Sexual selection constrains the body mass of male but not female mice.

Autor: Ruff JS; Department of Biology University of Utah Salt Lake City UT USA., Cornwall DH; Department of Biology University of Utah Salt Lake City UT USA., Morrison LC; Department of Biology University of Utah Salt Lake City UT USA., Cauceglia JW; Department of Biology University of Utah Salt Lake City UT USA., Nelson AC; Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology Harvard University Cambridge MA USA., Gaukler SM; Environmental Stewardship Group Los Alamos National Laboratory Los Alamos NM USA., Meagher S; Department of Biological Sciences Western Illinois University Macomb IL USA., Carroll LS; Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences University of Utah Salt Lake City UT USA., Potts WK; Department of Biology University of Utah Salt Lake City UT USA.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: Ecology and evolution [Ecol Evol] 2017 Jan 27; Vol. 7 (4), pp. 1271-1275. Date of Electronic Publication: 2017 Jan 27 (Print Publication: 2017).
DOI: 10.1002/ece3.2753
Abstrakt: Sexual size dimorphism results when female and male body size is influenced differently by natural and sexual selection. Typically, in polygynous species larger male body size is thought to be favored in competition for mates and constraints on maximal body size are due to countervailing natural selection on either sex; however, it has been postulated that sexual selection itself may result in stabilizing selection at an optimal mass. Here we test this hypothesis by retrospectively assessing the influence of body mass, one metric of body size, on the fitness of 113 wild-derived house mice (Mus musculus ) residing within ten replicate semi-natural enclosures from previous studies conducted by our laboratory. Enclosures possess similar levels of sexual selection, but relaxed natural selection, relative to natural systems. Heavier females produced more offspring, while males of intermediate mass had the highest fitness. Female results suggest that some aspect of natural selection, absent from enclosures, acts to decrease their body mass, while the upper and lower boundaries of male mass are constrained by sexual selection.
Databáze: MEDLINE