Find research datasets worth reusing
Search datasets from major research repositories and use ShareScore to quickly assess how well each record supports discovery, access, and reuse.
637
datasets available to search
ShareScore release 0.7.1
Dataset results
637 results for “Sexual selection”
Data from: Spatial distribution of nests constrains the strength of sexual selection in a warbler
In socially monogamous species, extra-pair paternity may increase the strength of inter-sexual selection by allowing males with preferred phenotypes to monopolize matings. Several studies have found relationships between male signals and extra-pair mating, but many others fail to explain variation in extra-pair mating success. A greater appreciation for the role that ecological contingencies play in structuring behavioral processes may help to reconcile contradictory results. We studied extra-pair mating in a spatial context in the common yellowthroat (Geothlypis trichas), a territorial wood warbler. Over the course of six years, we observed 158 breeding attempts by 99 males, resulting in a total of 369 nests and 520 sampled nestlings. The spatial distribution of territories varied greatly, with males having between 0 and 10 close neighbors and between 3 and 39 neighboring nestlings close enough to represent extra-pair siring opportunities. Both within-pair and extra-pair reproductive success increased with breeding density, but the opportunity for sexual selection and strength of selection varied with density. Total variance in reproductive success was highest at low density and was mostly explained by variation in within-pair success. In contrast, at high density, both within-pair and extra-pair success contributed substantially to variance in reproductive success. The relationships between plumage and extra-pair mating also varied by density; plumage was under strong sexual selection via extra-pair mating success at high density but no selection was detected at low density. Thus, ecological factors that structure social interactions can drive patterns of sexual selection by facilitating or constraining the expression of mating preferences.
Data from: Sexual selection protects against extinction
Reproduction through sex carries substantial costs, mainly because only half of sexual adults produce offspring. It has been theorized that these costs could be countered if sex allows sexual selection to clear the universal fitness constraint of mutation load. Under sexual selection, competition between (usually) males and mate choice by (usually) females create important intraspecific filters for reproductive success, so that only a subset of males gains paternity. If reproductive success under sexual selection is dependent on individual condition, which is contingent to mutation load, then sexually selected filtering through 'genic capture' could offset the costs of sex because it provides genetic benefits to populations. Here we test this theory experimentally by comparing whether populations with histories of strong versus weak sexual selection purge mutation load and resist extinction differently. After evolving replicate populations of the flour beetle Tribolium castaneum for 6 to 7 years under conditions that differed solely in the strengths of sexual selection, we revealed mutation load using inbreeding. Lineages from populations that had previously experienced strong sexual selection were resilient to extinction and maintained fitness under inbreeding, with some families continuing to survive after 20 generations of sib × sib mating. By contrast, lineages derived from populations that experienced weak or non-existent sexual selection showed rapid fitness declines under inbreeding, and all were extinct after generation 10. Multiple mutations across the genome with individually small effects can be difficult to clear, yet sum to a significant fitness load; our findings reveal that sexual selection reduces this load, improving population viability in the face of genetic stress.
Data from: The effects of life history and sexual selection on male and female plumage colouration
Classical sexual selection theory provides a well-supported conceptual framework for understanding the evolution and signalling function of male ornaments. It predicts that males obtain greater fitness benefits than females through multiple mating because sperm are cheaper to produce than eggs. Sexual selection should therefore lead to the evolution of male-biased secondary sexual characters. However, females of many species are also highly ornamented. The view that this is due to a correlated genetic response to selection on males was widely accepted as an explanation for female ornamentation for over 100 years and current theoretical and empirical evidence suggests that genetic constraints can limit sex-specific trait evolution. Alternatively, female ornamentation can be the outcome of direct selection for signalling needs. Since few studies have explored interspecific patterns of both male and female elaboration, our understanding of the evolution of animal ornamentation remains incomplete, especially over broad taxonomic scales. Here we use a new method to quantify plumage colour of all ~6,000 species of passerine birds to determine the main evolutionary drivers of ornamental colouration in both sexes. We found that conspecific male and female colour elaboration are strongly correlated, suggesting that evolutionary changes in one sex are constrained by changes in the other sex. Both sexes are more ornamented in larger species and in species living in tropical environments. Ornamentation in females (but not males) is increased in cooperative breeders—species in which female–female competition for reproductive opportunities and other resources related to breeding may be high. Finally, strong sexual selection on males has antagonistic effects, causing an increase in male colouration but a considerably more pronounced reduction in female ornamentation. Our results indicate that although there may be genetic constraints to sexually independent colour evolution, both female and male ornamentation are strongly and often differentially related to morphological, social and life-history variables.
Data from: Sexual selection on male vocal fundamental frequency in humans and other anthropoids
In many primates, including humans, the vocalizations of males and females differ dramatically, with male vocalizations and vocal anatomy often seeming to exaggerate apparent body size. These traits may be favoured by sexual selection because low-frequency male vocalizations intimidate rivals and/or attract females, but this hypothesis has not been systematically tested across primates, nor is it clear why competitors and potential mates should attend to vocalization frequencies. Here we show across anthropoids that sexual dimorphism in fundamental frequency (F0) increased during evolutionary transitions towards polygyny, and decreased during transitions towards monogamy. Surprisingly, humans exhibit greater F0 sexual dimorphism than any other ape. We also show that low-F0 vocalizations predict perceptions of men's dominance and attractiveness, and predict hormone profiles (low cortisol and high testosterone) related to immune function. These results suggest that low male F0 signals condition to competitors and mates, and evolved in male anthropoids in response to the intensity of mating competition.
Data from: Sexual selection sustains biodiversity via producing negative density‐dependent population growth
1. Mechanisms for maintaining biodiversity are still unclear despite considerable research. The classic theory predicts that stable co‐occurrence of competitive species requires niche differentiation. In fact, the co‐occurring species are often differentiated from each other. However, the neutral theory assuming equivalence of the reproductive rate of all individuals regardless of the species in a biological community has successfully recreated the observed patterns of species abundance distribution. This success is based on the unrealistic assumption suggesting that some mechanisms eliminate interspecific differences in the reproductive rates. 2. Here, I present sexual selection as a candidate of the mechanisms by constructing analytical and simulation models. Sexual selection affects the traits that increase mating success even at the expense of fecundity when the species is abundant. By contrast, when the species is at a relatively low density, this negative effect on fecundity is mitigated because less competition for mating occurs in the rare species. 3. The analytical model of this effect on fecundity predicted that sexual organisms stop population growth before exhausting resources due to the effect. This prediction was confirmed by simulation models. The simulations also showed that hundreds of competitive species with interspecific differences in reproductive potential can coexist over 10,000 generations. Moreover, species abundance distributions obtained from the simulations were similar to the patterns observed in field data. Given the generality of sexual reproduction in nature, sexual selection is likely to play a significant role in sustaining biodiversity over a broad range of environments. 4. Synthesis. Evolution does not always maximize population growth rate. This study shows that evolution of sexual selection controls the population growth rate according to density and stabilizes the population size. This stabilizing effect has a potential to rescue endangered species from extinction, prevent overgrowth of common species, promote coexistence of competitive species, and successfully recreate the observed patterns of species abundance distribution.
Data from: Sexual selection affects the evolution of lifespan and ageing in the decorated cricket Gryllodes sigillatus
Recent work suggests that sexual selection can influence the evolution of ageing and lifespan by shaping the optimal timing and relative costliness of reproductive effort in the sexes. We use inbred lines of the decorated cricket, Gryllodes sigillatus, to estimate the genetic (co)variance between age-dependent reproductive effort, lifespan and ageing within and between the sexes. Sexual selection theory predicts that males should die sooner and age more rapidly than females. However, a reversal of this pattern may be favoured if reproductive effort increases with age in males but not in females. We found that male calling effort increased with age, whereas female fecundity decreased, and that males lived longer and aged more slowly than females. These divergent life-history strategies were underpinned by a positive genetic correlation between early-life reproductive effort and ageing rate in both sexes, although this relationship was stronger in females. Despite these sex differences in life-history schedules, age-dependent reproductive effort, lifespan and ageing exhibited strong positive intersexual genetic correlations. This should, in theory, constrain the independent evolution of these traits in the sexes and may promote intralocus sexual conflict. Our study highlights the importance of sexual selection to the evolution of sex differences in ageing and lifespan in G. sigillatus.
Data from: Genomic evidence that sexual selection impedes adaptation to a novel environment
Sexual selection is widely appreciated for generating remarkable phenotypic diversity, but its contribution to adaptation and the purging of deleterious mutations is unresolved. To provide insight into the impact of sexual selection on naturally segregating polymorphisms across the genome, we previously evolved 12 populations of Drosophila serrata in a novel environment employing a factorial manipulation of the opportunities for natural and sexual selection. Here, we genotype more than 1,400 SNPs in the evolved populations and reveal that sexual selection affected many of the same genomic regions as natural selection, aligning with it as often as opposing it. Intriguingly, more than half of the 80 SNPs showing treatment effects revealed an interaction between natural and sexual selection. For these SNPs, while sexual selection alone often caused a change in allele frequency in the same direction as natural selection alone, when natural and sexual selection occurred together, changes in allele frequency were greatly reduced or even reversed. This suggests an antagonism between natural and sexual selection arising from male-induced harm to females. Behavioral experiments showed that males preferentially courted and mated with high-fitness females, and that the harm associated with this increased male attention eliminated the female fitness advantage. During our experiment, females carrying otherwise adaptive alleles may therefore have disproportionally suffered male-induced harm due to their increased sexual attractiveness. These results suggest that a class of otherwise adaptive mutations may not contribute to adaptation when mating systems involve sexual conflict and male mate preferences.
Data from: The evolutionary history of Xiphophorus fish and their sexually selected sword: a genome-wide approach using restriction site-associated DNA sequencing
Next-generation sequencing (NGS) techniques are now key tools in the detection of population genomic and gene expression differences in a large array of organisms. However, so far few studies have utilized such data for phylogenetic estimations. Here, we use NGS data obtained from genome-wide restriction site-associated DNA (RAD) (∼66000 SNPs) to estimate the phylogenetic relationships among all 26 species of swordtail and platyfish (genus Xiphophorus) from Central America. Past studies, both sequence and morphology-based, have differed in their inferences of the evolutionary relationships within this genus, particularly at the species-level and among monophyletic groupings. We show that using a large number of markers throughout the genome, we are able to infer the phylogenetic relationships with unparalleled resolution for this genus. The relationships among all three major clades and species within each of them are highly resolved and consistent under maximum likelihood, Bayesian inference and maximum parsimony. However, we also highlight the current cautions with this data type and analyses. This genus exhibits a particularly interesting evolutionary history where at least two species may have arisen through hybridization events. Here, we are able to infer the paternal lineages of these putative hybrid species. Using the RAD-marker-based tree we reconstruct the evolutionary history of the sexually selected sword trait and show that it may have been present in the common ancestor of the genus. Together our results highlight the outstanding capacity that RAD sequencing data has for resolving previously problematic phylogenetic relationships, particularly among relatively closely related species.
Data from: Size-dependent selective mechanisms on males and females and the evolution of sexual size dimorphism in frogs
Sexual size dimorphism (SSD) varies in animals from male biased to female biased. The evolution of SSD is potentially influenced by a number of factors, such as territoriality, fecundity, and temporal breeding patterns (explosive vs. prolonged). In general, frogs show female-biased SSD with broad variance among species. Using comparative methods, we examine how different selective forces affect male and female sizes, and we test hypotheses about size-dependent mechanisms shaping SSD in frogs. Male size was weakly associated with SSD in all size classes, and we found no significant association among SSD, male size, temporal breeding pattern, and male territoriality. In contrast, female size best explained SSD variation across all size classes but especially for small-bodied species. We found a stronger evolutionary association between female body size and fecundity, and this fecundity advantage was highest in explosively breeding species. Our data indicate that the fecundity advantage associated with female body size may not be linear, such that intermediate and large females benefit less with body size increases. Therefore, size-dependent selection in females associated with fecundity and breeding patterns is an important mechanism driving SSD evolution in frogs. Our study underscores the fact that lineage-specific ecology and behavior should be incorporated in comparative analyses of animal SSD.
Data from: Sexual dimorphism in epicuticular compounds despite similar sexual selection in sex role-reversed seed beetles
Sexual selection imposed by mating preferences is often implicated in the evolution of both sexual dimorphism and divergence between species in signalling traits. Epicuticular compounds (ECs) are important signalling traits in insects and show extensive variability among and within taxa. Here, we investigate whether variation in the multivariate EC profiles of two sex role-reversed beetle species, Megabruchidius dorsalis and Megabruchidius tonkineus, predicts mate attractiveness and mating success in males and females. The two species had highly distinct EC profiles and both showed significant sexual dimorphism in ECs. Age and mating status in both species were also distinguishable by EC profile. Males and females of both species showed significant association between their EC profile and attractiveness, measured both as latency to mating and as success in mate-choice trials. Remarkably, the major multivariate vector describing attractiveness was correlated in both species, both sexes, and in both choice and no-choice experiments such that increased attractiveness was in all cases associated with a similar multivariate modification of EC composition. Furthermore, in both sexes this vector of attractiveness was associated with more male-like EC profiles, as well as those characterizing younger and nonvirgin individuals, which might reflect a general preference for individuals of high condition in both sexes. Despite significant sexual selection on EC composition, however, we found no support for the proposition that sexual selection is responsible for divergence in ECs between these species.
Data from: Postmating sexual selection and the enigmatic jawed genitalia of Callosobruchus subinnotatus
Insect genitalia exhibit rapid divergent evolution. Truly extraordinary structures have evolved in some groups, presumably as a result of post-mating sexual selection. To increase our understanding of this phenomenon, we studied the function of one such structure. The male genitalia of Callosobruchus subinnotatus (Coleoptera: Bruchinae) contain a pair of jaw-like structures with unknown function. Here, we used phenotypic engineering to ablate the teeth on these jaws. We then experimentally assessed the effects of ablation of the genital jaws on mating duration, ejaculate weight, male fertilization success and female fecundity, using a double-mating experimental design. We predicted that copulatory wounding in females should be positively related to male fertilization success. However, we found no significant correlation between genital tract scarring in females and male fertilization success. Male fertilization success was, however, positively related to the amount of ejaculate transferred by males and negatively related to female ejaculate dumping. Ablation of male genital jaws did not affect male relative fertilization success but resulted in a reduction in female egg production. Our results suggest that postmating sexual selection in males indeed favors these genital jaws, but not primarily through an elevated relative success in sperm competition but by increasing female egg production.
Functional integration of multiple sexual ornaments: signal coherence and sexual selection
<p><span>The sexual ornamentation of animals typically consists of multiple distinct traits. The classical research approach focuses on differences among these traits, but this approach may often be misleading because of correlations among distinct sexual traits of similar origins. There are many published studies on the correlation structures of sexual traits, but the way receivers take into account the components of an integrated, multi-component trait system remains mostly unknown. Here we propose a general analytical framework to assess the possible sexual selection consequences of within-individual coherence in the expression of multiple correlated sexual traits. We then apply this framework to a long-term mutual plumage coloration data set from a wild bird population. The results suggest that the coherence of component plumage color traits is not sexually selected. However, component trait coherence affects sexual selection on integrated plumage color. When assessing across-spectrum plumage reflectance, receivers choosing mates apparently disregard a component trait if it is inconsistent with the overall expression of other components. This indicates that separately examining and manipulating distinct sexual traits may often be misleading. Theoretical and empirical studies should further explore the effects of coherence on the ornament-preference</span><span> co-evolution.</span></p>
Supplementary material 2 from: Gauthey Z, Tentelier C, Lepais O, Elosegi A, Royer L, Glise S, Labonne J (2017) With our powers combined: integrating behavioral and genetic data to estimate mating success and sexual selection. Rethinking Ecology 2: 1-26. https://doi.org/10.3897/rethinkingecology.2.14956
JAGS code for the model : Data type: Programming code.
Supplementary material 1 from: Gauthey Z, Tentelier C, Lepais O, Elosegi A, Royer L, Glise S, Labonne J (2017) With our powers combined: integrating behavioral and genetic data to estimate mating success and sexual selection. Rethinking Ecology 2: 1-26. https://doi.org/10.3897/rethinkingecology.2.14956
Data and model outputs : Data type: Body size, behavioural and genetic data, and model output.
Data from: Sex ratio and density affect sexual selection in a sex-role reversed fish
Understanding how demographic processes influence mating systems is important to decode ecological influences on sexual selection in nature. We manipulated sex ratio and density in experimental populations of the sex-role reversed pipefish Syngnathus typhle. We quantified sexual selection using the Bateman gradient (ß′ss), the opportunity for selection (I), and sexual selection (Is), and the maximum standardized sexual selection differential (s′max). We also measured selection on body length using standardized selection differentials (s′) and mating differentials (m′), and tested whether the observed I and Is differ from values obtained by simulating random mating. We found that I, Is, and s′max, but not ß′ss, were higher for females under female- than male-bias and the opposite for males, but density did not affect these measures. However, higher density decreased sexual selection (m′ but not s′) on female length, but selection on body length was not affected by sex ratio. Finally, Is but not I was higher than expected from random mating, and only for females under female bias. This study demonstrates that both sex ratio and density affect sexual selection and that disentangling interrelated demographic processes is essential to a more complete understanding of mating behavior and the evolution of mating systems.
Data from: Ageing via perception costs of reproduction magnifies sexual selection
Understanding what factors modulate sexual selection intensity is crucial to a wide variety of evolutionary processes. Recent studies show that perception of sex pheromones can severely impact male mortality when it is not followed by mating (perception costs of reproduction). Here, we examine the idea that this may magnify sexual selection by further decreasing the fitness of males with inherently low mating success, hence increasing the opportunity for sexual selection. We use mathematical modelling to show that even modest mortality perception costs can significantly increase variability in male reproductive success under a wide range of demographic conditions. We then conduct a series of assays suggesting that, in D. melanogaster, failure to reproduce early in life may, via perception costs of reproduction, significantly reduce the subsequent fitness of males (ca. 25%), due mostly to increased reproductive ageing. Altogether, our results strongly suggest that perception costs of reproduction can magnify sexual selection in a biologically significant way. Finally, we estimate that around 29% of available studies quantify sexual selection based on short-term fitness estimates that may fail to capture these effects (if they were present in their subject species), and suggest addressing the existence and impact of perception costs of reproduction across taxa should thus be a priority.
Data from: Crowd control: sex ratio affects sexually selected cuticular hydrocarbons in male Drosophila serrata
Although it is advantageous for males to express costly sexually selected signals when females are present, they may also benefit from suppressing these signals to avoid costly interactions with rival males. Cuticular chemical profiles frequently function as insect sexual signals; however, few studies have asked whether males alter these signals in response to their social environment. In Drosophila serrata, an Australian fly, there is sexual selection for a multivariate combination of male cuticular hydrocarbons (CHCs). Here, we show that the ratio of females to males that an adult male experiences has a strong effect on his CHC expression, with female-biased adult sex ratios eliciting greater expression of CHC profiles associated with higher male mating success. Classical models predict that male reproductive investment should be highest when there is a small but nonzero number of rivals, but we found that males expressed the most attractive combination of CHCs when there were no rivals. We found that male CHCs were highly sensitive to adult sex ratio, with males expressing higher values of CHC profiles associated with greater mating success as the ratio of females to males increased. Moreover, sex ratio has a stronger effect on male CHC expression than adult density. Finally, we explore whether sex ratio affects the variance among a group of males in their CHC expression, as might be expected if individuals respond differently to a given social environment, but find little effect. Our results reveal that subtle differences in social environment can induce plasticity in male chemical signal expression.
Data from: Sexual selection and population divergence II. divergence in different sexual traits and signal modalities in field crickets (Teleogryllus oceanicus)
Sexual selection can target many different types of traits. However, the relative influence of different sexually-selected traits during evolutionary divergence is poorly understood. We used the field cricket Teleogryllus oceanicus to quantify and compare how five traits from each of three sexual signal modalities and components diverge among allopatric populations: male advertisement song, cuticular hydrocarbon (CHC) profiles and forewing morphology. Population divergence was unexpectedly consistent: we estimated the among-population (genetic) variance-covariance matrix, D, for all 15 traits, and Dmax explained nearly two-thirds of its variation. CHC and wing traits were most tightly integrated, whereas song varied more independently. We modelled the dependence of among-population trait divergence on genetic distance estimated from neutral markers to test for signatures of selection vs. neutral divergence. For all three sexual trait types, phenotypic variation among populations was largely explained by a neutral model of divergence. Our findings illustrate how phenotypic integration across different types of sexual traits might impose constraints on the evolution of mating isolation and divergence via sexual selection.
Data from: Sexual selection on female ornaments in the sex-role-reversed Gulf pipefish (Syngnathus scovelli)
Understanding how selection acts on traits individually and in combination is an important step in deciphering the mechanisms driving evolutionary change, but for most species, and especially those in which sexual selection acts more strongly on females than on males, we have no estimates of selection coefficients pertaining to the multivariate sexually selected phenotype. Here, we use a laboratory-based mesocosm experiment to quantify pre- and post-mating selection on female secondary sexual traits in the Gulf pipefish (Syngnathus scovelli), a sexually dimorphic, sex-role-reversed species in which ornamented females compete for access to choosy males. We calculate selection differentials and gradients on female traits, including ornament area, ornament number and body size for three episodes of selection related to female reproductive success (number of mates, number of eggs transferred and number of surviving embryos). Selection is strong on both ornament area and ornament size, and the majority of selection occurs during the premating episode of selection. Interestingly, selection on female body size, which has been detected in previous studies of Gulf pipefish, appears to be indirect, as evidenced by a multivariate analysis of selection gradients. Our results show that sexual selection favours either many bands or larger bands in female Gulf pipefish.
Data from: Sexual selection is positively associated with ecological generalism among agamid lizards
Natural and sexual selection shape the evolution of species, but the interplay between them is poorly understood. Two phylogenetic studies on birds have suggested that species with greater sexual dichromatism use more habitats. Here, we show that in Agamid lizards, species with more elaborate secondary sexual traits also are ecologically more opportunistic. Species with greater dimorphism in head size and ornamentation have greater altitudinal range and occupy more habitats, respectively, and species with greater sexual dichromatism have a wider microhabitat use. Body size was positively associated with sexual and ecological traits but associations between ecological and sexual traits remained after accounting for body size. The results are consistent with the earlier studies and we suggest that sexual and natural selection may be linked through sexual selection promotes generalism at the population level by favouring 'good genes', or higher population densities cause both stronger sexual selection and broader resource use.
ScienceDex guides
Understand access before you commit
These curated guides explain access requirements, typical timelines, costs, and reuse considerations for widely used research datasets.
Allen Brain Atlas
Allen Brain Atlas is an Allen Institute collection of brain map atlases, datasets, APIs, and analysis tools covering mouse, human, and non-human primate brain resources.
Annotated Behaviour and Observability Dataset (ABODe)
ABODe is a University of Edinburgh DataShare dataset for behavior classification in group-housed mice using home-cage video, identities, bounding boxes, ground-plate positions, and annotator labels.
DANDI Archive for NWB datasets
DANDI is a BRAIN Initiative archive for publishing and sharing neurophysiology data, including electrophysiology, optophysiology, and behavioral data packaged as NWB and related standards.
International Brain Laboratory public data
The International Brain Laboratory public data releases expose standardized mouse decision-making experiments, including Neuropixels recordings, widefield calcium imaging, behavior, and session metadata accessed through the ONE API.
OpenNeuro
OpenNeuro is a free, open platform for sharing neuroimaging datasets, with public search, dataset pages, and download paths for web, S3, DataLad, and the OpenNeuro CLI.