Types of Variations

1. Clinal Variation:
 Clinal variation is an intra-specific variation that corresponds to environmental
gradients.
 It is a form of geographic variation in which characteristics of a species change
gradually through the species’ geographic range. For example, the pines at the
base of the mountains grow appreciably larger than the pines growing at the
highest elevation on the mountains. The change in size is gradual; ponderosa
pine trees become progressively smaller as elevation increases.
 In clinal variation, populations are not completely separated from one
another, and individuals from adjacent populations do interbreed. However,
reproduction between populations is not as common as reproduction between
members of the same population. As a result, slight differences between
adjacent populations are maintained.
 Interestingly, in some clines members of the two extreme populations (the
populations at the two ends of the cline) may not be able to interbreed and
produce fertile offspring.

2. Continuous Variation:
 Continuous variation is the type of genetic variation showing an unbroken range
of phenotypes in a population. Generally, measurable characters such as
height, weight, and skin color are classic examples of continuous genetic
variation. Moreover, the main feature of phenotype-wise continuous variation
is the presence of intermediate phenotypes. Therefore, it gives a bell-shaped
distribution curve of phenotypes.
 Furthermore, phenotypic variation in continuous variation occurs either under
the influence of environmental factors or due to a genetic basis. Generally,
many genes are involved in the determination of a particular phenotype in
continuous variation. Therefore, this type of trait is also known as a quantitative
trait.

3. Discontinuous Variation
 Discontinuous variation is the second type of genetic variation, showing two or
more distinct phenotypes for a particular character in a population.
 Generally, it is the simplest type of genetic variation to analyze. Basically, one
gene determining a particular character usually has two alleles whose
dominant forms exhibit one phenotype while the recessive form exhibits the
second phenotype. Therefore, there is a predictable relationship between the
genotype and phenotype of discontinuous variation. However, in some cases,
a single gene with more than two types of alleles produce polymorphism.

 Similarities Between Continuous and Discontinuous Variation:

1. Both occur due to the differences in DNA in different genomes caused by
mutations and genetic recombination.
2. Both cause phenotypic variation in different aspects including physical
appearance, metabolism, fertility, mode of reproduction, behavior, learning
and mental ability, and other obvious or measurable characters.
 Difference Between Continuous and Discontinuous Variation
1. Continuous variation refers to the type of genetic variation, which shows an
unbroken range of phenotypes of a particular character in the population while
 discontinuous variation refers to the type of genetic variation, which shows to
or more separate forms of a character in the population.
2. Phenotypes of continuous variation have a continuous range, and they are
difficult to classify into specific categories. In contrast, phenotypes of
discontinuous variation have a discontinuous range, and they can be
categorized easily.
3. Intermediate groupings occur in continuous variation while no intermediate
groupings occur in discontinuous variation.
4. Continuous variation gives a smooth, bell-shaped curve, while discontinuous
variation does not give a curve.
5. Moreover, continuous variation is the more common type of genetic variation,
while discontinuous variation is the simplest form of genetic variation.
6. The presence of many genes for the determination of a particular trait causes
continuous variation while one or few genes are responsible for the
discontinuous variation.
7. Weight, height, and length of organisms are examples of continuous variation
while the color of petals, blood groups of animals, the gender of animals, etc.
are examples of discontinuous variation.