A functional perspective on sexual selection: insights and future prospects

Lailvaux, Simon P.; Irschick, Duncan J.

doi:10.1016/j.anbehav.2006.02.003

Cited by 204 publications

(223 citation statements)

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“…any measure of an organism conducting a dynamic, ecologically relevant task such as jumping, running or biting, as defined in earlier studies [11,12]) as important determinants of male combat outcomes [13 -15]. Specific performance traits are not only key predictors of the likelihood of victory in escalated, physical combat, but are also often positively correlated, independent of body size, with sexual signal expression in several taxa, including some beetles and lizards (reviewed in [12]). Because performance capacities are themselves supported by a variety of physiological and metabolic pathways that need to be sustained during escalated male combat [16 -19], they may impose significant developmental and maintenance costs on the bearer.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Recent studies have focused especially on whole-organism performance abilities (i.e. any measure of an organism conducting a dynamic, ecologically relevant task such as jumping, running or biting, as defined in earlier studies [11,12]) as important determinants of male combat outcomes [13 -15]. Specific performance traits are not only key predictors of the likelihood of victory in escalated, physical combat, but are also often positively correlated, independent of body size, with sexual signal expression in several taxa, including some beetles and lizards (reviewed in [12]).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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A performance-based cost to honest signalling in male green anole lizards (Anolis carolinensis)

2012

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Sexual signals are considered costly to produce and maintain under the handicap paradigm, and the reliability of signals is in turn thought to be maintained by these costs. Although previous studies have investigated the costly nature of signal production, few have considered whether honesty might be maintained not by the costliness of the signal itself, but by the costs involved in producing the signalled trait. If such a trait is itself costly to produce, then the burden of energetic investment may fall disproportionately on that trait, in addition to any costs of signal maintenance that may also be operating. Under limited resource conditions, these costs may therefore be great enough to disrupt an otherwise reliable signal-to-trait relationship. We present experimental evidence showing that dietary restriction decouples the otherwise honest relationship between a signal (dewlap size) and a whole-organism performance trait (bite force) in young adult male Anolis carolinensis lizards. Specifically, while investment in dewlap size is sustained under low-resource condition relative to the high-resource treatment, investment in bite force is substantially lower. Disruption of the otherwise honest dewlap size to bite force relationship is therefore driven by costs associated with the expression of performance rather than the costs of signal production in A. carolinensis .

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A performance-based cost to honest signalling in male green anole lizards (Anolis carolinensis)

2012

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“…The presumed benefit for possessing greater wing areas, and thus the compensatory mechanism, is the ability to maintain good flight performance despite the potential negative impacts of exaggerated eye-stalks (Husak et al, 2011a). However, it is unclear whether such compensatory mechanisms are widespread among other organisms that possess exaggerated sexually selected structures, or whether such mechanisms only act on traits selected for by females rather than via male-male fighting ability (Lailvaux and Irschick, 2006).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, few studies have actually quantified these costs of performance and associated them with compensatory traits using intraspecific comparisons between the sexes. Even more limited are studies that investigate if such compensatory mechanisms are comparable in organisms that possess exaggerated sexually selected weaponry due to male-male competition, or whether such mechanisms only act on traits selected for by females (Lailvaux and Irschick, 2006).…”

Section: Sexual Selection and Performancementioning

confidence: 99%

“…The viability costs of exaggerated traits are expected to occur via increases in development and maintenance costs and/or compromised survival (Moller and Hedenstrom, 1999;Lopez and Martin, 2002;Oufiero and Garland, 2007;Husak et al, 2011a;Husak and Swallow, 2011). One of the more intuitive viability costs for bearing enlarged sexually selected traits is increased predation risk due to either greater conspicuousness or decreased locomotor performance (Lailvaux and Irschick, 2006;Oufiero and Garland, 2007;Husak and Swallow, 2011). This is because sexual selection may exaggerate such traits beyond the optimum phenotype with respect to biomechanical and/or physiological function, therefore imposing a cost of reduced locomotor performance (Oufiero and Garland, 2007).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Sex-specific variation in morphology and performance in the Asian house gecko

Cameron¹

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Ever since Darwin's theory of sexual selection was first published, understanding the evolutionary mechanisms that lead to sex-specific traits and quantifying patterns therein has been a large focus of evolutionary ecologists. Sexual variation in phenotypes in form and function is ubiquitous in nature, and its extent varies widely, within closely related groups and even species. Understanding patterns and the circumstances under which sexually divergent phenotypes evolve requires an understanding of both the proximate and evolutionary mechanisms involved. While studies have primarily focused on sex-specific morphological traits such as size and secondary trait dimorphism, less attention has been given to the functional differences between the sexes. From an evolutionary perspective, sexspecific traits result from many factors that act differentially on each sex, modifying phenotypic and behavioural components that influence the capacity of fulfilling reproductive roles. Therefore, sexual selection alone does not define the magnitude of phenotypic divergence between the sexes, but it is rather the interplay between sexual and natural selection and their interactions with the environment. Intraspecific studies investigating associations between form and function of sexspecific traits provide a useful tool to understand the fundamental mechanisms that lead to the evolution of complex traits in males and females. The overall aim of this thesis was to gain a better understanding of the evolutionary mechanisms that drive patterns in sex-specific phenotypes, using a territorial gecko species (Hemidactylus frenatus) distributed over a large latitudinal cline.The first aim of this thesis was to examine the potential trade-offs between performance functions associated with reproductive success and to test whether compensatory mechanisms may obscure the detection of such costs (Chapter 2). Fighting capacity and escape performance of male H. frenatus are likely to pose conflicting demands on the optimum phenotype for each task. Highly territorial and aggressive males may require greater investment in head size/strength but such an enhancement may reduce overall escape performance. To test this idea, the second aim (also in Chapter 2) was to determine the role of morphological and functional traits in determining the outcome of male-male combat (reproductive success) and prey-capture ability (survivorship).Among male geckos, I found that larger head size resulted in greater biting capacity, but at a cost of reduced spring performance. Females, however, showed no evidence of this trade-off. The sex specificity of this trade-off suggests that the sexes differ in their optimal strategies for dealing with the conflicting requirements of bite force and sprint speed. Unlike males, female H. frenatus had a positive association between hind-limb length and head size, suggesting that they have utilised a compensatory mechanism to alleviate the possible locomotor costs of larger head sizes. It appears that there is greater sel...

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