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Experimental Manipulation of Body Size to Estimate Morphological Scaling Relationships in Drosophila

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Published on: October 1, 2011

Intralocus sexual conflict over human height.

Gert Stulp¹, Bram Kuijper, Abraham P Buunk

¹Department of Psychology, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands. g.stulp@rug.nl

Biology Letters

|August 10, 2012

Summary

Intralocus sexual conflict (IASC) over human height impacts reproductive success. Shorter women and average-height men have differing fitness optima, demonstrating IASC in sibling pairs.

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Area of Science:

Evolutionary biology
Human genetics
Reproductive science

Background:

Intralocus sexual conflict (IASC) arises when selection on a trait in one sex impedes the other sex's optimal fitness.
Human height exhibits differing selection pressures between sexes, with average height favored in males and shorter stature in females for reproductive success.
High heritability of height suggests IASC is probable in humans.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate evidence of intralocus sexual conflict over human height.
To analyze the relationship between sibling height and reproductive success.

Main Methods:

Utilized data from sibling pairs within the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study.
Compared reproductive success (number of children) between brothers and sisters in relation to their relative height within pairs.

Main Results:

In shorter sibling pairs, sisters achieved relatively greater reproductive success than brothers.
In average-height sibling pairs, brothers achieved relatively greater reproductive success than sisters.

Conclusions:

Demonstrated intralocus sexual conflict over human height, a heritable and sexually dimorphic trait.
Showcased the impact of IASC on Darwinian fitness in a contemporary human population.