Experimental evidence of condition‐dependent sexual dimorphism in the weakly dimorphic antler fly Protopiophila litigata (Diptera: Piophilidae)
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TLDR
A shared developmental basis to condition dependence and sexual dimorphism can arise via sexual selection on males even in lineages lacking highly exaggerated male traits, as previously reported for highly dimorphic species.Abstract:
Sexually dimorphic traits have a history of directional selection for exaggeration in at least one sex. Theory suggests that traits targeted by persistent selection should evolve heightened condition dependence whereby their expression reflects the availability and processing efficiency of metabolic resources. This joint dependence of sexual dimorphism and condition dependence on directional selection should result in a positive correlation between the extent of sexual dimorphism and the strength of condition dependence. However, because direct phenotypic evidence is predominately from species with highly exaggerated male traits, it remains unclear whether condition-dependent sexual dimorphism is characteristic of species with more typical levels of dimorphism. We manipulated condition via larval diet and quantified sex-specific responses in adult body size and shape in a moderately dimorphic dipteran species, the antler fly Protopiophila litigata. While dimorphism did not increase with diet quality within any trait, among traits the extent of dimorphism was positively associated with the strength of condition dependence in males but not females, as previously reported for highly dimorphic species. This finding suggests that a shared developmental basis to condition dependence and sexual dimorphism can arise via sexual selection on males even in lineages lacking highly exaggerated male traits. © 2015 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2015, 116, 211–220.read more
Citations
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The evolution of male-biased sexual size dimorphism is associated with increased body size plasticity in males
Patrick T. Rohner,Tiit Teder,Tiit Teder,Toomas Esperk,Toomas Esperk,Stefan Lüpold,Wolf U. Blanckenhorn +6 more
TL;DR: The findings indicate that primarily selection on size, rather than the reproductive role per se, drives the evolution of sex-specific body size plasticity, which is congruent with theory in suggesting that condition dependence plays a pivotal role in the Evolution of sexual size dimorphism.
Journal ArticleDOI
Sexual dimorphism and heightened conditional expression in a sexually selected weapon in the Asian rhinoceros beetle.
Robert A. Zinna,Douglas J. Emlen,Laura Corley Lavine,Annika Johns,Hiroki Gotoh,Teruyuki Niimi,Ian Dworkin +6 more
TL;DR: RNAseq analysis is used to build on recent work exploring mechanisms in the exaggerated weapons of beetles, by examining patterns of differential gene expression in exaggerated and non‐exaggerated traits in the Asian rhinoceros beetle, Trypoxylus dichotomus, to suggest that sexually dimorphic expression of weaponry involves large‐scale changes in gene expression, relative to other traits, while nutrition‐driven changes inGene expression in these same weapons are less pronounced.
Journal ArticleDOI
The tale of the shrinking weapon: seasonal changes in nutrition affect weapon size and sexual dimorphism, but not contemporary evolution.
TL;DR: Although it is shown weapons are highly condition dependent, and changes in weapon expression and dimorphism could alter evolutionary dynamics, populations are unlikely to experience further evolutionary changes under current conditions.
Journal ArticleDOI
A Comparative Study of the Role of Sex-Specific Condition Dependence in the Evolution of Sexually Dimorphic Traits.
TL;DR: A comparative study suggests a common genetic/developmental basis of sexual dimorphism and sex-specific plasticity that evolves across the phylogeny—and that the evolution of size consistently alters scaling relationships and thus contributes to the allometric variation of sexual armaments or ornaments in animals.
Journal ArticleDOI
Resource quality affects weapon and testis size and the ability of these traits to respond to selection in the leaf-footed cactus bug, Narnia femorata
TL;DR: It is shown that the developmental diet has profound effects on both weapon and testis expression and scaling, and normal, seasonal fluctuations in the nutritional environment may play a large role in the expression of sexually selected traits and the ability of these traits to respond to selection.
References
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Do sexual ornaments demonstrate heightened condition-dependent expression as predicted by the handicap hypothesis?
TL;DR: Despite the common claim that sexual ornaments are condition–dependent, the unexpected conclusion from the literature review is that there is little support from well–designed experiments.
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TL;DR: Both mating advantage and mortality disadvantage increase with ornament size, and balance at its optimal development, and if a given adornment reduces survival most in low quality phenotypes, the optimum increases with phenotypic quality.
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Journal ArticleDOI
Condition-dependent signalling of genetic variation in stalk-eyed flies
Patrice David,Patrice David,Tracey A. Bjorksten,Tracey A. Bjorksten,Kevin Fowler,Andrew Pomiankowski +5 more
TL;DR: It is shown that genetic variation underlies the response to environmental stress of a sexual ornament (male eye span) in the stalk-eyed fly Cyrtodiopsis dalmanni, and this results strongly support the hypothesis that female mate choice yields genetic benefits for offspring.
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