Lecture 13: Sexual Selection (EEB 122)
This lecture defines sexual selection as a component of natural selection where mating success drives trait evolution. It differentiates between intersexual mate choice and intrasexual competition, emphasizing the role of honest, costly signals in mate assessment and sexual dimorphism.
Principles of Evolution, Ecology and Behavior (EEB 122)
Sexual selection is a component of natural selection in which mating success is traded for survival. Natural selection is not necessarily survival of the fittest, but reproduction of the fittest. Sexual dimorphism is a product of sexual selection. In intersexual selection, a sex chooses a mate. In intrasexual selection, individuals of one sex compete among themselves for access to mates. Often honest, costly signals are used to help the sex that chooses make decisions.
Lecture 12: Sex Allocation (EEB 122)
Next · Lecture 14Lecture 14: Species and Speciation (EEB 122)