The enigma of frequency-dependent selection

Frequency-dependent selection is so fundamental to modern evolutionary thinking that everyone ‘knowsʹ the concept. Yet the term is used to refer to different types of selection. The concept is well defined in the original context of population genetics theory, which focuses on short-term evolutionary change. The original concept becomes ambiguous, however, when used in the context of long-term evolution, where density dependence becomes essential. Weak and strong frequency dependence, as distinguished in this article, refer to two very different forms of selection.