Selection Pressure
Strong competitive pressures (high intensity, thin margins, many competitors) produce convergence - only optimal strategies survive.
Selection pressures are environmental forces that favor some traits over others: predation, resource scarcity, temperature extremes. Strong selection pressures ruthlessly eliminate suboptimal solutions, causing populations to converge on optimal traits. Weak selection pressures permit diversity, as multiple strategies can survive.
The strength of selection determines convergence likelihood. High-altitude environments create strong selection for oxygen transport efficiency, leading Tibetan, Andean, and Ethiopian populations to independently evolve adaptations to hypoxia (though via different genetic mechanisms). Predation pressure is often weaker, allowing diverse defensive strategies (armor, speed, camouflage, toxicity) to coexist.
Business Application of Selection Pressure
Strong competitive pressures (high intensity, thin margins, many competitors) produce convergence - only optimal strategies survive. Weak competitive pressures (monopoly, differentiated niches, customer heterogeneity) permit divergence - multiple strategies can succeed. Budget airlines face strong selection and converge on no-frills models; luxury fashion faces weak selection and maintains diverse strategies.