Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Ewan O. Flintham, Vincent Savolainen, Charles Mullon
Summary: Sexual conflict can arise when males evolve traits that harm females while improving their own mating success. This study shows that conflict is more intense in populations where individuals are in better condition, as condition-dependent expression of sexually selected traits readily evolves. This intensified conflict reduces mean fitness and can lead to a negative association between condition and population size. The coevolution of condition and sexual conflict can make the good genes effect detrimental to populations in the presence of male harm.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2023)
Review
Biology
Judith E. Mank
Summary: Sex chromosomes in plants and animals exhibit more similarities than differences, with both facing similar evolutionary pressures. Plants often lack complete dosage compensation in their sex chromosomes, unlike observed in some animals, which may impact their evolution differently.
PHILOSOPHICAL TRANSACTIONS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
R. Axel W. Wiberg, Jeremias N. Brand, Lukas Schaerer
Summary: Our study reveals that reproductive-related genes in hermaphroditic animals of the Macrostomum genus evolve faster than widely expressed genes, indicating stronger sexual selection on the former. Additionally, species with hypodermic sperm morphologies show elevated molecular sequence evolution, regardless of a gene's functional annotation. These findings suggest reduced selection efficiency following shifts to hypodermic mating, possibly due to higher selfing rates in these species.
MOLECULAR BIOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2021)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Thea F. Rogers, Daniela H. Palmer, Alison E. Wright
Summary: Research shows that sex-specific patterns of splicing are correlated with phenotypic sex differences and may offer an important route to sex-specific adaptation. Understanding the role of gene regulation in males and females is crucial for the evolution of phenotypic sexual dimorphism.
MOLECULAR BIOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2021)
Review
Ecology
Locke Rowe, Howard D. Rundle
Summary: Sexual selection can potentially decrease the mean fitness of a population through costs to nonsexual fitness, but this can be offset when individuals with high nonsexual fitness are favored. Research suggests that a net benefit is more likely when sexually concordant genetic variation is enhanced and that ecological context can mediate the effects. Comparative studies on the consequences of sexual selection for population persistence do not indicate a benefit, making it challenging to interpret these higher-level responses.
ANNUAL REVIEW OF ECOLOGY, EVOLUTION, AND SYSTEMATICS, VOL 52, 2021
(2021)
Article
Ecology
Aleksandra Lukasiewicz, Neelam Porwal, Malgorzata Niskiewicz, Jonathan M. Parrett, Jacek Radwan
Summary: This study investigates the impact of sexually selected weapons on the risk of extinction under temperature increase. The results demonstrate that populations with a high prevalence of the weapon are more likely to go extinct.
Article
Biology
Julian Melgar, Mads F. Schou, Maud Bonato, Zanell Brand, Anel Engelbrecht, Schalk W. P. Cloete, Charlie K. Cornwallis
Summary: This study experimentally tested sex differences in cooperative breeding and their impact on group size variation in ostriches. The results showed that male optimal group size is influenced by competition costs, while female reproductive success is impacted by the benefits of cooperation with group members. Intermediate group sizes were found to be disadvantageous for both males and females.
Review
Ecology
Jon Alexander Harper, Tim Janicke, Edward H. Morrow
Summary: A review found that there are 22 genes in humans with sex-opposite effects, which may increase disease risk or severity in one sex but protect the other, with genes having net positive effects occurring at higher frequencies. The communication barriers between fields due to discipline-specific terminology are significant.
Review
Ecology
Jon Alexander Harper, Edward H. H. Morrow
Summary: Sexual antagonism is an important selective force in evolution, but the genes involved in this process are not well-studied. The lack of overlap in terminology between scientific disciplines may contribute to the limited knowledge of these genes. In this study, we systematically searched for genes with sexually antagonistic effects in various taxa, but only found a small number of candidate variants. The studies generally suffered from small sample sizes, limiting the conclusions that can be drawn. Our review highlights the different effects that gene deletions can have on males and females, and suggests that beneficial effects in one sex may facilitate the evolution of gene loss.
ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2022)
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Kentarou Matsumura, Kyosuke Wakabayashi, Renya Kawakami, Takahisa Miyatake
Summary: This study investigated the relationship between reproductive traits and latitude in the red flour beetle Tribolium castaneum. The results showed that there were significant differences in the reproductive traits of males but not females among field populations. Male reproductive traits exhibited latitudinal clines, while female reproductive traits were correlated with body size. The findings suggest that selection for male reproductive traits varies with latitude in T. castaneum.
BEHAVIORAL ECOLOGY AND SOCIOBIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Alihan Katlav, James M. Cook, Markus Riegler
Summary: The study found that larger eggs are more likely to be fertilized and develop into female offspring, while smaller eggs are more likely to remain unfertilized and become male offspring. Mating increases female investment in egg size, enhancing fertilization success and female offspring survival but reducing lifetime fecundity. This suggests a reproductive strategy favoring increased daughter production, potentially conflicting with the optimal offspring sex ratio.
FUNCTIONAL ECOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Biology
Eleanor Bath, Danielle Edmunds, Jessica Norman, Charlotte Atkins, Lucy Harper, Wayne G. Rostant, Tracey Chapman, Stuart Wigby, Jennifer C. Perry
Summary: This study demonstrates how aggression evolves in response to competitive environments in both sexes, with males fighting less in female-biased environments and increased aggression among mated females. There is evidence of a positive genetic correlation for aggression between males and females, suggesting a shared genetic basis.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2021)
Review
Ecology
David N. Reznick, Joseph Travis, Bart J. A. Pollux, Andrew I. Furness
Summary: Sexual conflict arises from differences in the ways males and females maximize fitness, which are influenced by investment in gametes, mate choice, and provision for offspring. Evolution of maternal provisioning in fish can lead to changes in when and how mates are chosen and is associated with the evolution of male traits linked to sexual selection. Contrary to predictions, the evolution of placentas and associated conflict does not accelerate speciation, with a more prominent role played by pre-copulatory reproductive isolation in driving speciation in this family.
FRONTIERS IN ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Fleur van Eyndhoven, Elissa Z. Cameron, Sarah P. Flanagan
Summary: This study reports courtship displays in the wide-bodied pipefish, a species with extreme sexual dimorphism. Surprisingly, females also use their sex-specific ornament during courtship, while males initiate chasing behaviors in some cases. These findings provide important insights into the potential roles of sexual selection and sexual conflict in shaping sexual dimorphism.
ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Biology
Thomas J. Hitchcock, Andy Gardner
Summary: Recent research has focused on the role of kin selection in sexual conflict, investigating how demography influences the evolution of male harming genes in different parts of the genome. Different demographic parameters can drive conflicts between autosomes, sex chromosomes, and cytoplasmic genes, ultimately shaping patterns of sexual conflict.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2021)
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Charel Reuland, Brett M. Culbert, Erika Fernlund Isaksson, Ariel F. Kahrl, Alessandro Devigili, John L. Fitzpatrick
Summary: The study reveals a positive relationship between social status and ejaculate quality in the pygmy halfbeak fish, with dominant males producing higher quality ejaculates under conditions of frequent male-male interactions. Additionally, dominant males are in better physical condition, growing faster and possessing larger livers, suggesting a possible condition dependence of competitive traits. Female presence or absence did not affect sperm swimming speed or testes mass, highlighting the importance of male-male behavioral interactions in driving social-status-dependent differences in ejaculate traits.
BEHAVIORAL ECOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Rebecca M. McNeil, Alessandro Devigili, Niclas Kolm, John L. Fitzpatrick
Summary: Choosing a mate is a crucial decision in an animal's life, with female mate choice often guided by male sexual ornaments. Individuals with greater cognitive abilities may be better at evaluating and comparing sexual ornaments. In a study on pygmy halfbeaks, brain size did not significantly influence mate preferences, but differences in male sexual ornamentation did impact female preferences.
BEHAVIORAL ECOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Ecology
Will Sowersby, Simon Eckerstrom-Liedholm, Alexander Kotrschal, Joacim Naslund, Piotr Rowinski, Alejandro Gonzalez-Voyer, Bjorn Rogell
Summary: Research suggests that there may not be a trade-off between brain size and life-history pace in killifish, as fast-living species have larger relative brain sizes in adulthood compared to slow-living species. This discrepancy could potentially be due to differences in the timing of somatic versus neural growth or cognitive demands in their respective environments.
Article
Ecology
Ariel F. Kahrl, Rhonda R. Snook, John L. Fitzpatrick
Summary: The study reveals that fertilization mode is a key factor influencing the evolution of sperm length across animals. Species with sperm diluted in aquatic environments (external fertilizers and spermcasters) have shorter sperm, while species with sperm directly transferred to females (internal fertilizers) have longer sperm. Additionally, sperm length evolves faster and with more adaptive shifts in species where sperm operate within females (e.g. spermcasters and internal fertilizers).
NATURE ECOLOGY & EVOLUTION
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
John L. Fitzpatrick, Ariel F. Kahrl, Rhonda R. Snook
Summary: Sperm is a highly variable cell type across individuals, populations, related species, and animal phyla. The morphology of sperm has been used for phylogenetic placement and is influenced by various selective forces. The SpermTree database contains a large dataset of sperm morphology from diverse animal species, facilitating further analyses into sperm evolution.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Stephanie Fong, Bjorn Rogell, Mirjam Amcoff, Alexander Kotrschal, Wouter van der Bijl, Severine D. Buechel, Niclas Kolm
Summary: Experimental evidence from artificial selection in guppies supports the mosaic brain evolution hypothesis, suggesting that different brain regions can evolve independently, potentially playing a crucial role in cognitive evolution.
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Erika Fernlund Isaksson, Charel Reuland, Ariel F. Kahrl, Alessandro Devigili, John L. Fitzpatrick
Summary: This study examines the effects of resource restriction on pre- and post-copulatory traits in male pygmy halfbeaks. The results show that resource restriction leads to reduced body size, beak size, courtship behavior, and testes size, but unexpectedly, the restricted-diet group had a larger area of red color on the beak and fins after the diet treatment.
BEHAVIORAL ECOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Ecology
Regina Vega-Trejo, Catarina Vila-Pouca, David J. Mitchell, Alexander Kotrschal
Summary: Predation pressure can impact the size and morphology of an individual's brain, but this effect is dependent on the individual's body size.
EVOLUTIONARY ECOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Ecology
Evelina Juntorp, Madicken Akerman, John L. Fitzpatrick
Summary: Eyespots are widespread color patterns that can influence the behavior of aquatic predators. They do not delay predator attacks but cause them to stop more frequently and attack prey items at a slower speed. Light level does not affect the behavioral responses of aquatic predators towards eyespots.
ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Wen Bo Liao, Ying Jiang, Da Yong Li, Long Jin, Mao Jun Zhong, Yin Qi, Stefan Lupold, Alexander Kotrschal
Summary: While crypsis is a prominent antipredator adaptation, the role of the brain in predator-driven evolution remains controversial. This study provides comparative evidence across 102 Chinese frog species, suggesting that reduced predation risk through crypsis can relax predation-driven selection on the brain, allowing frogs to use their large brain for cognitive predator evasion.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Ariel F. Kahrl, Rhonda R. Snook, John L. Fitzpatrick
Summary: The fertilization environment plays a significant role in the evolution and diversification of sperm morphology across vertebrate species, but the impact of fertilization mode varies among sperm components and vertebrate clades.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2022)
Article
Ecology
Erika Fernlund Isaksson, John L. L. Fitzpatrick
Summary: Resource limitation influences female reproductive fluid-sperm interactive effects; The study on pygmy halfbeak found that female reproductive fluids enhance sperm viability and velocity, but female diet does not affect this interactive effect. The findings highlight the importance of resource limitation in shaping female reproductive fluid effects.
JOURNAL OF EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Biology
Krista van den Heuvel, John L. L. Quinn, Alexander Kotrschal, Kees van Oers
Summary: Cognitive flexibility, influenced by memory and prior experience, is a complex trait that controls how animals respond to changing environmental conditions. In a study on great tits (Parus major), researchers conducted an artificial selection experiment to assess the repeatability and heritability of cognitive flexibility. They found low repeatability but no genetic correlation between associative and reversal learning, highlighting the importance of prior information in the latter. The study also emphasized the need for future research to identify the cognitive components underlying variation in reversal learning and explore their genetic contributions.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2023)