Sexual selection predicts the persistence of populations within altered environments

Area of Science:

• Ecology
• Evolutionary Biology
• Conservation Biology

Background:

• The impact of sexual selection on species persistence is debated, with potential costs (ornaments) and benefits (allele selection).
• Environmental disturbance, such as habitat alteration, poses challenges to species survival and community stability.

Discussion:

• This study examined sexual selection's role in dung beetle persistence across a disturbance gradient from forests to oil palm plantations.
• Horn size and presence, indicators of pre-copulatory sexual selection, positively correlated with species persistence and abundance in disturbed habitats.
• Testes mass, a proxy for post-copulatory sexual selection, showed a negative association with species abundance in highly disturbed areas.

Key Insights:

• Pre-copulatory sexual selection, exemplified by male horns, can enhance species persistence and abundance, even in human-altered ecosystems.
• The benefits of pre-copulatory sexual selection may outweigh the costs associated with elaborate traits in challenging environments.
• Post-copulatory sexual selection may not confer the same advantages and could even be detrimental to species abundance under high disturbance.

Outlook:

• Further research should explore the genetic mechanisms underlying the adaptive benefits of pre-copulatory sexual selection in changing environments.
• Investigating the interplay between sexual selection and other evolutionary pressures, like natural selection and gene flow, is crucial.
• Understanding these dynamics can inform conservation strategies for species facing increasing anthropogenic pressures.