Spatial variation in the temporal change of male and female melanic ornamentation in the barn owl

Because the magnitude of selection can vary between sexes and in space and time, sexually antagonistic selection is difficult to demonstrate. In a Swiss population of barn owls (Tyto alba), a heritable eumelanic colour trait (size of black spots on ventral feathers) was positively selected with respect to yearling survival only in females. It remains unclear whether the absence of negative selection in males is typical in this species. To tackle this issue indirectly, we measured the size of black spots in 1733 skin specimens collected by museums from 1816 to 2001 in seven European countries and in the Middle-East. The temporal change in spot size was sex- and country-specific. In males, spots became smaller particularly in three countries (Middle-East, Italy and Switzerland). In females, the size of spots increased significantly in two countries (UK and Spain) and decreased in two others (Germany and Switzerland). Because migration and phenotypic plasticity cannot explain these results, selection is the most likely cause. The weaker temporal change in spot size in females than males may be because of the combined effect of strong genetic correlation between the sexes and stronger negative selection in males than positive selection in females. We thus suggest that in the barn owl, spot size (or genetically correlated traits) is sexually antagonistically selected and that its pattern of selection may account for the maintenance of its variation and sexual dimorphism.     

Comparing the intersex genetic correlation for fitness across novel environments in the fruit fly,Drosophila serrata

Sexually antagonistic genetic variation can pose limits to the independent evolution and adaptation of the sexes. The extent of sexually antagonistic variation is reflected in the intersex genetic correlation for fitness (r_w^FM). Previous estimates of this correlation have been mostly limited to populations in environments to which they are already well adapted, making it difficult to gauge the importance of sexually antagonistic genetic variance during the early stages of adaptation, such as that occurring following abrupt environmental change or upon the colonization of new habitat. Here we assayed male and female lifetime fitness in a population of Drosophila serrata in four novel laboratory environments. We found that r_w^FM varied significantly across environments, with point estimates ranging from positive to negative values of considerable magnitude. We also found that the variability among estimates was because, at least in part, of significant differences among environments in the genetic variances of both male and female fitness, with no evidence of any significant changes in the intersex covariance itself, although standard errors of these estimates were large. Our results illustrate the unpredictable nature of r_w^FM in novel environments and suggest that, although sexually antagonistic genetic variance can be pronounced in some novel environments, it may have little effect in constraining the early stages of adaptation in others.     

The ontogeny of cross‐sex genetic correlations: an analysis of patterns

The independent evolution of males and females is typically constrained by shared genetic variance. Despite substantial research, we still know little about the evolution of cross‐sex genetic covariance and its standardized measure, the cross‐sex genetic correlation (r_MF). In particular, it is unclear if r_MF tend to vary with age. We compiled 28 traits for which ontogenetic trends in r_MF were documented. Decreases in r_MF with age were observed significantly more often than increases and the mean effect size for the relationship between r_MF and age was large and negative. This suggests that sexual dimorphism (SD) may typically evolve more readily for phenotypes expressed later in ontogeny and that evolutionary inferences related to the evolution of SD should be limited to the ontogenetic stage at which r_MF was estimated. Knowledge about ontogenetic variation in r_MF should help improving our understanding of evolutionary patterns related to SD and the resolution of intralocus sexual conflicts.     

Sexual conflict in wing size and shape in Drosophila melanogaster

Intralocus sexual conflict occurs when opposing selection pressures operate on loci expressed in both sexes, constraining the evolution of sexual dimorphism and displacing one or both sexes from their optimum. We eliminated intralocus conflict in Drosophila melanogaster by limiting transmission of all major chromosomes to males, thereby allowing them to win the intersexual tug‐of‐war. Here, we show that this male‐limited (ML) evolution treatment led to the evolution (in both sexes) of masculinized wing morphology, body size, growth rate, wing loading, and allometry. In addition to more male‐like size and shape, ML evolution resulted in an increase in developmental stability for males. However, females expressing ML chromosomes were less developmentally stable, suggesting that being ontogenetically more male‐like was disruptive to development. We suggest that sexual selection over size and shape of the imago may therefore explain the persistence of substantial genetic variation in these characters and the ontogenetic processes underlying them.     

Father–offspring phenotypic correlations suggest intralocus sexual conflict for a fitness-linked trait in a wild sexually dimorphic mammal

In sexually dimorphic and polygynous mammals, sexual selection often favours large males with well-developed weaponry, as these secondary sexual characters confer advantages in intrasexual competition and are often preferred by females. Little is known, however, about the effects of sexually selected paternal traits on offspring phenotype in wild mammals, especially when considering that shared phenotypic traits and selection can also differ greatly between genders. Here, we conducted molecular parentage analyses in a long-term study population of mountain goats (Oreamnos americanus), an ungulate exhibiting high sexual dimorphism in mass, to first assess the determinants of yearly reproductive success (YRS) in males. We then examined the effects of paternal characteristics on offspring mass at 1 year of age. Paternity was highly skewed, with 9 per cent of 57 males siring 51 per cent of 96 offspring assigned over 12 years. Male YRS increased with age until apparent reproductive senescence at 9 years, but mass was a stronger determinant of siring success than age, horn length or social rank. Mass of sons increased with paternal mass, but the mass of daughters was negatively related to that of their father, a finding consistent with recent theory on intralocus sexual conflict. Because early differences in mass persisted to early adulthood, sex-specific effects of paternal mass can have important fitness consequences, as adult mass is positively linked with reproduction in both sexes. Divergent father–offspring phenotypic correlations may partly explain the maintenance of sexual dimorphism in mountain goats and the large variance observed for this homologous trait within each gender in polygynous mammals.