Sexual Selection on male cuticular hydrocarbons via male-male competition and female choice.

ABSTRACT: Traditional views of sexual selection assumed that male-male competition and female mate choice work in harmony, selecting upon the same traits in the same direction. However, we now know that this is not always the case and that these two mechanisms often impose conflicting selection on male sexual traits. Cuticular hydrocarbons (CHCs) have been shown to be linked to both social dominance and male attractiveness in several insect species. However, although several studies have estimated the strength and form of sexual selection imposed on male CHCs by female mate choice, none have established whether these chemical traits are also subject to sexual selection via male-male competition. Using a multivariate selection analysis, we estimate and compare sexual selection exerted by male-male co

SUBMITTER: Lane SM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4999037 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature