eprintid: 1431198
rev_number: 27
eprint_status: archive
userid: 608
dir: disk0/01/43/11/98
datestamp: 2014-06-02 19:05:03
lastmod: 2021-11-15 02:00:15
status_changed: 2014-06-02 19:05:03
type: article
metadata_visibility: show
item_issues_count: 0
creators_name: Tazzyman, SJ
creators_name: Iwasa, Y
creators_name: Pomiankowski, A
title: THE HANDICAP PROCESS FAVOURS EXAGGERATED, RATHER THAN REDUCED, SEXUAL ORNAMENTS.
ispublished: pub
divisions: UCL
divisions: B02
divisions: C08
divisions: D09
divisions: F99
keywords: Handicap process, Selection - Sexual, Signaling/Courtship, mate choice, mate preference, sexual dimorphism
note: © 2014 The Authors. Evolution published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of The Society for the Study of Evolution.

This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
abstract: Why are traits that function as secondary sexual ornaments generally exaggerated in size compared to the naturally selected optimum, and not reduced? Since they deviate from the naturally selected optimum, traits that are reduced in size will handicap their bearer, and could thus provide an honest signal of quality to a potential mate. Thus if secondary sexual ornaments evolve via the handicap process, current theory suggests that reduced ornamentation should be as frequent as exaggerated ornamentation, but this is not the case. To try to explain this discrepancy, we analyse a simple model of the handicap process. Our analysis shows that asymmetries in costs of preference or ornament with regard to exaggeration and reduction cannot fully explain the imbalance. Rather, the bias towards exaggeration can be best explained if either the signalling efficacy or the condition dependence of a trait increases with size. Under these circumstances, evolution always leads to more extreme exaggeration than reduction: though the two should occur just as frequently, exaggerated secondary sexual ornaments are likely to be further removed from the naturally selected optimum than reduced ornaments. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
date: 2014-09
official_url: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/evo.12450
vfaculties: VFLS
oa_status: green
full_text_type: pub
primo: open
primo_central: open_green
article_type_text: JOURNAL ARTICLE
verified: verified_manual
elements_source: PubMed
elements_id: 949632
doi: 10.1111/evo.12450
language_elements: ENG
lyricists_name: Pomiankowski, Andrew
lyricists_id: APOMI03
full_text_status: public
publication: Evolution
volume: 68
number: 9
pagerange: 2534-2549
citation:        Tazzyman, SJ;    Iwasa, Y;    Pomiankowski, A;      (2014)    THE HANDICAP PROCESS FAVOURS EXAGGERATED, RATHER THAN REDUCED, SEXUAL ORNAMENTS.                   Evolution , 68  (9)   pp. 2534-2549.    10.1111/evo.12450 <https://doi.org/10.1111/evo.12450>.       Green open access   
 
document_url: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/1431198/1/evo12450.pdf