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Related Concept Videos

Mate Choice

Mate Choice

Mate choice—the decision about whom to mate with—is a type of natural selection, since animals must reproduce to pass down their genes. Mate choice is also called intersexual selection because the behavior occurs between the sexes.

Natural Selection and Mating Preferences

Natural Selection and Mating Preferences

The principle of natural selection posits that organisms better adapted to their environment are more likely to survive and reproduce. This principle is closely intertwined with mating preferences, a key aspect of sexual selection, which evolutionary psychologists believe is driven by instincts to propagate one's genes. Such instincts significantly influence mating behaviors and preferences between genders.
Females, due to their biological roles in conception, pregnancy, and nursing, inherently...

Types of Selection

Types of Selection

Natural selection influences the frequencies of particular alleles and phenotypes within populations in several different ways. Primarily, natural selection can be directional, stabilizing, or disruptive. Directional selection favors one extreme trait and shifts the population towards that phenotype while selecting against individuals displaying alternate traits. Stabilizing selection favors an intermediate trait with a narrow range of variation. Deviation from the optimal phenotype towards an...

Understanding Species and Reproductive Barriers

Understanding Species and Reproductive Barriers

A species is a group of organisms that interbreed and produce fertile offspring. Typically, individuals of the same species appear similar and share common characteristics due to their highly similar genomes. However, not all organisms that look alike are members of the same species. Various mechanisms keep most species discrete. While some mechanisms prevent reproductive behavior and fertilization (pre-zygotic isolation), others prevent the production of fertile offspring after mating has...

Frequency-dependent Selection

Frequency-dependent Selection

When the fitness of a trait is influenced by how common it is (i.e., its frequency) relative to different traits within a population, this is referred to as frequency-dependent selection. Frequency-dependent selection may occur between species or within a single species. This type of selection can either be positive—with more common phenotypes having higher fitness—or negative, with rarer phenotypes conferring increased fitness.Positive Frequency-Dependent SelectionIn positive...

Limits to Natural Selection

Limits to Natural Selection

Organisms that are well-adapted to their environment are more likely to survive and reproduce. However, natural selection does not lead to perfectly adapted organisms. Several factors constrain natural selection.For one, natural selection can only act upon existing genetic variation. Hypothetically, redtusks may enhance elephant survival by deterring ivory-seeking poachers. However, if there are no gene variants—or alleles—for redtusks, natural selection cannot increase the prevalence of...

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jul 13, 2026

Avian Semen Collection by Cloacal Massage and Isolation of DNA from Sperm

Avian Semen Collection by Cloacal Massage and Isolation of DNA from Sperm

Published on: February 5, 2018

Post-insemination sexual selection in birds.

Tommaso Pizzari¹

¹Edward Grey Institute of Ornithology, Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford OX 1 3PS, UK. tommaso.pizzari@zoology.oxford.ac.uk

Society of Reproduction and Fertility Supplement

|July 25, 2007

Summary

In birds, females often mate with multiple males, leading to sperm competition and cryptic female choice. Understanding these post-insemination sexual selection mechanisms requires studying both male and female strategies.

Area of Science:

Avian reproductive biology
Evolutionary biology
Sexual selection

Background:

Many avian species exhibit polyandry, where females mate with multiple males per reproductive event.
This scenario facilitates post-insemination sexual selection via sperm competition and cryptic female choice.
Birds are increasingly used as model systems to study these selection mechanisms, integrating poultry techniques and molecular tools.

Purpose of the Study:

To outline avian sperm competition mechanisms.
To introduce methodologies for studying post-insemination sexual selection in birds.
To review male strategic sperm allocation and discuss female cryptic choice mechanisms.

Main Methods:

Utilizing poultry techniques and molecular tools in domestic model species.

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Last Updated: Jul 13, 2026

Avian Semen Collection by Cloacal Massage and Isolation of DNA from Sperm

Avian Semen Collection by Cloacal Massage and Isolation of DNA from Sperm

Published on: February 5, 2018

Who is Who? Non-invasive Methods to Individually Sex and Mark Altricial Chicks

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Published on: May 24, 2014

Visually Sexing Loggerhead Shrike (Lanius Ludovicianus) Using Plumage Coloration and Pattern

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Published on: March 8, 2020

Investigating behavioral and physiological mechanisms of sperm utilization.

Verifying mechanisms and testing adaptive significance in natural populations.

Main Results:

Post-insemination paternity variation in birds results from complex male and female differential sperm utilization strategies.
Evidence for multiple mechanisms of strategic sperm allocation by males has been reviewed.
Mechanisms of cryptic female choice in avian reproduction were discussed.

Conclusions:

A comprehensive understanding of avian post-insemination sexual selection necessitates a dual approach.
This approach combines detailed study in domestic models with verification in natural populations.
Investigating both male and female strategies is crucial for elucidating paternity determination.