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637 results for “Selection: sexual”
Data from: Sexual selection in complex communities: integrating interspecific reproductive interference in structured populations
The social structure of populations plays a key role in shaping variation in sexual selection. In nature, sexual selection occurs in communities of interacting species, however heterospecifics are rarely included in characterisations of social structure. Heterospecifics can influence the reproductive outcomes of intrasexual competition by interfering with intraspecific sexual interactions (interspecific reproductive interference; IRI). We outline the need for studies of sexual selection to incorporate heterospecifics as part of the social environment. We use simulations to show that classic predictions for the effect of social structure on sexual selection are altered by an interaction between social structure and IRI. This interaction has wide-ranging implications for patterns of sexual conflict and kin-selected reproductive strategies in socially structured populations. Our work bridges the gap between sexual selection research on social structure and IRI, and highlights future directions to study sexual selection in interacting communities.
Code for: Same-sex sexual behaviour and selection for indiscriminate mating
<p>File provides Mathematica code to replicate the analyses of "Same-sex sexual behaviour and selection for indiscriminate mating" by Lerch and Servedio. All figures from the manuscript (and its supplement) can be obtained by running the code. Comments for the code is provided for the "Additive death" section with other sections presented in parallel.</p>
Data from: What doesn't kill you makes you stronger: detoxification ability as mechanism of honesty in a sexually selected signal
<p>These files contain the data to perform all analysis done for the submitted manuscript <b>What doesn't kill you makes you stronger: detoxification ability as mechanism of honesty in a sexually selected signal.</b></p> <p> </p>
Historical isolation facilitates species radiation by sexual selection: insights from Chorthippus grasshoppers
<p>Theoretical and empirical studies have shown that species radiations are facilitated when a trait under divergent natural selection is also involved in sexual selection. It is yet unclear how quick and effective radiations are where assortative mating is unrelated to the ecological environment and primarily results from sexual selection. We address this question using sympatric grasshopper species of the genus <em>Chorthippus</em>, which have evolved strong behavioral isolation while lacking noticeable eco-morphological divergence. Mitochondrial genomes suggest that the radiation is relatively recent, dating to the mid-Pleistocene, which leads to extensive incomplete lineage sorting throughout the mitochondrial and the nuclear genomes. Nuclear data shows that hybrids are absent in sympatric localities but that all species have experienced gene flow, confirming that reproductive isolation is strong but remains incomplete. Demographic modelling is most consistent with a long period of geographic isolation, followed by secondary contact and extensive introgression. Such initial periods of geographic isolation might facilitate the association between male signaling and female preference, permitting the coexistence of sympatric species that are genetically, morphologically, and ecologically similar, but otherwise behave mostly as good biological species.</p>
Dietary stress increases the total opportunity for sexual selection and modifies selection on condition-dependent traits
<p>Although it is often expected that adverse environmental conditions depress the expression of condition-dependent sexually-selected traits, the full consequences of environmental change for the action of sexual selection, in terms of the opportunity for total sexual selection and patterns of phenotypic selection, are unknown. Here we show that dietary stress in guppies, <em>Poecilia reticulata</em>, reduces the expression of several sexually-selected traits and increases the opportunity for total sexual selection (standardized variance in reproductive success) in males. Furthermore, our results show that dietary stress modulates the relative importance of precopulatory (mating success) and postcopulatory (relative fertilization success) sexual selection, and that the form of multivariate sexual selection (linear vs. nonlinear) depends on dietary regime. Overall, our results are consistent with a pattern of heightened directional selection on condition-dependent sexually-selected traits under environmental stress, and underscore the importance of sexual selection in shaping adaptation in a changing world.</p>
Sexual selection on bushcricket genitalia operates in a mosaic pattern
<p>In most species with internal fertilization, male genitalia evolve faster than other morphological structures. This holds true for genital titillators, which are used exclusively during mating in several bushcricket subfamilies. Several theories have been proposed for the sexual selection forces driving the evolution of internal genitalia, especially sperm competition, sexually antagonistic coevolution (SAC) and cryptic female choice (CFC). However, it is unclear whether the evolution of genitalia can be described with a single hypothesis or a combination of them. The study of species-specific genitalia action could contribute to the controversial debate about the underlying selective evolutionary forces. We studied female mating behaviors in response to experimentally modified titillators in a phylogenetically nested set of four bushcricket species: Roeseliana roeselii, Pholidoptera littoralis littoralis, Tettigonia viridissima (of the subfamily Tettigoniinae), and Letana inflata (Phaneropterinae). Bushcricket titillators have several potential functions; they stimulate females and suppress female resistance, ensure proper ampulla or spermatophore attachment and facilitate male fixation. In R. roeselii titillators stimulate females to accept copulations, supporting sexual selection by CFC. Conversely, titillator modification had no observable effect on the female's behavior in T. viridissima. The titillators of Ph. l. littoralis mechanically support the mating position and the spermatophore transfer, pointing to sexual selection by SAC. Mixed support was found in L. inflata, where manipulation resulted in increased female resistance (evidence for CFC) and mating failures by reduced spermatophore transfer success (evidence for SAC). Sexual selection is highly species-specific with a mosaic support for either cryptic female choice or sexually antagonistic coevolution or a combination of both in the four species.</p>
Data from: Meiotic drive influences the outcome of sexually antagonistic selection at a linked locus
Most meiotic drivers, such as the t-haplotype in Mus and the segregation distorter (SD) in Drosophila, act in a sex-specific manner, gaining a transmission advantage through one sex although suffering only the fitness costs associated with the driver in the other. Their inheritance is thus more likely through one of the two sexes, a property they share with sexually antagonistic alleles. Previous theory has shown that pairs of linked loci segregating for sexually antagonistic alleles are more likely to remain polymorphic and that linkage disequilibrium accrues between them. I probe this similarity between drive and sexual antagonism and examine the evolution of chromosomes experiencing these selection pressures simultaneously. Reminiscent of previous theory, I find that: the opportunity for polymorphism increases for a sexually antagonistic locus that is physically linked to a driving locus; the opportunity for polymorphism at a driving locus also increases when linked to a sexually antagonistic locus; and stable linkage disequilibrium accompanies any polymorphic equilibrium. Additionally, I find that drive at a linked locus favours the fixation of sexually antagonistic alleles that benefit the sex in which drive occurs. Further, I show that under certain conditions reduced recombination between these two loci is selectively favoured. These theoretical results provide clear, testable predictions about the nature of sexually antagonistic variation on driving chromosomes and have implications for the evolution of genomic architecture.
Data from: Inconsistency between different measures of sexual selection
Measuring the intensity of sexual selection is of fundamental importance in the study of sexual dimorphism, population dynamics, and speciation. Several indices, pools of individuals, and fitness proxies are used in the literature, yet their relative performances are strongly debated. Using twelve independent common lizard populations, we manipulated the adult sex ratio (ASR), a potentially important determinant of the intensity of sexual selection at a particular time and place. We investigated differences in the intensity of sexual selection, as estimated using three standard indices of sexual selection: selection gradients (β′), opportunity of selection (I), and Bateman gradients (βss), calculated for different pools of individuals and different fitness proxies. We show that results based on estimates of I were opposite to those derived from the other indices, while those based on estimates of β′ were consistent with predictions derived from knowledge about the species' mating system. In addition, our estimates of the strength and direction of sexual selection depended both on the fitness proxy used and the pool of individuals included in the analysis. These observations demonstrate inconsistencies in distinct measures of sexual selection, and underscore the need for caution when comparing studies and species.
Data from: Sexual selection on male size drives the evolution of male-biased sexual size dimorphism via the prolongation of male development
Sexual size dimorphism (SSD) arises when the net effects of natural and sexual selection on body size differ between the sexes. Quantitative SSD variation between taxa is common, but directional intraspecific SSD reversals are rare. We combined micro- and macroevolutionary approaches to study geographic SSD variation in closely related black scavenger flies. Common garden experiments revealed stark intra and interspecific variation: Sepsis biflexuosa is monomorphic across the Holarctic, while S. cynipsea (only in Europe) consistently exhibits female-biased SSD. Interestingly, S. neocynipsea displays contrasting SSD in Europe (females larger) and North America (males larger), a pattern opposite to the geographic reversal in SSD of S. punctum documented in a previous study. In accordance with the differential equilibrium model for the evolution of SSD, the intensity of sexual selection on male size varied between continents (weaker in Europe) whereas fecundity selection on female body size did not. Subsequent comparative analyses of 49 taxa documented at least six independent origins of male-biased SSD in Sepsidae, which is likely caused by sexual selection on male size and mediated by bimaturism. Therefore, reversals in SSD and the associated changes in larval development might be much more common and rapid and less constrained than currently assumed.
Data from: The contrasting role of male relatedness in different mechanisms of sexual selection in red junglefowl
In structured populations, competition for reproductive opportunities should be relaxed among related males. The few tests of this prediction often neglect the fact that sexual selection acts through multiple mechanisms, both before and after mating. We performed experiments to study the role of within-group male relatedness across pre- and postcopulatory mechanisms of sexual selection in social groups of red junglefowl, Gallus gallus, in which two related males and one unrelated male competed over females unrelated to all the males. We confirm theoretical expectations that, after controlling for male social status, competition over mating was reduced among related males. However, this effect was contrasted by other sexual selection mechanisms. First, females biased male mating in favor of the unrelated male, and might also favor his inseminations after mating. Second, males invested more -rather than fewer- sperm in postcopulatory competition with relatives. A number of factors may contribute to explain this counterintuitive pattern of sperm allocation, including trade-offs between male investment in pre- vs postcopulatory competition, differences in the relative relatedness of pre- vs. postcopulatory competitors, and female bias in sperm utilization in response to male relatedness. Collectively, these results reveal that within-group male relatedness may have contrasting effects in different mechanisms of sexual selection.
Data from: Sexually selected traits evolve positive allometry when some matings occur irrespective of the trait
Positive allometry of secondary sexual traits (whereby larger individuals have disproportionally larger traits than smaller individuals) has been called one of the most pervasive and poorly understood regularities in the study of animal form and function. Its widespread occurrence is in contrast with theoretical predictions that it should evolve only under rather special circumstances.
Data from: Assessing the alignment of sexual and natural selection using radio-mutagenized seed beetles
A major unsolved question in evolutionary biology concerns the relationship between natural and sexual selection. Sexual selection might augment natural selection, e.g. if mutations that harm female fecundity also reduce male mating success. Conversely, sexual selection might favor traits that impair naturally-selected fitness components. We induced detrimental mutations in Callosobruchus maculatus beetles using X-ray irradiation, and then experimentally measured the effect of pre-copulatory sexual selection on offspring number and survival rate. Sexual selection treatment had a negative effect on egg-to-adult survivorship, though the number of progeny reaching adulthood was unaffected, perhaps because eggs and juveniles that failed to develop lessened competition on the survivors. We hypothesize that the negative effect of sexual selection arose because sexually competitive males transmitted a smaller nuptial gift, or carried alleles that conferred reduced survival. Although we found no evidence that sexual selection on males can purge alleles that are detrimental to naturally-selected fitness components, such benefits might exist in other environmental or genetic contexts.
Data from: No fitness benefits of early molt in a fairy-wren: relaxed sexual selection under genetic monogamy?
The evolution of male ornamentation has long been the focus of sexual selection studies. However, evidence is accumulating that sexually selected traits can also be lost, although the process is ill-understood. In male fairy-wrens (Malurus spp.), early molt into the seasonal breeding plumage is critical for obtaining extra-pair paternity (EPP), which reaches very high levels in these socially monogamous songbirds. A notable exception is the purple-crowned fairy-wren, Malurus coronatus, which, like its congeners, breeds cooperatively, but where EPP is very rare. Nevertheless, males develop a conspicuous seasonal breeding plumage at highly variable times. Based on 6 years of molt data collected for 137 individuals, we investigated the adaptive significance of pre-breeding molt timing as a sexual signal under (near) genetic monogamy. Molt timing varied between and within individuals with age and climate: molt was completed earlier in older males and after wetter years. Despite its potential to act as a sexual signal of male quality, fitness benefits and costs of early molt appear limited: molt timing did not correlate with 1) the likelihood of gaining a breeding position; 2) female mate preference (EPP/cuckoldry, divorce); 3) female reproductive investment (breeding timing, clutch size, number of clutches); 4) breeding performance (hatching success, fledging success, fledgling survival, annual reproductive success); and 5) male survival. However, although molt timing did not predict which subordinates would become breeders, breeders molted earlier than subordinates. The lack of EPP in this species might imply relaxed sexual selection on early molt with potential to lead to trait disappearance.
Data from: Ecological divergence and sexual selection drive sexual size dimorphism in new world pitvipers (Serpentes: Viperidae)
Hypotheses for the origin and maintenance of sexual size dimorphism (SSD) fall into three primary categories: (i) sexual selection on male size, (ii) fecundity selection on female size and (iii) ecological selection for gender-specific niche divergence. We investigate the impact of these forces on SSD evolution in New World pitvipers (Crotalinae). We constructed a phylogeny from up to eight genes (seven mitochondrial, one nuclear) for 104 species of NW crotalines. We gathered morphological and ecological data for 82 species for comparative analyses. There is a strong signal of sexual selection on male size driving SSD, but less evidence for fecundity selection on female size across lineages. No support was found for allometric scaling of SSD (Rensch's rule), nor for directional selection for increasing male size (the Fairbairn–Preziosi hypothesis) in NW crotalines. Interestingly, arboreal lineages experience higher rates of SSD evolution and a pronounced shift to female-biased dimorphism. This suggests that fecundity selection on arboreal females exaggerates ecologically mediated dimorphism, whereas sexual selection drives male size in terrestrial lineages. We find that increasing SSD in both directions (male- and female-biased) decreases speciation rates. In NW crotalines, it appears that increasing magnitudes of ecologically mediated SSD reduce rates of speciation, as divergence accumulates within species among sexes, reducing adaptive divergence between populations leading to speciation.
Data from: Sexual selection has minimal impact on effective population sizes in species with high rates of random offspring mortality: an empirical demonstration using fitness distributions
The effective population size (Ne) is a fundamental parameter in population genetics that influences the rate of loss of genetic diversity. Sexual selection has the potential to reduce Ne by causing the sex-specific distributions of individuals that successfully reproduce to diverge. To empirically estimate the effect of sexual selection on Ne, we obtained fitness distributions for males and females from an outbred, laboratory-adapted population of Drosophila melanogaster. We observed strong sexual selection in this population (the variance in male reproductive success was ∼14 times higher than that for females), but found that sexual selection had only a modest effect on Ne, which was 75% of the census size. This occurs because the substantial random offspring mortality in this population diminishes the effects of sexual selection on Ne, a result that necessarily applies to other high fecundity species. The inclusion of this random offspring mortality creates a scaling effect that reduces the variance/mean ratios for male and female reproductive success and causes them to converge. Our results demonstrate that measuring reproductive success without considering offspring mortality can underestimate Ne and overestimate the genetic consequences of sexual selection. Similarly, comparing genetic diversity among different genomic components may fail to detect strong sexual selection.
Data from: Differential investment in pre- versus post-copulatory sexual selection reinforces a cross-continental reversal of sexual size dimorphism in Sepsis punctum (Diptera: Sepsidae)
Theory predicts that males have a limited amount of resources to invest in reproduction, suggesting a trade-off between traits that enhance mate acquisition and those enhancing fertilization success. Here we investigate the relationship between pre- and post-copulatory investment by comparing the mating behavior and reproductive morphology of four European and five North American populations of the dung fly Sepsis punctum (Diptera) that display a reversal of sexual size dimorphism (SSD). We show that the geographic reversal in SSD between the continents (male-biased in Europe, female-biased in North America) is accompanied by differential investment in pre- versus post-copulatory traits. We find higher re-mating rates in European populations, where larger males acquire more matings and consequently have evolved relatively larger testes and steeper hyper-allometry with body size. American populations, in sharp contrast, display much reduced, if any, effect of body size on those traits. Instead, North American males demonstrate an increased investment in mate acquisition prior to copulation, with more mounting attempts and a distinctive abdominal courtship display that is completely absent in Europe. When controlling for body size, relative female spermathecal size is similar on both continents, so we find no direct evidence for the co-evolution of male and female internal reproductive morphology. By comparing allopatric populations of the same species that apparently have evolved different mating systems and consequently SSD, we thus indirectly demonstrate differential investment in pre- vs. post-copulatory mechanisms increasing reproductive success.
Data from: The sexual selection paradigm: have we overlooked other mechanisms in the evolution of male ornaments?
Extravagant male ornaments expressed during reproduction are almost invariably assumed to be sexually selected and evolve through competition for mating opportunities. Yet in species where male reproductive success depends on the defence of offspring, male ornaments could also evolve through social competition for offspring survival. However, in contrast to female ornaments, this possibility has received little attention in males. We show that a male ornament that is traditionally assumed to be sexually selected—the red nuptial coloration of the three-spined stickleback—is under stronger selection for offspring survival than for mating success. Males express most coloration during parenting, when they no longer attract females, and the colour correlates with nest retention and hatching success but not with attractiveness to females. This contradicts earlier assumptions and suggests that social selection for offspring survival rather than for sexual selection for mating success is the main mechanism maintaining the ornament in the population. These results suggest that we should consider other forms of social selection beyond sexual selection when seeking to explain the function and evolution of male ornaments. An incorrect assignment of selection pressures could hamper our understanding of evolution.
Data from: Ornament complexity is correlated with sexual selection: (a comment on Raia et al., "Cope's rule and the universal scaling law of ornament complexity")
Raia et al. propose that the evolution of the shape and complexity of animal ornaments (e.g., deer antlers) can be explained by interspecific variation in body size and is not influenced by sexual selection. They claim to show that ornament complexity is related to body size by an 0.25-power law and argue that this finding precludes a role for sexual selection in the evolution of ornament complexity. However, their study does not test alternative hypotheses and mismeasures antler shape allometry by omitting much of the published data. We show that an index of sexual selection (sexual size dimorphism) is positively correlated with size-corrected antler complexity and that the allometric slope of complexity is substantially greater than 0.25, contra Raia et al. We conclude that sexual selection and physical constraints both affect the evolution of antler shape.
Data from: Inter-locus sexually antagonistic coevolution creates indirect selection for increased recombination
The ubiquity of recombination in nature is a paradox because it breaks up combinations of alleles favored by natural selection. Theoretical work has shown that antagonistic coevolution between hosts and parasites can result in rapid fluctuations in epistasis, which can create a short-term advantage to recombination. Here we show that another kind of antagonistic coevolution, inter-locus sexually antagonistic coevolution (SAC), can also create indirect selection for modifiers that increase the rate of recombination, and that it can lead to very high levels of recombination at equilibrium. Recombination is favored because inter-locus SAC creates heterogeneity in the strength and direction of selection, both within and between generations, which maintains an excess of disadvantageous haplotypes in the population. This result is similar to and consistent with dynamics of fluctuating epistasis produced in models of host-parasite coevolution. However, the conditions under which inter-locus SAC provides an advantage to recombination are more permissive.
Data from: Sexual and natural selection in the evolution of extended phenotypes: the use of green nesting material in starlings
Although sexual selection is typically considered the predominant force driving the evolution of ritualized sexual behaviors, natural selection may also play an important and often underappreciated role. The use of green aromatic plants among nesting birds has been interpreted as a component of extended phenotype that evolved either via natural selection due to potential sanitary functions, or via sexual selection as a signal of male attractiveness. Here we compared both hypotheses using comparative methods in starlings, a group where this behavior is widespread. We found that the use of green plants was positively related to male-biased size dimorphism, and that it was most likely to occur among cavity-nesting species. These results suggest that this behavior is likely favored by sexual selection, but also related to its sanitary use in response to higher parasite loads in cavities. We speculate that the use of green plants in starlings may be facilitated by cavity nesting, and was subsequently co-opted as a sexual signal by males. Our results represent an example of how an extended phenotypic component of males becomes sexually selected by females. Thus, both natural and sexual selection are necessary to fully understand the evolution of ritualized behaviors involved in courtship.
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