Condition-dependent expression of pre- and postcopulatory sexual traits in guppies.

ABSTRACT: Female choice can impose persistent directional selection on male sexually selected traits, yet such traits often exhibit high levels of phenotypic variation. One explanation for this paradox is that if sexually selected traits are costly, only the fittest males are able to acquire and allocate the resources required for their expression. Furthermore, because male condition is dependent on resource allocation, condition dependence in sexual traits is expected to underlie trade-offs between reproduction and other life-history functions. In this study we test these ideas by experimentally manipulating diet quality (carotenoid levels) and quantity in the guppy (Poecilia reticulata), a livebearing freshwater fish that is an important model for understanding relationships between pre- and post-

SUBMITTER: Rahman MM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3728957 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature