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Following the Dynamics of Structural Variants in Experimentally Evolved Populations

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Is biased mutation sufficient to save runaway sexual selection?

Mohammadali Dashtbali¹, Jonathan M Henshaw¹

¹Faculty of Biology, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany.

Evolution; International Journal of Organic Evolution

|May 15, 2024

Summary

Runaway sexual selection models are re-examined. New findings suggest biased mutation alone may not sustain exaggerated ornaments, requiring strong initial preferences for stability.

Keywords:

Fisherian runaway biased mutation ornamentation quantitative genetics sexy sons

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Area of Science:

Evolutionary Biology
Behavioral Ecology

Background:

Theoretical models in the 1980s proposed that ornaments and preferences coevolve, leading to exaggerated traits via runaway sexual selection.
Later models introduced preference costs, challenging the long-term persistence of exaggerated ornaments.
Biased mutation models, assuming mutations favor smaller ornaments, were thought to resolve this, allowing exaggeration despite costs.

Purpose of the Study:

To re-evaluate the assumptions of biased mutation models in the context of sexual selection.
To investigate the role of investment versus efficiency in ornament development under biased mutation.
To determine the conditions under which exaggerated ornaments and preferences can stably persist.

Main Methods:

Developed a theoretical model separating investment and efficiency in ornament production.
Analyzed the impact of biased mutation acting solely on efficiency, not average investment.
Simulated scenarios to assess the stability of exaggerated ornaments and preferences.

Main Results:

Exaggerated ornaments and preferences can persist stably if they initially arise.
The persistence is contingent on strong initial preferences to initiate the runaway process.
Biased mutation acting only on efficiency does not guarantee the initiation or long-term stability of exaggerated traits without sufficient initial preference strength.

Conclusions:

The persistence of exaggerated ornaments depends on more than just biased mutation.
Strong initial preferences are crucial for overcoming preference costs and driving runaway sexual selection.
Biased mutation alone may be insufficient to maintain extreme sexual trait exaggeration over evolutionary time.