What is negative assortative mating associated with?

Negative assortative mating refers to a mating pattern in which individuals with dissimilar phenotypes are more likely to mate with each other than with individuals that share similar traits. This type of mating can enhance genetic diversity within a population by encouraging the mixing of alleles from different genetic backgrounds. As a result, a broader range of genetic combinations may occur, which can be beneficial for adaptation and survival in changing environments.

This approach contrasts with positive assortative mating, in which similar phenotypes prefer to mate with each other, leading to an increase in homozygosity and potentially lower genetic diversity. Therefore, the key aspect of negative assortative mating is its tendency to pair individuals that have different traits, promoting heterozygosity and variation within the gene pool. This phenomenon can also play a role in maintaining healthy population dynamics and is a crucial concept in understanding evolutionary biology and genetics.