Sexual selection in plants and animals: toward a unified framework

Area of Science:

• Evolutionary Biology
• Plant Sciences
• Animal Behavior

Background:

• Sexual selection is a key evolutionary concept in animals, but less studied in plants.
• Inconsistent definitions, particularly of mating success, hinder cross-taxonomic studies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose a unified, taxon-neutral three-phase framework for sexual selection (premating, postmating, postfertilization).
• To bridge the gap between empirical plant research and sexual selection theory.
• To identify universal processes and biological diversity in sexual selection across taxa.

Main Methods:

• Conceptual framework development.
• Literature synthesis across animal and plant sexual selection studies.
• Comparative analysis of mating success definitions and processes.

Main Results:

• A proposed three-phase framework (premating, postmating, postfertilization) for sexual selection.
• Demonstration of parallels and differences in sexual selection across diverse taxa.
• Identification of plant-specific traits (e.g., modularity, vector-mediated pollen dispersal) as relevant to sexual selection.

Conclusions:

• The proposed framework unifies sexual selection concepts across animals and plants.
• Plant traits previously considered incompatible with sexual selection are shown to be compatible.
• This work opens new research directions for studying sexual selection in plants.