Bearded ladies: females suffer fitness consequences when bearing male traits

A central assumption in evolutionary biology is that females of sexually dimorphic species suffer costs when bearing male secondary sexual traits, such as ornamentation. Nevertheless, it is common in nature to observe females bearing rudimentary versions of male ornaments (e.g. ‘bearded ladies’), as...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Biology letters (2005) 2013-12, Vol.9 (6), p.20130644-20130644
Main Authors: Swierk, Lindsey, Langkilde, Tracy
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animal Behaviour
Animals
Biological Evolution
Body Patterning
Competitive Behavior
Female
Genetic Fitness
Intralocus Sexual Conflict
Lacertilia
Lizards
Male
Mate Choice
Mating Preference, Animal
Models, Statistical
Phenotype
Sceloporus undulatus
Sex Characteristics
Sexual Behavior, Animal
Sexual Dimorphism
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Summary:A central assumption in evolutionary biology is that females of sexually dimorphic species suffer costs when bearing male secondary sexual traits, such as ornamentation. Nevertheless, it is common in nature to observe females bearing rudimentary versions of male ornaments (e.g. ‘bearded ladies’), as ornaments can be under similar genetic control in both sexes. Here, we provide evidence that masculinized females incur both social and reproductive costs in nature. Male fence lizards (Sceloporus undulatus) discriminated against ornamented females during mate choice. Ornamented females had lower reproductive output, and produced eggs that were laid and hatched later than those of non-ornamented females. These findings support established theories of the evolution of sexual dimorphism and intralocus sexual conflict, and raise questions regarding the persistence of masculinizing ornamentation in females.
ISSN:1744-9561
1744-957X
DOI:10.1098/rsbl.2013.0644