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Fluctuating Environments, Sexual Selection and the Evolution of Flexible Mate Choice in Birds

Environmentally-induced fluctuation in the form and strength of natural selection can drive the evolution of morphology, physiology, and behavior. Here we test the idea that fluctuating climatic conditions may also influence the process of sexual selection by inducing unexpected reversals in the rel...

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Autores principales: Botero, Carlos A., Rubenstein, Dustin R.
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Public Library of Science 2012
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3281128/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22359681
http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0032311
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author Botero, Carlos A.
Rubenstein, Dustin R.
author_facet Botero, Carlos A.
Rubenstein, Dustin R.
author_sort Botero, Carlos A.
collection PubMed
description Environmentally-induced fluctuation in the form and strength of natural selection can drive the evolution of morphology, physiology, and behavior. Here we test the idea that fluctuating climatic conditions may also influence the process of sexual selection by inducing unexpected reversals in the relative quality or sexual attractiveness of potential breeding partners. Although this phenomenon, known as ‘ecological cross-over’, has been documented in a variety of species, it remains unclear the extent to which it has driven the evolution of major interspecific differences in reproductive behavior. We show that after controlling for potentially influential life history and demographic variables, there are significant positive associations between the variability and predictability of annual climatic cycles and the prevalence of infidelity and divorce within populations of a taxonomically diverse array of socially monogamous birds. Our results are consistent with the hypothesis that environmental factors have shaped the evolution of reproductive flexibility and suggest that in the absence of severe time constraints, secondary mate choice behaviors can help prevent, correct, or minimize the negative consequences of ecological cross-overs. Our findings also illustrate how a basic evolutionary process like sexual selection is susceptible to the increasing variability and unpredictability of climatic conditions that is resulting from climate change.
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spelling pubmed-32811282012-02-22 Fluctuating Environments, Sexual Selection and the Evolution of Flexible Mate Choice in Birds Botero, Carlos A. Rubenstein, Dustin R. PLoS One Research Article Environmentally-induced fluctuation in the form and strength of natural selection can drive the evolution of morphology, physiology, and behavior. Here we test the idea that fluctuating climatic conditions may also influence the process of sexual selection by inducing unexpected reversals in the relative quality or sexual attractiveness of potential breeding partners. Although this phenomenon, known as ‘ecological cross-over’, has been documented in a variety of species, it remains unclear the extent to which it has driven the evolution of major interspecific differences in reproductive behavior. We show that after controlling for potentially influential life history and demographic variables, there are significant positive associations between the variability and predictability of annual climatic cycles and the prevalence of infidelity and divorce within populations of a taxonomically diverse array of socially monogamous birds. Our results are consistent with the hypothesis that environmental factors have shaped the evolution of reproductive flexibility and suggest that in the absence of severe time constraints, secondary mate choice behaviors can help prevent, correct, or minimize the negative consequences of ecological cross-overs. Our findings also illustrate how a basic evolutionary process like sexual selection is susceptible to the increasing variability and unpredictability of climatic conditions that is resulting from climate change. Public Library of Science 2012-02-16 /pmc/articles/PMC3281128/ /pubmed/22359681 http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0032311 Text en Botero, Rubenstein. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are properly credited.
spellingShingle Research Article
Botero, Carlos A.
Rubenstein, Dustin R.
Fluctuating Environments, Sexual Selection and the Evolution of Flexible Mate Choice in Birds
title Fluctuating Environments, Sexual Selection and the Evolution of Flexible Mate Choice in Birds
title_full Fluctuating Environments, Sexual Selection and the Evolution of Flexible Mate Choice in Birds
title_fullStr Fluctuating Environments, Sexual Selection and the Evolution of Flexible Mate Choice in Birds
title_full_unstemmed Fluctuating Environments, Sexual Selection and the Evolution of Flexible Mate Choice in Birds
title_short Fluctuating Environments, Sexual Selection and the Evolution of Flexible Mate Choice in Birds
title_sort fluctuating environments, sexual selection and the evolution of flexible mate choice in birds
topic Research Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3281128/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22359681
http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0032311
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