Coevolution of sexual and male dimorphism

My co-authors and I have just published a paper in Evolution, about the correlated evolution of sexual dimorphism and male dimorphism in Neotropical harvestmen (Arachnida: Opiliones) from the family Gonyleptidae. We found that sexual dimorphism coevolved with male dimorphism, and suggest that the driver of this relationship might be the similarity between selection against intralocus sexual conflict and selection against intralocus tactical conflict. Moreover, transitions in male dimorphism were more likely in the presence of sexual dimorphism, and this could mean that if a sexually selected trait arises on an autosome and is expressed in both sexes, its suppression in females evolves earlier than its suppression in small males that adopt alternative reproductive tactics.

Post date: May 23, 2014 5:27:44 AM