Natural Selection

Fitness
Stabilizing Selection
Directional Selection
Disruptive Selection
Speciation
Extinction

References:

Digital critters mimic behavior of real life

Natural Selection

Stabilizing Selection

Stabilizing selection favors the norm, the common, average traits in a population. Look at the Siberian Husky, a dog bred for working in the snow. The Siberian Husky is a medium dog, males weighing 16-27kg (35-60lbs). These dogs have strong pectoral and leg muscles, allowing it to move through dense snow. The Siberian Husky is well designed for working in the snow. If the Siberian Husky had heavier muscles, it would sink deeper into the snow, so they would move slower or would sink and get stuck in the snow. Yet if the Siberian Husky had lighter muscles, it would not be strong enough to pull sleds and equipment, so the dog would have little value as a working dog. So stabilizing selection has chosen a norm for the the size of the Siberian Husky.