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Related Concept Videos

Mate Choice01:20

Mate Choice

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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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Natural Selection and Mating Preferences01:06

Natural Selection and Mating Preferences

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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,...
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Types of Selection01:46

Types of Selection

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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...
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Testing a Claim about Population Proportion01:24

Testing a Claim about Population Proportion

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A complete procedure for testing a claim about a population proportion is provided here.
There are two methods of testing a claim about a population proportion: (1) Using the sample proportion from the data where a binomial distribution is approximated to the normal distribution and (2) Using the binomial probabilities calculated from the data.
The first method uses normal distribution as an approximation to the binomial distribution. The requirements are as follows: sample size is large...
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The Y Chromosome Determines Maleness02:19

The Y Chromosome Determines Maleness

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The Y chromosome is a sex chromosome found in several vertebrates and mammals, including humans. In addition to 22 pairs of autosomes, the human males have one X chromosome and one Y chromosome. In these organisms, the presence or absence of the Y chromosome determines the development of male traits.
Evolution
Around 300 million years ago, the two sex chromosomes diverged from two identical autosomal chromosomes. Over time, the Y chromosome has lost most of its genes, shrinking in size....
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X-linked Traits01:19

X-linked Traits

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In most mammalian species, females have two X sex chromosomes and males have an X and Y. As a result, mutations on the X chromosome in females may be masked by the presence of a normal allele on the second X. In contrast, a mutation on the X chromosome in males more often causes observable biological defects, as there is no normal X to compensate. Trait variations arising from mutations on the X chromosome are called “X-linked”.
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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Oct 13, 2025

Assessing Differences in Sperm Competitive Ability in Drosophila
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Assessing Differences in Sperm Competitive Ability in Drosophila

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Stronger net selection on males across animals.

Lennart Winkler1, Maria Moiron2, Edward H Morrow3

  • 1Applied Zoology, Technical University Dresden, Dresden, Germany.

Elife
|November 17, 2021
PubMed
Summary

Sexual selection drives sex differences and may help species adapt to environmental change. This occurs when sexual and natural selection align, with stronger net selection on males, supporting adaptation with low demographic cost.

Keywords:
animalsarthropodaevolutionary biologyvertebrata

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Area of Science:

  • Evolutionary biology
  • Sexual selection
  • Eco-evolutionary dynamics

Background:

  • Sexual selection is a primary driver of sex differences.
  • The role of sexual selection in adaptive potential to environmental change is under-explored.
  • Theory suggests sexual selection aids adaptation if aligned with natural selection and stronger in males.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the eco-evolutionary dynamics of sexual selection.
  • To test if net selection is stronger in males and associated with sexual selection.
  • To determine if sexual selection enhances adaptive potential to environmental change.

Main Methods:

  • Comparative approach used to analyze sex differences in selection.
  • Examined the relationship between sexual selection and sex-specific selection strength.
  • Assessed the alignment of sexual and natural selection.

Main Results:

  • Net selection is significantly stronger in males.
  • Preliminary evidence suggests this male-biased selection is linked to sexual selection.
  • Findings support the hypothesis that males face a more stressful environment due to gene expression.

Conclusions:

  • Sexual selection may bolster adaptation by enabling species to track environmental changes more efficiently.
  • The study supports a key assumption for sexual selection promoting adaptation.
  • Male-biased selection, driven by sexual selection, could enhance population resilience.