Equation 7 · Part 1 · The Peacock Problem: Darwin's Second Theory and Its Hard Tests

Symbol h_p^2

h_p^2

h_p^2

What this part means

$h_p^2$ is squared: multiply the underlying quantity by itself. The square is a mathematical operation, not a second independent variable.

Its job in the formula

$h_p^2$ is squared: multiply the underlying quantity by itself. The square is a mathematical operation, not a second independent variable.

Full expressionSymbol h_p^2Article meaning

The passage around this formula

…population mean of the corresponding female preference; write $\beta_t$ and $\beta_p$ for the direct selection gradients acting on each (natural selection pulling $\beta_t$ downward, since the ornament is costly), $h_t^2$ and $h_p^2$ for their heritabilities, and B for the genetic covariance that non-random mating builds between the two traits. The standard Lande-Fisher formalisation of one generation’s change is then a coupled pair:

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Learn the underlying idea

A subscript is a label attached below a symbol. It often selects a time step, component, category, or member of a sequence.

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Sources cited in the surrounding passage

[4] Models of speciation by sexual selection on polygenic traits ↗

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