Sexual selection, the division of labor, and the evolution of sex differences

1998 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 444-447 ◽  
Author(s):  
David C. Geary
Keyword(s):  
Sex Differences ◽  
Sexual Selection ◽  
Sex Ratio ◽  
Division Of Labor ◽  
Operational Sex Ratio ◽  
Female Competition ◽  
Human Populations ◽  
Human Sex Differences ◽  
Male Choice ◽  
Relative Contribution

Sexual selection traditionally involves male-male competition and female choice, but in some species, including humans, sexual selection can also involve female-female competition and male choice. The degree to which one aspect of sexual selection or another is manifest in human populations will be influenced by a host of social and ecological variables, including the operational sex ratio. These variables are discussed in connection with the relative contribution of sexual selection and the division of labor to the evolution of human sex differences.

Male Choice, Female Competition, and Female Ornaments in Sexual Selection

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ingo Schlupp
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Selection ◽  
Mate Choice ◽  
Sex Ratio ◽  
Female Competition ◽  
Male Mate Choice ◽  
Male Choice ◽  
Female Quality ◽  
Female Ornaments ◽  
Sexual Selection Theory ◽  
Male Mate

When Darwin first proposed sexual selection theory he suggested two mechanisms: competition among males and choice by females. There is no doubt that these mechanisms are immensely important, but their mirror images have been largely underappreciated so far. In fact, males choose as well and females compete. Males choose based on female quality, often selecting mating partners that are more fecund. But male choice is also associated with changes in the sex ratio of a population and males can be choosy when they are rare. Furthermore, males sometimes invest heavily into reproduction and that too can be associated with male choice. That females compete with another, although less often with open aggression, is another understudied phenomenon. Finally, we now know that females are often ornamented, but are these ornaments under sexual selection by males? This book tries to review what we know and point to what we don’t know while pointing out the connections between male mate choice and female competition for a more complete view of sexual selection.

Sex differences may indeed exist for 3-D navigational abilities: But was sexual selection responsible?

1998 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 443-444 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Frost
Keyword(s):  
Sex Differences ◽  
Sexual Selection ◽  
Sex Ratio ◽  
Mortality Rates ◽  
Operational Sex Ratio ◽  
Hunter Gatherers ◽  
Selection Of

Polygyny does not necessarily entail sexual selection of men. All factors that affect the operational sex ratio must be considered. Data from contemporary hunter-gatherers indicate higher mortality rates in men than in women, and lost female reproductive time. If sexual selection did occur in ancestral hunter-gatherers, it was probably men selecting women and not women selecting men.

scholarly journals Operational sex ratio and density predict the potential for sexual selection in the broad-horned beetle

2019 ◽  
Vol 152 ◽  
pp. 63-69 ◽  
Author(s):  
Clarissa M. House ◽  
James Rapkin ◽  
John Hunt ◽  
David J. Hosken
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Selection ◽  
Sex Ratio ◽  
Operational Sex Ratio ◽  
Horned Beetle

Conclusion

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gregory L. Carter ◽  
Maryanne L. Fisher
Keyword(s):  
Sex Ratio ◽  
Operational Sex Ratio ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Female Competition ◽  
Mate Poaching ◽  
Attitudes And Behaviors ◽  
Theoretical Perspectives ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Mate Copying

This handbook has presented a wide range of theoretical perspectives on the motivations, attitudes, and behaviors involved in female competition. Using a metatheoretical framework, the contributors have examined how, when, and why women compete. This conclusion articulates the book’s main themes, beginning with evidence regarding women as active, competitive individuals and the value of mating information, addressing topics such as women’s competitive choices regarding mate copying, mate poaching, and mate retention. It then considers the role of intrasexual aggression in adolescence in relation to dating and reproduction, the importance of Operational Sex Ratio (OSR) to female competition, the concept of cooperative mothering or allomothering, and infanticide. It also discusses women as competitors in both traditional and novel social arenas as well as the role of women’s physiology in their competitive behaviors. Finally, it suggests directions for future research on topics that warrant further scrutiny.

The effect of operational sex ratio on the opportunity for sexual selection: a meta-analysis

2013 ◽  
Vol 86 (4) ◽  
pp. 675-683 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rafael Rios Moura ◽  
Paulo Enrique Cardoso Peixoto
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Selection ◽  
Sex Ratio ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Operational Sex Ratio

Refining the sexual selection explanation within an ethological framework

2009 ◽  
Vol 32 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 292-311 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Archer
Keyword(s):  
Sex Differences ◽  
Sexual Selection ◽  
Partner Violence ◽  
Uncertainty Theory ◽  
Role Theory ◽  
Social Role ◽  
Explanatory Power ◽  
Human Sex Differences ◽  
Paternity Uncertainty ◽  
Target Article

AbstractMy response is organized into three sections. The first revisits the theme of the target article, the explanatory power of sexual selection versus social role theory. The second considers the range and scope of sexual selection, and its application to human sex differences. Two topics are examined in more detail: (1) the paternity uncertainty theory of partner violence; (2) evolution of inter-group aggression. Section 4 covers ultimate and proximal explanations and their integration within an ethological approach. I consider the development of sex differences in aggression, and their causal mechanisms, within this framework.

scholarly journals Reproductive competition and sexual selection

2017 ◽  
Vol 372 (1729) ◽  
pp. 20160310 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tim Clutton-Brock
Keyword(s):  
Sex Differences ◽  
Sexual Selection ◽  
Operational Sex Ratio ◽  
Reproductive Decisions ◽  
Comprehensive Understanding ◽  
Reproductive Competition ◽  
Selection Gradients ◽  
Secondary Sexual Characters ◽  
Animal Societies ◽  
Secondary Sexual

This paper traces the development of our understanding of the development of different approaches to estimating the strength of reproductive competition and sexual selection in the two sexes, based on measures of the operational sex ratio, the opportunity for sexual selection and contrasts in selection gradients between the sexes. It argues that different approaches provide complementary insights into the causes of sex differences in reproductive competition, the operation of sexual selection and the evolution of secondary sexual characters and that improvements in our understanding of the evolution of secondary sexual characters will require a more comprehensive understanding of the ways in which social and ecological conditions modify reproductive competition and development in females and males. This article is part of the themed issue ‘Adult sex ratios and reproductive decisions: a critical re-examination of sex differences in human and animal societies’.

Sociosexuality and sex ratio: Sex differences and local markets

2005 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
pp. 288-288
Author(s):  
John Lazarus
Keyword(s):  
Sex Differences ◽  
Sex Ratio ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Psychological Effects ◽  
Operational Sex Ratio ◽  
Know How ◽  
Males And Females ◽  
Mating Market ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Ratio Measure

Operational sex ratio (OSR) is the correct sex ratio measure for predicting sociosexuality, but it is unclear whether this is the measure used. It would be valuable to know how OSR and sociosexuality correlate separately for males and females. The relationship between sociosexuality and OSR should also be examined with OSR measured at the local level of the mating market, where sex ratio must be having its psychological effects.

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