In population genetics, Ronald Fisher's fundamental theorem of natural selection was originally stated as: Population genetics is the study of the distribution of and change in allele frequencies under the influence of the four evolutionary forces: natural selection, genetic drift, mutation and migration. ... Sir Ronald Fisher Sir Ronald Aylmer Fisher, FRS (February 17, 1890–July 29, 1962) was an extraordinarily talented evolutionary biologist, geneticist and statistician. ... A theorem is a statement which can be proven true within some logical framework. ... Alternative meaning Natural Selection (computer game). ...

"The rate of increase in fitness of any organism at any time is equal to its genetic variance in fitness at that time."

Or, in more modern terminology:

"The rate of increase in the mean fitness of any organism at any time ascribable to natural selection acting through changes in gene frequencies is exactly equal to its genic variance in fitness at that time". (A.W.F. Edwards 1994)

Professor Anthony William Fairbank Edwards (born 1935) is a British statistician, geneticist and evolutionary biologist. ... 1994 was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International year of the Family. ...

History

The theorem was first formulated by Ronald Fisher in his 1930 book The Genetical Theory of Natural Selection. Fisher held that "It is not a little instructive that so similar a law should hold the supreme position among the biological sciences". However, for forty years it was misunderstood, it being read as saying that the average fitness of a population would always increase, and models showed this not to be the case. The misunderstanding can be seen largely as a result of Fisher's feud with the American geneticist Sewall Wright primarily about adaptive landscapes. Sir Ronald Fisher Sir Ronald Aylmer Fisher, FRS (February 17, 1890–July 29, 1962) was an extraordinarily talented evolutionary biologist, geneticist and statistician. ... 1930 is a common year starting on Wednesday. ... The Genetical Theory of Natural Selection is a book by Ronald Fisher. ... Sewall Green Wright (December 21, 1889 - March 3, 1988) was one of the primary founders of population genetics which led to the modern evolutionary synthesis. ... In evolutionary biology, fitness landscapes or adaptive landscapes are used to visualize the relationship between genotypes (or phenotypes) and replicatory success. ...

The American George R. Price reformulated the fundamental theorem using the Price equation in 1972, it was found not to be a strict theorem, as it is an oversimplification, but nevertheless has merit. Other persons have been called George Price George R. Price (1922 - January 6, 1975) was a American physical chemist and later a science journalist. ... The Price equation was derived by George R. Price, and is a mathematical description of evolution and natural selection. ... A theorem is a statement which can be proven true within some logical framework. ...

References

• Edwards, A.W.F. (1994) The fundamental theorem of natural selection. Biological Reviews 69:443–474.
• Fisher, R.A. (1930). The Genetical Theory of Natural Selection. Clarendon Press, Oxford.
• Frank, S.A. (1997) The Price Equation, Fisher's fundamental theorem, kin selection, and causal analysis. Evolution 51:1712-1729. Abstract (http://stevefrank.org/abstracts/97Evol-Causal.html) - page for pdfs (http://stevefrank.org/reprints-choice/97Evol-Causal-R.html)
• Frank, S.A. (1998) Foundation of Social Evolution. Princeton: Princeton University Press. Book's website (http://stevefrank.org/foundations/foundations.html) ISBN 0691059349
• Frank, S.A. and Slatkin, M. (1992) Fisher's fundamental theorem of natural selection. Trends in Ecology and Evolution 7:92-95. abstract (http://stevefrank.org/abstracts/92TREE.html) - pdfs (http://stevefrank.org/reprints-choice/92TREE-R.html)
• Grafen, A. (2000) Developments of the Price equation and natural selection under uncertainty. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B, 267:1223–1227.
• Grafen, A. (2002) A first formal link between the Price equation and an optimisation program. Journal of Theoretical Biology 217:75–91.
• Price, G.R. (1972). Fisher's "fundamental theorem" made clear. Annals of Human Genetics 36:129-140

Professor Anthony William Fairbank Edwards (born 1935) is a British statistician, geneticist and evolutionary biologist. ... The Genetical Theory of Natural Selection is a book by Ronald Fisher. ... Evolution, the International Journal of Organic Evolution, is a bimonthly scientific journal that publishes significant new results of empirical or theoretical investigations concerning facts, processes, mechanics, or concepts of evolutionary phenomena and events. ... The Proceedings of the Royal Society of London are a scientific journal published by the Royal Society of London. ... The Journal of Theoretical Biology is a scientific journal dealing with all mathematical and computational aspects of biology. ... Annals of Human Genetics, formerly Annals of Eugenics is a scientific journal. ...

External links

• Grafen Fisher the evolutionary biologist http://users.ox.ac.uk/~grafen/cv/fisher.pdf
• http://www.peregrine.dk/subjects/FISH.HTM