Interaction between natural selection for heterozygotes and directional selection.

When directional selection for an additively inherited trait is opposed by natural selection favoring heterozygous genotypes a selection plateau may be reached where genetic variance is present. The amount of response when this plateau is reached is a simple function of the selection response in the first generation and the intensity of natural selection. When selection is practiced in small populations, the sizes of the initial equilibrium gene frequencies are at least as important as the intensity of natural selection in determining the probability of fixing desirable alleles.