Non-random mating in which males with some characteristics tend to breed with females having that kind. If two parents tend to be more alike than is to be expected by chance, then "positive assortative mating" is occurring.
mating of individuals having more traits in common than likely in random mating
a mating scheme that relies on the pairing of unrelated individuals with similar phenotypes to obtain consistency of type and reinforce desirable traits.
The mating of a given genotype mates with another genotype at a frequency disproportionate to that expected from random encounter.
sexual reproduction in which there is a tendency for males of a particular kind to mate with females of a particular kind
The tendency of like to mate with like. Mating can be assortative for a certain genotype (e.g., individuals with genotype AA tend to mate with other individuals of genotype AA) or phenotype (e.g., tall individuals mate with other tall individuals).
The tendency for mates to be chosen nonrandomly.
Non-random mating on the basis of phenotype; in positive assortative mating, the partners are chosen because they are phenotypically similar.
The preferential selection of a spouse with a particular phenotype.
Assortative mating (also called assortative pairing) takes place when sexually reproducing organisms tend to mate with individuals that are like themselves in some respect (positive assortative mating) or dissimilar (negative assortative mating). In evolution, therefore these two types of assortative mating have the effect of reducing and expanding the range of variation, respectively, when the assorting is cued on heritable traits.