Sexual selection in the northern pintail ( Anas acuta ): the importance of female choice versus male-male competition in the evolution of sexually-selected traits

1994 ◽  
Vol 35 (6) ◽  
pp. 389-400 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. G. Sorenson ◽  
Scott R. Derrickson
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Selection ◽  
Female Choice ◽  
Male Competition ◽  
Anas Acuta ◽  
Northern Pintail ◽  
Sexually Selected Traits ◽  
Selected Traits

scholarly journals Female × male and male × male interactions have limited influence on competitive fertilization inDrosophila melanogaster

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stefan Lüpold ◽  
Jonathan Bradley Reil ◽  
Mollie K. Manier ◽  
Valérian Zeender ◽  
John M. Belote ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Selection ◽  
Sperm Competition ◽  
Female Choice ◽  
Sperm Storage ◽  
Sperm Transfer ◽  
Cryptic Female Choice ◽  
Complex Interactions ◽  
Sexually Selected Traits ◽  
Selected Traits ◽  
Reproductive Events

AbstractHow males and females contribute to joint reproductive success has been a long-standing question in sexual selection. Under postcopulatory sexual selection (PSS), paternity success is predicted to derive from complex interactions among females engaging in cryptic female choice and males engaging in sperm competition. Such interactions have been identified as potential sources of genetic variation in sexually selected traits but are also expected to inhibit trait diversification. To date, studies of interactions between females and competing males have focused almost exclusively on genotypes and not phenotypic variation in sexually selected traits. Here, we characterize within- and between-sex interactions inDrosophila melanogasterusing isogenic lines with heritable variation in both male and female traits known to influence competitive fertilization. We found surprisingly few genotypic interaction effects on various stages of PSS such as female remating interval, copulation duration, sperm transfer, or sperm storage. Only the timing of female sperm ejection depended on female × male genotypic interactions. By contrast, several reproductive events, including sperm transfer, female sperm ejection and sperm storage, were explained by two- and three-way interactions among sex-specific phenotypes. We also documented complex interactions between the lengths of competing males’ sperm and the female seminal receptacle, which are known to have experienced rapid female-male co-diversification. Our results highlight the non-independence of sperm competition and cryptic female choice and demonstrate that complex interactions between the sexes do not limit the ability of multivariate systems to respond to directional sexual selection.Significance statementFor species with internal fertilization and female promiscuity, postcopulatory sexual selection (PSS) is believed to depend, in part, on complex interactions between rival males and between the sexes. Although little investigated, clarifying such interactions is critical as they may limit the efficacy of PSS in the diversification of reproductive traits (e.g., ejaculate biochemistry and sperm, genitalia and female reproductive tract morphology). Here, we resolve how sex-specific traits and their interactions contribute to key reproductive events and outcomes related to competitive fertilization success, including traits known to have experienced rapid diversification. Our results provide novel insights into the operation and complexity of PSS and demonstrate that the processes of sperm competition and cryptic female choice are not independent selective forces.

scholarly journals Sexual Selection on male cuticular hydrocarbons via male–male competition and female choice

2016 ◽  
Vol 29 (7) ◽  
pp. 1346-1355 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. M. Lane ◽  
A. W. Dickinson ◽  
T. Tregenza ◽  
C. M. House
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Selection ◽  
Cuticular Hydrocarbons ◽  
Female Choice ◽  
Male Competition

Preferential Sex Linkage of Sexually Selected Genes: Evidence and a New Explanation

2004 ◽  
Author(s):  
Klaus Reinhold
Keyword(s):  
Natural Selection ◽  
X Chromosome ◽  
Female Choice ◽  
Sex Linkage ◽  
Fluctuating Selection ◽  
X Linkage ◽  
Sexually Selected Traits ◽  
Selected Traits

This chapter discusses evidence and theory on sex chromosomal linkage of sexually selected traits that may be the key to a functional separation of sexual and natural selection. It reviews the evidence showing that the X chromosome has a disproportional share concerning the inheritance of sexually selected traits in animals with heterogametic males, and suggests a new explanation that relates this X bias with female choice of heterozygotic males. With numeric simulations, it shows that female choice of heterozygotic males is usually disadvantageous. Because this disadvantage cannot occur when females prefer X-linked male traits, preferential X linkage of sexually selected traits can be expected. As an alternative to fluctuating selection on sex-limited traits, the disadvantage of heterozygotic choice may thus explain the X bias observed for sexually selected traits.

Urban Sexual Selection

2020 ◽  
pp. 234-252
Author(s):  
Tuul Sepp ◽  
Kevin J. McGraw ◽  
Mathieu Giraudeau
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Selection ◽  
Urban Environments ◽  
Wild Animal ◽  
Selection Pressures ◽  
Sexually Selected Traits ◽  
Chemical Signalling ◽  
Animal Populations ◽  
Challenges And Opportunities ◽  
Microevolutionary Change ◽  
Selected Traits

Human-modified habitats can present both challenges and opportunities for wild animals. Changes in the environment caused by urbanization can affect who survives and reproduces in wild animal populations. Accordingly, we can expect that changes in sexual selection pressures may occur in response to urbanization. Changes in sexually selected traits like bird song and colouration have been one of the main thrusts of urban ecology in recent decades. However, studies to date have focused on describing changes in sexual phenotypes in response to urban environmental change, and knowledge about genetic/microevolutionary change is lacking. Also, while some signalling modalities have been well studied and linked to human activities (e.g., changes in auditory signals in response to anthropogenic noise), others have received comparatively less attention in this context (e.g., effects of air pollution on chemical signalling). In addition, the focus has been mainly on the signal sender, instead of the signal receiver, thereby missing an important side of sexual selection. This chapter reviews the evidence that sexual selection pressures and sexually selected traits have been impacted by urban environments, with attention to the potential for rapid adaptive and plastic shifts in traits of signallers and receivers. It explores the possibilities that urbanization causes evolutionary change and speciation in wild animal populations through sexual selection. Finally, it provides new ideas for future studies to explore these questions and especially the evolution of female preferences in urban environments.

The causes and consequences of ornament variation in a natural population

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Annabel Ralph ◽  
Terry Burke ◽  
Shinichi Nakagawa ◽  
Alfredo Sánchez-Tójar ◽  
Julia Schroeder
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Selection ◽  
Evolutionary Biology ◽  
Natural Populations ◽  
Size Variation ◽  
Evolutionary Potential ◽  
House Sparrows ◽  
Sexually Selected Traits ◽  
Evolutionary Response ◽  
Significant Heritability ◽  
Selected Traits

The role of sexual selection in natural populations has long been the subject of debate in evolutionary biology. Ornaments are sexually selected traits, which means they should vary within a population, have a genetic basis, and be associated with fitness. Despite evidence of ornaments meeting these criteria, evolutionary responses to sexual selection are rare in nature. This study focuses on two ornaments in a population of house sparrows; the plumage badge has been well-studied but remains poorly understood and the mask has been largely neglected in the literature. Using quantitative genetic techniques, we estimate the heritability of both traits and test for age-dependency of the heritability estimates. We also estimate the strength and direction of any selection acting upon the traits. We found that both ornaments have low, significant heritability, which does not vary with age. Selection only occurs in a small number of years, although when it does it is positive in both ornaments. We also found that early social environment plays a role in badge size variation. The results of this study suggest that an evolutionary response in the ornaments of this population is unlikely, but we highlight the importance of long-term research to improve our understanding of evolution in natural populations. Studies like these will add to our understanding of sexual selection, the causes of trait variation and the evolutionary potential of traits, which could help us to predict how populations will evolve.

scholarly journals Migration strategy and divergent sexual selection on bird song

2008 ◽  
Vol 276 (1656) ◽  
pp. 585-590 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah A Collins ◽  
Selvino R de Kort ◽  
Javier Pérez-Tris ◽  
José Luis Tellería
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Selection ◽  
Female Choice ◽  
Selection Pressure ◽  
Migratory Birds ◽  
Male Competition ◽  
Migration Strategy ◽  
Migration Patterns ◽  
Complex Song ◽  
Males And Females ◽  
First Time

Migratory birds are assumed to be under stronger sexual selection pressure than sedentary populations, and the fact that their song is more complex has been taken as confirmation of this fact. However, this assumes that sexual selection pressure due to both male competition and female choice increase together. A further issue is that, in many species, songs become less complex during competitive encounters; in contrast, female choice selects for more complex song, so the two selection pressures may drive song evolution in different directions. We analysed song in two sedentary and two migratory populations of blackcaps ( Sylvia atricapilla ), a species in which different song parts are directed to males and females. We found that migratory populations produce longer, female-directed warbles, indicating sexual selection through female choice is the strongest in these populations. However, the part of the song directed towards males is shorter and more repetitive (as observed in individual competitive encounters between males) in non-migratory populations, indicating sedentary populations, are under stronger selection due to male competition. We show for the first time that the intensity of selection pressure from male competition and female choice varies independently between populations with different migratory behaviours. Rapid alterations in the migration patterns of species are thus likely to lead to unexpected consequences for the costs and benefits of sexual signals.

scholarly journals Sexually selected skin colour is heritable and related to fecundity in a non-human primate

2014 ◽  
Vol 281 (1794) ◽  
pp. 20141602 ◽  
Author(s):  
Constance Dubuc ◽  
Sandra Winters ◽  
William L. Allen ◽  
Lauren J. N. Brent ◽  
Julie Cascio ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Selection ◽  
Individual Variation ◽  
Balancing Selection ◽  
Rhesus Macaques ◽  
Reproductive Rate ◽  
Condition Dependence ◽  
Selection Gradients ◽  
Sexually Selected Traits ◽  
Skin Redness ◽  
Selected Traits

Sexual selection promotes the prevalence of heritable traits that increase an individual's reproductive rate. Despite theoretically strong directional selection, sexually selected traits can show inter-individual variation. Here, we investigate whether red skin ornamentation, a rare example of a male mammalian trait involved in mate attraction, influences fecundity and is heritable in rhesus macaques ( Macaca mulatta ), and explore the mechanisms that are involved in maintaining trait variation. Interestingly, the trait is expressed by and is attractive to both sexes. We collected facial images of 266 free-ranging individuals and modelled skin redness and darkness to rhesus macaque vision. We used 20 years of genetic parentage data to calculate selection gradients on the trait and perform heritability analyses. Results show that males who were both darkly coloured and high-ranking enjoyed higher fecundity. Female skin redness was positively linked to fecundity, although it remains unclear whether this influences male selectiveness. Heritability explained 10–15% of the variation in redness and darkness, and up to 30% for skin darkness when sexes are considered separately, suggesting sex-influenced inheritance. Our results suggest that inter-individual variation is maintained through condition-dependence, with an added effect of balancing selection on male skin darkness, providing rare evidence for a mammalian trait selected through inter-sexual selection.

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