Nongenetic inheritance and the evolution of costly female preference.

Abstract excerpt

In species where males provide neither direct benefits nor paternal care, it is typically assumed that female preferences are maintained by indirect selection reflecting genetic benefits to offspring of preferred males. However, it remains unclear whether populations harbour sufficient genetic variation in fitness to support costly female preferences - a problem called the 'lek paradox'. Here, we ask whether...

Topics

• Animals
• Biological Evolution
• Computer Simulation
• Environment
• Epigenesis, Genetic
• Female
• Genetic Variation
• Male
• Mating Preference, Animal
• Models, Genetic
• Selection, Genetic
• Sex Ratio