Selective Pressure and Selective Agent

[MisterTransistor]

Hey guys. I was just wondering what the difference between a selective agent and a selective pressure? Thanks in advance

[Jenny_2108]

Hey guys. I was just wondering what the difference between a selective agent and a selective pressure? Thanks in advance

The same right?
Its the factor usually environmental that reduces fitness of a particular phenotype in a population
Some people just wanna separate these terms and say selection pressure is pressure caused by selecting agent but my teacher told us they were the same thing

[Scooby]

The selecting agent exerts a selection pressure on the population. So the selecting agent is what is actually selecting for or against a particular phenotype, and the effect that the selecting agent has on the population is the selection pressure

[MisterTransistor]

thanks guys