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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.
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Assessing Differences in Sperm Competitive Ability in Drosophila
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Evolutionary Trade-Off between Secondary Sexual Traits and Ejaculates.

Leigh W Simmons1, Stefan Lüpold2, John L Fitzpatrick3

  • 1Centre for Evolutionary Biology, School of Biological Sciences (M092), The University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley 6009, Australia.

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Summary

Male trait evolution, including weapons and ornaments, is linked to ejaculate expenditure. Incorporating life-history and ecological factors reveals complex interactions between sexual selection phases, influencing diversification patterns.

Keywords:
life-historymale contest competitionsperm competitiontestis sizetrade-off

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Area of Science:

  • Evolutionary biology
  • Sexual selection
  • Animal behavior

Background:

  • Theoretical models predict trade-offs between male secondary sexual traits (weapons, ornaments) and ejaculate expenditure due to pre-mating sexual selection.
  • Empirical evidence for these trade-offs is often inconsistent, suggesting other factors are involved.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the reasons for inconsistencies in the predicted associations between secondary sexual traits and ejaculate expenditure.
  • To explore the role of additional variables in understanding the diversification of male traits.

Main Methods:

  • Review and synthesis of existing theoretical and empirical studies on sexual selection and ejaculate expenditure.
  • Conceptual integration of life-history, ecological, and mating-system variables into models of sexual selection.

Main Results:

  • Inconsistencies in trait-ejaculate expenditure associations arise from overlooking crucial life-history, ecological, and mating-system variables.
  • Interactions between pre-mating and post-mating sexual selection, influenced by these additional factors, can explain broad patterns of diversification in male weapons and ornaments.

Conclusions:

  • A comprehensive understanding of male trait evolution requires integrating multiple ecological and life-history factors.
  • Future research should employ experimental and genetic approaches to uncover specific trade-offs and consider the costs of mate-searching.