Sex and destiny: The role of mating signals in speciation and macroevolution |
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Authors: | Scott D Sampson |
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Institution: | Department of Anatomy, New York College of Osteopathic Medicine , New York Institute of Technology , Old Westbury, New York, 11568, USA Phone: (516) 686–3807 Fax: (516) 686–3807 E-mail: ssampson@iris.nyit.edu. |
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Abstract: | A growing body of research posits a central role for mating signals in speciation and the reproductive isolation of species, yet there has been relatively little consideration of mating signal evolution within macroevolutionary theory. Factors that influence the divergence of fertilization systems generally, and mating signals specifically, may incidentally influence rates of speciation and patterns of species sorting. Potential key processes include: genetic drift, natural selection (differential survival), selection for mate recognition, and sexual selection. This paper explores the integration of mating signal evolution into macroevolution and hierarchy theory, arguing that speciational patterns may frequently result from “effect sorting”; in which microevolutionary processes operating at the organismal level have macroevolutionary effects at the clade level. Preliminary evidence indicates that sexual selection is a widespread and potent evolutionary force that, together with other mechanisms, may have a large, though incidental impact on species sorting. The Mate Competition Hypothesis is here proposed to account for this possibility, postulating that heritable, clade‐specific variations in the intensity of sexual selection and the potential breadth of signal‐receiver systems contribute to divergent patterns of species‐richness. Several examples from the vertebrate fossil record are consistent with this hypothesis. |
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Keywords: | Effect hypothesis Evolutionary radiation Macroevolution Mate competition Mating signal Sexual selection Speciation |
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