Wallace effect

noun

A process of speciation where natural selection increases the reproductive isolation between two populations of species as a result of selection acting against the production of hybrid individuals of low fitness.

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Meanings

nounWallace effect (plural Wallace effects)

plural Wallace effects

  1. evolutionary biologybiologyA process of speciation where natural selection increases the reproductive isolation between two populations of species as a result of selection acting against the production of hybrid individuals of low fitness.

Origin

Named after Alfred Russel Wallace.

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Cite this entry
APA

Wallace effect. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Wallace%20effect

MLA

“Wallace effect.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Wallace%20effect. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Wallace effect,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Wallace%20effect.

Source: Wallace effect on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.