Human commercial models’ eye colour shows negative
frequency-dependent selection

Forti, I; Young, RJ

Abstract

In this study we investigated the eye colour of human commercial models registered in the UK (400 female and 400 male) and Brazil (400 female and 400 male) to test the hypothesis that model eye colour frequency was the result of negative frequency dependent selection. The eye colours of the models were classified as: blue, brown or intermediate. Chisquare analyses of data for
countries separated by sex showed that in the United Kingdom brown eyes and intermediate colours were significantly more frequent than expected in comparison to the general United Kingdom population (P<0.001). In Brazil, the most frequent eye colour brown was significantly less frequent than expected in comparison to the general Brazilian population. These results support the hypothesis that model eye colour is the result of negative frequency dependent selection. This could be the result of people using eye colour as a marker of genetic diversity and finding rarer eye colours more attractive because of the potential advantage more
genetically diverse offspring that could result from such a choice. Eye colour may be important because in comparison to many other physical traits (e.g., hair colour) it is hard to modify, hide or disguise, and it is highly polymorphic.

Citation

frequency-dependent selection. PLoS ONE, 11(12), e0168458. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0168458

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Nov 29, 2016
• Online Publication Date: Dec 22, 2016
• Publication Date: Dec 22, 2016
• Deposit Date: Dec 23, 2016
• Publicly Available Date: Dec 23, 2016
• Journal: PLoS ONE
• Publisher: Public Library of Science
• Volume: 11
• Issue: 12
• Pages: e0168458
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0168458
• Publisher URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0168458
• Related Public URLs: http://journals.plos.org/plosone/