Sexual dimorphism in primate aerobic capacity: a phylogenetic test.

ABSTRACT: Male intrasexual competition should favour increased male physical prowess. This should in turn result in greater aerobic capacity in males than in females (i.e. sexual dimorphism) and a correlation between sexual dimorphism in aerobic capacity and the strength of sexual selection among species. However, physiological scaling laws predict that aerobic capacity should be lower per unit body mass in larger than in smaller animals, potentially reducing or reversing the sex difference and its association with measures of sexual selection. We used measures of haematocrit and red blood cell (RBC) counts from 45 species of primates to test four predictions related to sexual selection and body mass: (i) on average, males should have higher aerobic capacity than females, (ii) aerobic capacity shoul

SUBMITTER: Lindenfors P 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2926801 | biostudies-literature | 2010 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature