Definition
The selection shadow is a concept involved with the evolutionary theories of aging that states that selection pressures on an individual decrease as an individual ages and passes sexual maturity, resulting in a "shadow" of time where selective fitness is not considered. Over generations, this results in maladaptive mutations that accumulate later in life due to aging being non-adaptive toward reproductive fitness. The concept was first worked out by J. B. S. Haldane and Peter Medawar in the 1940s, with Medawar creating the first graphical model.
Related concepts
AdaptationAgingAntagonistic pleiotropy hypothesisAugust WeismannConstraint (mathematics)Death by Design (theory)ElsevierEvolution of ageingGeorge C. Williams (biologist)Graphical modelJ. B. S. HaldaneMutationsNature Publishing GroupPLOS OnePeter MedawarPublic Library of ScienceScitableSelection pressuresSelective fitnessSenescenceSexual maturitySingaporeWorld Scientific
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