· 2017· Book chapter
Parental Investment and Sexual Selection
- 9,546citations
- 2017year
Short summary
This paper argues that the adult sex ratio is often viewed incorrectly as an independent variable driving species adaptations, when it is instead a consequence of parental investment and sexual selection mechanisms.
AI-generated from the title and abstract; the full text is not read.
Key points
- The adult sex ratio is often misconstrued as an independent variable in evolutionary biology.
- Parental investment and sexual selection are the primary drivers of sex ratio dynamics.
- Differential mortality, influenced by factors like chromosomal mechanisms, plays a crucial role.
- Species classification should consider the relative parental investment of males and females.
AI-generated from the title and abstract; the full text is not read.
Abstract
There is a tendency among biologists studying social behavior to regard the adult sex ratio as an independent variable to which the species reacts with appropriate adaptations. D. Lack often interprets social behavior as an adaptation in part to an unbalanced (or balanced) sex ratio, and J. Verner has summarized other instances of this tendency. The only mechanism that will generate differential mortality independent of sexual differences clearly related to parental investment and sexual selection is the chromosomal mechanism, applied especially to humans and other mammals: the unguarded X chromosome of the male is presumed to predispose him to higher mortality. Each offspring can be viewed as an investment independent of other offspring, increasing investment in one offspring tending to decrease investment in others. Species can be classified according to the relative parental investment of the sexes in their young. In the vast majority of species, the male's only contribution to the survival of his offspring is his sex cells.
The authors' abstract, as published at the source., 2017 · DOI ↗
Continue with a free account
Ask the paper: 3 free questions a day about this paper; save it, get its citation, new summaries every day for your field. Takeaways are Premium.
Continue free on the webSign in with Google or Apple; no card needed. You come back to this paper.
On your phone:
Field: Sociology and Political Science
Sociology and Political ScienceSocial Sciences