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Evolution of Alternative Reproductive Strategies: Frequency-Dependent Sexual Selection in Male Bluegill Sunfish
This study provides empirical evidence in a wild population for frequency-dependent sexual selection between alternative male reproductive strategies. The bluegill sunfish (Lepomis macrochirus) has two male reproductive strategies, cuckolder or parental, used by different males to compete in fertili...
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Published in: | Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B. Biological sciences 1991-04, Vol.332 (1262), p.59-66 |
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Main Author: | |
Format: | Article |
Language: | English |
Subjects: | |
Citations: | Items that this one cites Items that cite this one |
Online Access: | Get full text |
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Summary: | This study provides empirical evidence in a wild population for frequency-dependent sexual selection between alternative male
reproductive strategies. The bluegill sunfish (Lepomis macrochirus) has two male reproductive strategies, cuckolder or parental,
used by different males to compete in fertilizing the same eggs. As the density of cuckolders in colonies of parental males
increases, the average mating success of cuckolders initially peaks but then declines. The cuckolder density at which their
success peaks is determined by ecological characteristics of each colony. A theoretical analysis assuming random and omniscient
cuckolder distributions among ecologically different colonies shows that cuckolders will fertilize decreasing proportions
of eggs, relative to parental males, as cuckolders increase in frequency in the population. This supports evolutionary models
that assume negative frequency-dependent selection between the competing strategies. Cuckolder and parental strategies may
therefore have evolved as an Evolutionarily Stable State (ESSt). |
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ISSN: | 0962-8436 1471-2970 |
DOI: | 10.1098/rstb.1991.0033 |