Sexual selection is an important and well-studied topic and is central to many theories on mate selection and individual behavior. Relatively little is known about the impacts that human-induced rapid environmental change are having on secondary sexually selected characteristics. In particular, we lack a clear understanding of the effects of the introduction of once-limiting nutrients to wild populations. Honest signals function as an indicator of mate quality when there are differences in nutrient acquisition and allocation to secondary traits. We used the cabbage white butterfly, Pieris rapae (L.), to investigate differences in color and testes size as an index of reproductive potential. We collected individuals from four sites in California and Nevada to capture variation among areas with high and low cropland and potential nitrogen availability. Differences in mean testes size among sites raise the possibility that individuals from sites surrounded by high agricultural areas have smaller testes than individuals from less agriculturally-developed areas. Coloration variables and testes size were positively associated, consistent with the hypothesis that nitrogen-based coloration in the cabbage white is an honest mating signal. However, variation among sites in that relationship suggests complexities that need further exploration, including the possibility that the signal is not of equal value in all populations. Thus these results advance our understanding of complex relationships among human-induced environmental change and sexual selection in the wild.
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