Cline (biology)

Definition

In biology, a cline is a measurable gradient in a single characteristic of a species across its geographical range. Clines usually have a genetic, or phenotypic character. They can show either smooth, continuous gradation in a character, or more abrupt changes in the trait from one geographic region to the next.

Related concepts

Abiogenesis Adaptation Adaptive radiation Agrostis Allele frequency Allochronic speciation Allopatric speciation Alternatives to Darwinian evolution Altruism (biology)Anagenesis Ancient Greek Anisogamy Antagonistic pleiotropy hypothesis Aposematism Assortative mating Astrobiology Baldwin effect Bergmann’s rule Biodiversity Biogeography Biological life cycle Biological process Biological rules Biology Blending inheritance Blood type C. L. Gloger Canalisation (genetics)Canidae Carl Bergmann (anatomist)Cat gap Catagenesis (biology)Catastrophism Cell nucleus Character displacement Charles Darwin Cheating (biology)Chromosome Chronospecies Cladistics Cladogenesis Coevolution Common descent Convergent evolution Cooperation (evolution)Cospeciation Crypsis Cultural evolution Cultural group selection Darwinism David Hume Death Deep time Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion Dinosaur Divergent evolution Domestication of the dog Dual inheritance theory Earliest known life forms Ecological genetics Ecological speciation Ecotype Empathy Endomembrane system Eugene Klein (disambiguation)Eukaryote Evidence for speciation by reinforcement Evidence of common descent Evidence of evolution Evolution Evolution of Macropodidae Evolution of ageing Evolution of bacteria Evolution of biological complexity Evolution of birds Evolution of brachiopods Evolution of butterflies Evolution of cells Evolution of cephalopods Evolution of cetaceans Evolution of color vision Evolution of color vision in primates Evolution of emotion Evolution of eusociality Evolution of fish Evolution of flagella Evolution of fungi Evolution of insects Evolution of lemurs Evolution of mammalian auditory ossicles Evolution of mammals Evolution of molluscs Evolution of morality Evolution of nervous systems Evolution of primates Evolution of reptiles Evolution of sexual reproduction Evolution of sirenians Evolution of snake venom Evolution of spiders Evolution of tetrapods Evolution of the brain Evolution of the eye Evolution of the horse Evolution of the wolf Evolutionarily stable strategy Evolutionary arms race Evolutionary biology Evolutionary developmental biology Evolutionary ethics Evolutionary history of plants Evolutionary ideas of the Scientific Revolution and Enlightenment Evolutionary invasion analysis Evolutionary medicine Evolutionary mismatch Evolutionary pressure Evolutionary taxonomy Evolutionary tradeoff Exaptation Extended evolutionary synthesis Extinction Extinction event Fisher's principle Fitness (biology)Founder effect Frequency-dependent selection Gene-centered view of evolution Gene Clines Gene flow Genetic admixture Genetic assimilation Genetic drift Genetic recombination Genetic variation Genotype Gloger's rule Glossary of speciation Gradient Group selection Hair Haldane's rule Handicap principle Heliconius History of evolutionary thought History of life History of molecular evolution History of paleontology History of speciation Hologenome theory of evolution Homeothermy Homology (biology)Homozygote House sparrow Human evolution Hybrid (biology)Hybrid speciation Hybrid zone Hyena Immune system Inbreeding avoidance Inclusive fitness Index of evolutionary biology articles Introduction to evolution Introduction to speciation Inversion (evolutionary biology)Isolation by distance Julian Huxley Kin recognition Kin selection Klepton Laboratory experiments of speciation Lamarckism Larus Last universal common ancestor Macroevolution Mate choice Mating type Mendelian inheritance Metabolism Microevolution Missing heritability problem Mitochondrion Models of DNA evolution Modern synthesis (20th century)Modularity (biology)Molecular evolution Monogamy in animals Morph (zoology)Mosaic evolution Multicellular organism Mutation Mutationism Mutualism (biology)Natural selection Neo-Darwinism Neutral theory of molecular evolution Nonadaptive radiation Nonecological speciation On the Origin of Species Organ (biology)Origin and function of meiosis Origin of avian flight Origin of birds Orthogenesis Outline of evolution Paleopolyploidy Panspermia Parallel evolution Parallel speciation Parapatric speciation Parental investment Parent–offspring conflict Peppered moth Peripatric speciation Phenotype Phenotypic plasticity Phyletic gradualism Phylogenetic tree Phylogenetics Plastid Pleiotropy Plumage Point mutation Pollinator-mediated selection Polymorphism (biology)Polyploidy Population (biology)Population genetics Programmed cell death Protocell Punctuated equilibrium Range (biology)Reciprocal altruism Recombinational speciation Red Queen hypothesis Reinforcement (speciation)Reproductive isolation Ring species Saltation (biology)Secondary contact Selective breeding Sex-determination system Sexual dimorphism Sexual selection Sexual selection in flowering plants Sexual selection in fungi Signalling theory Social selection Spandrel (biology)Speciation Speciation in birds Speciation in fish Speciation in insects Speciation in plants Speciation in the fossil record Species Species complex Structuralism (biology)Subspecies Symbiogenesis Sympatric speciation Systematics Taxon Teleology in biology Teleonomy Tempo and Mode in Evolution The eclipse of Darwinism Theistic evolution Timeline of the evolutionary history of life Transgenerational epigenetic inheritance Transitional fossil Transmutation of species Trivers–Willard hypothesis Underdominance Uniformitarianism Unit of selection Vicar of Bray (scientific hypothesis)Viral evolution Vitalism Zygote

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