The Experts below are selected from a list of 199596 Experts worldwide ranked by ideXlab platform
Bruce E. Lyon - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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The evolution of female ornaments and weaponry: Social Selection, sexual Selection and ecological competition
Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B Biological sciences, 2012Co-Authors: Joe Tobias, Robert Montgomerie, Bruce E. LyonAbstract:Ornaments, weapons and aggressive behaviours may evolve in female animals by mate choice and intrasexual competition for mating opportunities—the standard forms of sexual Selection in males. However, a growing body of evidence suggests that Selection tends to operate in different ways in males and females, with female traits more often mediating competition for ecological resources, rather than mate acquisition. Two main solutions have been proposed to accommodate this disparity. One is to expand the concept of sexual Selection to include all mechanisms related to fecundity; another is to adopt an alternative conceptual framework—the theory of Social Selection—in which sexual Selection is one component of a more general form of Selection resulting from all Social interactions. In this study, we summarize the history of the debate about female ornaments and weapons, and discuss potential resolutions. We review the components of fitness driving ornamentation in a wide range of systems, and show that Selection often falls outside the limits of traditional sexual Selection theory, particularly in females. We conclude that the evolution of these traits in both sexes is best understood within the unifying framework of Social Selection.
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Sexual Selection is a form of Social Selection
Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B Biological sciences, 2012Co-Authors: Bruce E. Lyon, Robert MontgomerieAbstract:Social Selection influences the evolution of weapons, ornaments and behaviour in both males and females. Thus, Social interactions in both sexual and non-sexual contexts can have a powerful influence on the evolution of traits that would otherwise appear to be detrimental to survival. Although clearly outlined by West-Eberhard in the early 1980s, the idea that Social Selection is a comprehensive framework for the study of ornaments and weapons has largely been ignored. In West-Eberhard's view, sexual Selection is a form of Social Selection—a concept supported by several lines of evidence. Darwin's distinction between natural and sexual Selection has been useful, but recent confusion about the limits of sexual Selection suggests that some traits are not easily categorized as naturally or sexually selected. Because Social Selection theory has much to offer the current debates about both sexual Selection and reproductive competition in females, it is sometimes viewed, narrowly, to be most useful when considering female roles. However, Social Selection theory encompasses much more than female reproductive competition. Our goal here was to provide that broader perspective.
Robert Montgomerie - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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The evolution of female ornaments and weaponry: Social Selection, sexual Selection and ecological competition
Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B Biological sciences, 2012Co-Authors: Joe Tobias, Robert Montgomerie, Bruce E. LyonAbstract:Ornaments, weapons and aggressive behaviours may evolve in female animals by mate choice and intrasexual competition for mating opportunities—the standard forms of sexual Selection in males. However, a growing body of evidence suggests that Selection tends to operate in different ways in males and females, with female traits more often mediating competition for ecological resources, rather than mate acquisition. Two main solutions have been proposed to accommodate this disparity. One is to expand the concept of sexual Selection to include all mechanisms related to fecundity; another is to adopt an alternative conceptual framework—the theory of Social Selection—in which sexual Selection is one component of a more general form of Selection resulting from all Social interactions. In this study, we summarize the history of the debate about female ornaments and weapons, and discuss potential resolutions. We review the components of fitness driving ornamentation in a wide range of systems, and show that Selection often falls outside the limits of traditional sexual Selection theory, particularly in females. We conclude that the evolution of these traits in both sexes is best understood within the unifying framework of Social Selection.
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Sexual Selection is a form of Social Selection
Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B Biological sciences, 2012Co-Authors: Bruce E. Lyon, Robert MontgomerieAbstract:Social Selection influences the evolution of weapons, ornaments and behaviour in both males and females. Thus, Social interactions in both sexual and non-sexual contexts can have a powerful influence on the evolution of traits that would otherwise appear to be detrimental to survival. Although clearly outlined by West-Eberhard in the early 1980s, the idea that Social Selection is a comprehensive framework for the study of ornaments and weapons has largely been ignored. In West-Eberhard's view, sexual Selection is a form of Social Selection—a concept supported by several lines of evidence. Darwin's distinction between natural and sexual Selection has been useful, but recent confusion about the limits of sexual Selection suggests that some traits are not easily categorized as naturally or sexually selected. Because Social Selection theory has much to offer the current debates about both sexual Selection and reproductive competition in females, it is sometimes viewed, narrowly, to be most useful when considering female roles. However, Social Selection theory encompasses much more than female reproductive competition. Our goal here was to provide that broader perspective.
Joe Tobias - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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The evolution of female ornaments and weaponry: Social Selection, sexual Selection and ecological competition
Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B Biological sciences, 2012Co-Authors: Joe Tobias, Robert Montgomerie, Bruce E. LyonAbstract:Ornaments, weapons and aggressive behaviours may evolve in female animals by mate choice and intrasexual competition for mating opportunities—the standard forms of sexual Selection in males. However, a growing body of evidence suggests that Selection tends to operate in different ways in males and females, with female traits more often mediating competition for ecological resources, rather than mate acquisition. Two main solutions have been proposed to accommodate this disparity. One is to expand the concept of sexual Selection to include all mechanisms related to fecundity; another is to adopt an alternative conceptual framework—the theory of Social Selection—in which sexual Selection is one component of a more general form of Selection resulting from all Social interactions. In this study, we summarize the history of the debate about female ornaments and weapons, and discuss potential resolutions. We review the components of fitness driving ornamentation in a wide range of systems, and show that Selection often falls outside the limits of traditional sexual Selection theory, particularly in females. We conclude that the evolution of these traits in both sexes is best understood within the unifying framework of Social Selection.
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Signal design and perception in Hypocnemis antbirds: evidence for convergent evolution via Social Selection.
Evolution; international journal of organic evolution, 2009Co-Authors: Joe Tobias, Nathalie SeddonAbstract:Natural Selection is known to produce convergent phenotypes through mimicry or ecological adaptation. It has also been proposed that Social Selection—i.e., Selection exerted by Social competition—may drive convergent evolution in signals mediating interspecific communication, yet this idea remains controversial. Here, we use color spectrophotometry, acoustic analyses, and playback experiments to assess the hypothesis of adaptive signal convergence in two competing nonsister taxa, Hypocnemis peruviana and H. subflava (Aves: Thamnophilidae). We show that the structure of territorial songs in males overlaps in sympatry, with some evidence of convergent character displacement. Conversely, nonterritorial vocal and visual signals in males are strikingly diagnostic, in line with 6.8% divergence in mtDNA sequences. The same pattern of variation applies to females. Finally, we show that songs in both sexes elicit strong territorial responses within and between species, whereas songs of a third, allopatric and more closely related species (H. striata) are structurally divergent and elicit weaker responses. Taken together, our results provide compelling evidence that Social Selection can act across species boundaries to drive convergent or parallel evolution in taxa competing for space and resources.
Rauri C. K. Bowie - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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Social Selection parapatry in Afrotropical sunbirds
Evolution; international journal of organic evolution, 2016Co-Authors: Jay P. Mcentee, Joshua V. Peñalba, Chacha Werema, Elia A. Mulungu, Maneno Mbilinyi, David C Moyer, Louis A. Hansen, Jon Fjeldså, Rauri C. K. BowieAbstract:The extent of range overlap of incipient and recent species depends on the type and magnitude of phenotypic divergence that separates them, and the consequences of phenotypic divergence on their interactions. Signal divergence by Social Selection likely initiates many speciation events, but may yield niche-conserved lineages predisposed to limit each others' ranges via ecological competition. Here, we examine this neglected aspect of Social Selection speciation theory in relation to the discovery of a nonecotonal species border between sunbirds. We find that Nectarinia moreaui and Nectarinia fuelleborni meet in a ∼6 km wide contact zone, as estimated by molecular cline analysis. These species exploit similar bioclimatic niches, but sing highly divergent learned songs, consistent with divergence by Social Selection. Cline analyses suggest that within-species stabilizing Social Selection on song-learning predispositions maintains species differences in song despite both hybridization and cultural transmission. We conclude that ecological competition between moreaui and fuelleborni contributes to the stabilization of the species border, but that ecological competition acts in conjunction with reproductive interference. The evolutionary maintenance of learned song differences in a hybrid zone recommend this study system for future studies on the mechanisms of learned song divergence and its role in speciation.
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Social Selection parapatry in an Afrotropical sunbird
2015Co-Authors: Jay P. Mcentee, Joshua V. Peñalba, Chacha Werema, Elia A. Mulungu, Maneno Mbilinyi, David C Moyer, Louis A. Hansen, Jon Fjeldså, Rauri C. K. BowieAbstract:The extent of range overlap of incipient and recent species depends on the type and magnitude of phenotypic divergence that separates them. Trait divergence by Social Selection likely initiates many speciation events, but may yield niche-conserved lineages predisposed to limit each others ranges via ecological competition. Here we examine this neglected aspect of Social Selection speciation theory in relation to the discovery of a non-ecotonal species border between sunbirds. We find that Nectarinia moreaui and N. fuelleborni meet in a ~6 km wide contact zone, as estimated by molecular cline analysis. These species exploit similar bioclimatic niches, but sing highly divergent learned songs, consistent with divergence by Social Selection. Cline analyses suggest that within-species stabilizing Social Selection on song-learning predispositions maintains species differences in song despite both hybridization and cultural transmission in the contact zone. We conclude that ecological competition between moreaui and fuelleborni contributes to the stabilization of the species border, but that ecological competition acts in conjunction with reproductive interference. The evolutionary maintenance of learned song differences in a hybrid zone recommend this study system for future studies on the mechanisms of learned song divergence and its role in speciation.
John R. Horner - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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The evolution of ‘bizarre structures’ in dinosaurs: biomechanics, sexual Selection, Social Selection or species recognition?
Journal of Zoology, 2010Co-Authors: Kevin Padian, John R. HornerAbstract:‘Bizarre structures’ in dinosaurs have four main traditional explanations: mechanical function, sexual Selection, Social Selection and species recognition. Any of these can be plausible for individual species, but they fail to be persuasive when other lines of evidence cannot adequately test them. The first three also fail as general propositions when phylogenetic analyses based on other characters do not support scenarios of selective improvement of such functions in their clade (or the explanation simply does not apply to any other species in the clade). Moreover, the hypothesis of sexual Selection requires significant sexual dimorphism, which has never been conclusively established in dinosaurs. We propose instead that species recognition may have been a more general force that drove the evolution of bizarre structures in dinosaurs. That is, the bizarre structures communicate to other individuals a variety of possible associational cues, including species identification, potential protection and Social habits and the appropriateness of potential mates. In other words, bizarre structures amount to an advertisement for positive association. Neither species recognition nor any other hypothesis should be a ‘default’ explanation. Although direct observation is impossible, we propose two tests. First, contrary to adaptive, Social or sexual Selection, under the species recognition model morphology should be expected to evolve without obvious directional trends, because the only objective is to differ from one's relatives. Hence, patterns of evolution of bizarre structures should be relatively proliferative and non-directional. Second, several contemporaneous species should overlap in geographic range (sympatric, parapatric, peripatric). Fossil species often show evidence of this pattern in the past by ‘ghost ranges’ of related taxa. These tests together could reinforce or weaken an argument for species recognition.
