Meaning & use
selection pressures
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Meanings
nounpluraltechnicalbiology
Environmental factors that cause certain traits to become more or less common in a population over generations.
Grammar: Always used in the plural in this technical sense; a single factor can be called a 'selection pressure'.
Patterns
- selection pressures on something
- selection pressures from something
- exert selection pressures
Predators and food shortages are strong selection pressures on small mammals.
The researchers studied how selection pressures from climate change affect bird migration.
Antibiotics create selection pressures that favor resistant bacteria.
nounpluralfigurative
Social, economic, or technological forces that make certain choices or behaviors more likely to succeed or survive.
Grammar: Used figuratively in business, sociology, and everyday discussion; can be used with 'on' to show what is affected.
Patterns
- selection pressures on something
- market selection pressures
- competitive selection pressures
Online reviews create selection pressures that push restaurants to improve service.
Small companies face intense selection pressures in a global market.
The new regulations act as selection pressures on older, polluting factories.
Word forms
| singular | selection pressure |
|---|
Common combinations
- strong selection pressures
- Strong selection pressures can lead to rapid evolutionary change.
- exert selection pressures
- Human activity exerts selection pressures on many wild species.
- selection pressures on
- There are new selection pressures on companies to reduce waste.
- natural selection pressures
- Natural selection pressures shaped the camel's ability to survive in deserts.
Synonyms and how they differ
- evolutionary pressures
- A broader term that includes selection pressures but also covers other evolutionary forces like genetic drift.
- environmental pressures
- Focuses on the environment itself rather than the evolutionary effect; can be used outside biology.
Word family
- selection pressure noun
- Singular form referring to one specific factor.
- selective pressure noun
- A less common variant, often used in medicine for drug resistance.
Commonly confused: selection pressures or peer pressure?
selection pressures vs peer pressure
Peer pressure is social influence from friends or equals; selection pressures are evolutionary or systemic forces that affect survival or success.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'selection pressures' correctly?
Choose one answer.
In biology, selection pressures are factors that affect which traits survive, as in the antibiotic example. Option A uses 'peer pressure' incorrectly; option C is about social pressure, not biological selection; option D is unrelated.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “selection pressures”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.