Competition for mates and the improvement of nonsexual fitness.

ABSTRACT: Competition for mates can be a major source of selection, not just on secondary sexual traits but across the genome. Mate competition strengthens selection on males via sexual selection, which typically favors healthy, vigorous individuals and, thus, all genetic variants that increase overall quality. However, recent studies suggest another major effect of mate competition that could influence genome-wide selection: Sexual harassment by males can drastically weaken selection on quality in females. Because of these conflicting effects, the net effect of mate competition is uncertain, although perhaps not entirely unpredictable. We propose that the environment in which mate competition occurs mediates the importance of sexual selection relative to sexual conflict and, hence, the net effect o

SUBMITTER: Yun L 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6042133 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature