: eng text: In spatially heterogeneous environments, natural selection for maintenance of adaptation to habitats that contribute little to the population's reproduction is weak. In this paper we model a mechanism that can result in loss of fitness in such marginal habitats, and thus lead to specialisation on the main habitat. It involves accumulation of mutations that are deleterious in the marginal habitat but neutral or nearly so in the main habitat (mutations deleterious in the main habitat and neutral in the marginal habitat have a negligible influence). If the contribution of the marginal habitat to total reproduction in the absence of the mutations is less than a threshold value, selection is too weak to counter accumulation of such mutations. A positive feedback then results in loss of fitness in the marginal habitat. This mechanism does not require antagonistic pleiotropy in adaptation to different habitats, although antagonistic pleiotropy facilitates the mutational collapse of fitness in the marginal habitat. We suggest that deleterious mutations with habitat-specific expression may play a role in the evolution of ecological specialisation and promote evolutionary conservatism of ecological niches. article_processing_charge: No article_type: original author: - first_name: Tadeusz full_name: Kawecki, Tadeusz last_name: Kawecki - first_name: Nicholas H full_name: Barton, Nicholas H id: 4880FE40-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87 last_name: Barton orcid: 0000-0002-8548-5240 - first_name: James full_name: Fry, James last_name: Fry citation: ama: Kawecki T, Barton NH, Fry J. Mutational collapse of fitness in marginal habitats and the evolution of ecological specialisation. Journal of Evolutionary Biology. 1997;10(3):407-430. doi:10.1046/j.1420-9101.1997.10030407.x apa: Kawecki, T., Barton, N. H., & Fry, J. (1997). Mutational collapse of fitness in marginal habitats and the evolution of ecological specialisation. Journal of Evolutionary Biology. Wiley-Blackwell. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1420-9101.1997.10030407.x chicago: Kawecki, Tadeusz, Nicholas H Barton, and James Fry. “Mutational Collapse of Fitness in Marginal Habitats and the Evolution of Ecological Specialisation.” Journal of Evolutionary Biology. Wiley-Blackwell, 1997. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1420-9101.1997.10030407.x. ieee: T. Kawecki, N. H. Barton, and J. Fry, “Mutational collapse of fitness in marginal habitats and the evolution of ecological specialisation,” Journal of Evolutionary Biology, vol. 10, no. 3. Wiley-Blackwell, pp. 407–430, 1997. ista: Kawecki T, Barton NH, Fry J. 1997. Mutational collapse of fitness in marginal habitats and the evolution of ecological specialisation. Journal of Evolutionary Biology. 10(3), 407–430. mla: Kawecki, Tadeusz, et al. “Mutational Collapse of Fitness in Marginal Habitats and the Evolution of Ecological Specialisation.” Journal of Evolutionary Biology, vol. 10, no. 3, Wiley-Blackwell, 1997, pp. 407–30, doi:10.1046/j.1420-9101.1997.10030407.x. short: T. Kawecki, N.H. Barton, J. Fry, Journal of Evolutionary Biology 10 (1997) 407–430. date_created: 2018-12-11T12:04:20Z date_published: 1997-05-01T00:00:00Z date_updated: 2022-08-19T09:46:51Z day: '01' doi: 10.1046/j.1420-9101.1997.10030407.x extern: '1' intvolume: ' 10' issue: '3' language: - iso: eng main_file_link: - open_access: '1' url: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1046/j.1420-9101.1997.10030407.x month: '05' oa: 1 oa_version: Published Version page: 407 - 430 publication: Journal of Evolutionary Biology publication_identifier: issn: - 1010-061X publication_status: published publisher: Wiley-Blackwell publist_id: '2752' quality_controlled: '1' scopus_import: '1' status: public title: Mutational collapse of fitness in marginal habitats and the evolution of ecological specialisation type: journal_article user_id: ea97e931-d5af-11eb-85d4-e6957dddbf17 volume: 10 year: '1997' ...