Sexual selection in plants and animals: toward a unified framework

Sexual selection is a cornerstone of evolutionary biology in animals but remains underexplored in plants, where empirical work is often disconnected from sexual selection theory. A major barrier to crosstaxonomic synthesis is the inconsistent definition of core concepts, especially mating success. We advocate for a unified, taxon-neutral three-phase framework of sexual selection (premating, postmating, and postfertilization), grounded in traditional practice and applicable to both animals and plants. Parallels and differences across taxa are highlighted, capturing universal processes alongside biological diversity. Traits common in plants and historically seen as incompatible with sexual selection-such as modularity, pollen dispersal by third-party vectors, and lack of physical contact between mates-do not preclude its action and instead offer new biological processes to study.