Bath, Eleanor;
Rostant, Wayne;
Ostridge, Harrison J;
Smith, Sophie;
Mason, Janet S;
Rafaluk-Mohr, Timm;
Mank, Judith E;
... Perry, Jennifer C; + view all
(2023)
Sexual selection and the evolution of condition-dependence: an experimental test at two resource levels.
Evolution
, 77
(3)
pp. 776-788.
10.1093/evolut/qpac066.
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Abstract
Stronger condition-dependence in sexually selected traits is well-documented, but how this relationship is established remains unknown. Moreover, resource availability can shape responses to sexual selection, but resource effects on the relationship between sexual selection and condition-dependence are also unknown. In this study, we directly test the hypotheses that sexual selection drives the evolution of stronger-condition-dependence and that resource availability affects the outcome, by evolving fruit flies (Drosophila melanogaster) under relatively strong or weak sexual selection (through varied sex ratios) and at resource-poor or resource-rich adult diets. We then experimentally manipulated condition via developmental diet and assessed condition-dependence in adult morphology, behavior, and reproduction. We observed stronger condition-dependence in female size in male-biased populations and in female ovariole production in resource-limited populations. However, we found no evidence that male condition-dependence increased in response to sexual selection, or that responses depended on resource levels. These results offer no support for the hypotheses that sexual selection increases male condition-dependence or that sexual selection's influence on condition-dependence is influenced by resource availability. Our study is, to our knowledge, the first experimental test of these hypotheses. If the results we report are general, then sexual selection's influence on the evolution of condition-dependence may be less important than predicted.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | Sexual selection and the evolution of condition-dependence: an experimental test at two resource levels |
| Location: | United States |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.1093/evolut/qpac066 |
| Publisher version: | https://doi.org/10.1093/evolut/qpac066 |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | © The Author(s) 2023. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Society for the Study of Evolution (SSE). This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted reuse, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. |
| Keywords: | condition-dependence, experimental evolution, nutrition, plasticity, sex ratio, sexual conflict, sexual selection |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Life Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Life Sciences > Div of Biosciences |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10177807 |
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