Sexual reproduction is the dominant reproductive strategy in the animal kingdom allowing for rapid adaptation to both abiotic and biotic selective pressures (Butlin, 2002;Lehtonen et al., 2012). Pathogens are the main biotic drivers of evolution by forcing hosts to constantly adapt to the peril of infection and can benefit sexual over asexual reproduction (Bell, 1982;Hamilton, 1980;Jaenike, 1978;Morran et al., 2011). In addition to selection as a result of direct effects (changed survival and/or reproductive output), pathogens may interfere with mating systems in many other ways, for instance by influencing sexual characteristics such as chemical cues, behaviour and courtship. Such interferences have been recorded for a range of species showing that frogs, mice, flies and humans are less likely to mate with infected conspecifics (Kavaliers & Choleris, 2018;Kiesecker et al., 1999). Furthermore, physiological, molecular and genetic