Fluctuating Asymmetry
Joseph L Tomkins, University of St Andrews, UK
Janne S Kotiaho, University of Jyväskylä, Finland
Published online: March 2002
DOI: 10.1038/npg.els.0003741
Abstract
Fluctuating asymmetry refers to small random deviations from perfect symmetry in bilaterally paired structures; it is thought
to reflect an organism's ability to cope with genetic and environmental stress during development and its utility as an indicator
of such stresses is based on the assumption that perfect symmetry is an a priori expectation for the ideal state of bilateral structures. Fluctuating asymmetry has been used as an indicator of individual
quality in studies of natural and sexual selection and as a bioindicator tool for environmental monitoring and conservation
biology.
Keywords: conservation; environmental and genetic stress; fitness; heterozygosity; sexual selection
References
Britten HB
(1996)
Meta‐analyses of the association between multilocus heterozygosity and fitness.
Evolution
50: 2158–2164.
Charlesworth D and
Charlesworth B
(1987)
Inbreeding depression and its evolutionary consequences.
Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics
18: 237–268.
Falconer DS
(1989)
Introduction to Quantitative Genetics.
New York: Longman.
Fuller RC and
Houle D (in press)
Inheritance of developmental instability.
In: Polak M (ed.)
Developmental Instability: Causes and Consequences.
New York: Oxford University Press.
Gangestad SW and
Thornhill R
(1999)
Individual differences in developmental precision and fluctuating asymmetry: a model and its implications.
Journal of Evolutionary Biology
12: 402–416.
Graham JH
(1992)
Genomic coadaptation and developmental stability in hybrid zones.
Acta Zoologica Fennica
191: 121–131.
Leary RF and
Allendorf FW
(1989)
Fluctuating asymmetry as an indicator of stress: implications for conservation biology.
Trends in Ecology and Evolution
4: 214–216.
Leung B and
Forbes M
(1996)
Fluctuating asymmetry in relation to stress and fitness: effects of trait type as revealed by meta‐analysis.
Ecoscience
3: 400–413.
Mitton JB and
Grant MC
(1984)
Associations among protein heterozygosity, growth rate, and developmental homeostasis.
Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics
15: 479–499.
Møller AP and
Thornhill R
(1997)
A meta‐analysis of the heritability of developmental stability.
Journal of Evolutionary Biology
10: 1–16.
Palmer RA
(1994)
Fluctuating asymmetry analysis: a primer.
In: Markow TA (ed.)
Developmental Instability: Its Origins and Evolutionary Implications.
London: Kluwer Academic.
Palmer AC and
Strobeck C
(1986)
Fluctuating asymmetry: measurement, analysis, pattern.
Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics
17: 391–421.
Simmons LW,
Tomkins JL,
Kotiaho JS and
Hunt J
(1999)
Fluctuating paradigm.
Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B
266: 593–595.
Tomkins JL and
Simmons LW (in press)
Fluctuating asymmetry and sexual selection: paradigm shifts, publication bias and observer expectation.
In: Polak M (ed.)
Developmental Instability: Causes and Consequences.
New York: Oxford University Press.
Van Valen L
(1962)
A study of fluctuating asymmetry.
Evolution
16: 125–142.
Further Reading
Markow TA (ed)
(1994)
Developmental Instability: Its Origins and Evolutionary Implications.
London: Kluwer Academic.
Møller AP and
Swaddle JP
(1997)
Asymmetry, Developmental Stability and Evolution.
Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Palmer AR
(2000)
Quasi‐replication and the contract of error: lessons from sex ratios, heritabilities and fluctuating asymmetry.
Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics
31: 441–480.
Polak M (ed.)
(2002)
Developmental Instability: Causes and Consequences.
New York: Oxford University Press.
Zakharov VM and
Graham JH (eds.)
(1992)
Developmental stability in natural populations.
Acta zoologica Fennica
191: 1–200.
