The Theory of Sex Allocation. (MPB-18), Volume 18

The Theory of Sex Allocation. (MPB-18), Volume 18
Author: Eric L. Charnov
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Total Pages: 369
Release: 2020-03-31
Genre: Science
ISBN: 0691210055

This book is the first comprehensive treatment of sex allocation from the standpoint of modern evolutionary theory. It shows how the determination of sex ratio, resource allocation to sperm versus egg within simultaneous hermaphroditism, and the evolution of sex reversal can he explained as examples of a single process. The genetical theory, developed mostly with graphical arguments, also specifies when hermaphroditism and dioecy are themselves evolutionary stable. The work balances theory with field and laboratory research, providing critical tests of the theory by empirical studies of sex ratio in parasitoid wasps and mites, sex reversal in shrimp and coral reef fish, and allocation of resources to pollen versus seeds in higher plants. In addition, the author oilers an encyclopedic review of the field and laboratory work of other scientists, reviews many as yet untested hypotheses in sex allocation, and points toward numerous plant and animal systems that hold promise for future tests.

Sex Allocation

Sex Allocation
Author: Stuart West
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Total Pages: 480
Release: 2009-09-28
Genre: Science
ISBN: 1400832012

Recent decades have witnessed an explosion of theoretical and empirical studies of sex allocation, transforming how we understand the allocation of resources to male and female reproduction in vertebrates, invertebrates, protozoa, and plants. In this landmark book, Stuart West synthesizes the vast literature on sex allocation, providing the conceptual framework the field has been lacking and demonstrating how sex-allocation studies can shed light on broader questions in evolutionary and behavioral biology. West clarifies fundamental misconceptions in the application of theory to empirical data. He examines the field's successes and failures, and describes the research areas where much important work is yet to be done. West reveals how a shared underlying theoretical framework unites findings of sex-ratio variation across a huge range of life forms, from malarial parasites and hermaphroditic worms to sex-changing fish and mammals. He shows how research on sex allocation has been central to many critical questions and controversies in evolutionary and behavioral biology, and he argues that sex-allocation research serves as a key testing ground for different theoretical approaches and can help resolve debates about social evolution, parent-offspring conflict, genomic conflict, and levels of selection. Certain to become the defining book on the subject for the next generation of researchers, Sex Allocation explains why the study of sex allocation provides an ideal model system for advancing our understanding of the constraints on adaptation among all living things in the natural world.

Theoretical Studies on Sex Ratio Evolution. (MPB-22), Volume 22

Theoretical Studies on Sex Ratio Evolution. (MPB-22), Volume 22
Author: Samuel Karlin
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Total Pages: 333
Release: 2020-03-31
Genre: Science
ISBN: 069121011X

This book deals with a key area of population genetics: the ratio of the sexes in a population, or the allocation of resources to male versus female reproductive function. Samuel Karlin and Sabin Lessard establish the formal theoretical aspects of the evolution of sex ratio within the constraints of genetic mechanisms of sex determination. Their results generalize and unify existing work on the topic, strengthening previous conceptions in some cases and, in other instances, offering new directions of research. There are two main approaches to understanding the causes and effects of sex ratio. One approach focuses on the optimization and adaptive functions of sex allocation, while the other emphasizes the consequences of genetic sex determination mechanisms. In discussing the utility of these two approaches, Professors Karlin and Lessard examine the principal sex-determining mechanisms and facts involved in sex ratio representations, the various genetic and environmental factors that contribute to adaptive sex expression, and the evolution of sex determining systems and controls. From a population genetic perspective, the authors derive evolutionary properties in support of the high incidence of 1:1 sex ratio in natural populations and investigate the conditions that can explain the occurrence of biased sex ratio.

Choosing Sexes

Choosing Sexes
Author: Kristen J. Navara
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 246
Release: 2018-02-01
Genre: Science
ISBN: 3319712713

There is extensive evidence that vertebrates of all classes have the ability to control the sexes of the offspring they produce. Despite dramatic differences in the mechanisms by which different taxa determine the initial sex of offspring, each group has found its own way of adjusting offspring sex ratios in response to social and environmental cues. For example, stress is a well-known modulator of offspring sex in members of all groups studied to date. Food availability, and limitation in particular, is another common cue that stimulates biases in offspring sex ratios in a wide variety of species. Offspring sex can be adjusted at the primary level, which occurs prior to conception, or at the secondary level, during embryonic development. While the mechanistic pathways that ultimately result in sex ratio biases and the developmental time-points sensitive to those mechanisms likely differ among taxa, the key involvement of steroid hormones in the process of sex ratio adjustment appears to be pervasive throughout. This book reviews the systems of sex determination at play in different vertebrate groups, summarizes the evidence that members of all vertebrate taxa can facultatively adjust offspring sex, and discusses when and how these adjustments can take place.

Sex Ratios

Sex Ratios
Author: Ian Hardy
Publisher:
Total Pages: 424
Release: 2002
Genre: Sex determination, Genetic
ISBN: 9780511069932

Sex ratios, the proportions of males and females in any given species, are important in evolutionary and behavioural ecology. This volume explores the context to and methods for many aspects of research on sex ratios, and will be an indispensable reference for all those working in this area.

Some Mathematical Questions in Biology--sex Allocation and Sex Change

Some Mathematical Questions in Biology--sex Allocation and Sex Change
Author: Marc Mangel
Publisher: American Mathematical Soc.
Total Pages: 220
Release: 1990-10-26
Genre: Science
ISBN: 9780821897171

The seven articles in this volume are based on lectures presented at the annual symposium, Some Mathematical Questions in Biology, held in conjunction with the American Institute of Biological Sciences meeting in Toronto, Ontario in August 1989. Sexual selection, sex determination, and sex allocation have been at the center of evolutionary ecology since its inception and have played an important role in the development of many concepts. As this volume demonstrates, many key questions remain to be investigated through a combination of empirical and theoretical work. In addition, questions of sex provide a natural mechanism for crossing the great taxonomic divide by allowing plant and animal researchers to focus on similar kinds of questions using a wide variety of organisms.

Gender and Sexual Dimorphism in Flowering Plants

Gender and Sexual Dimorphism in Flowering Plants
Author: Monica A. Geber
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 319
Release: 2012-12-06
Genre: Science
ISBN: 3662039087

Written by the leading experts in the field, this book examines the evolutionary advantages of gender dimorphism and sexual dimorphism in flowering plants. Divided into three sections: the first introduces readers to the tremendous variety of breeding systems and their evolution in plants and sets the stage for a consideration of the evolution of dimorphism in reproductive and non-reproductive characters. The second section deals with the evolution of secondary sexual characters, including the theory related to the evolution of sexual dimorphism and its empirical patterns, while the last section deals with the genetics of gender expression and of secondary sexual characters.

Sexual Conflict

Sexual Conflict
Author: Göran Arnqvist
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Total Pages: 356
Release: 2005-07-25
Genre: Science
ISBN: 9780691122182

"This book demonstrates that , despite a shared genome, conflicts between interacting males and females are ubiquitous, and that selection in the two sexes is continuously pulling this genome in opposite directions." --Cover.

Sexual Selection

Sexual Selection
Author: Malte Andersson
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Total Pages: 621
Release: 2019-12-31
Genre: Science
ISBN: 0691207275

Bright colors, enlarged fins, feather plumes, song, horns, antlers, and tusks are often highly sex dimorphic. Why have males in many animals evolved more conspicuous ornaments, signals, and weapons than females? How can such traits evolve although they may reduce male survival? Such questions prompted Darwin's perhaps most scientifically controversial idea--the theory of sexual selection. It still challenges researchers today as they try to understand how competition for mates can favor the variety of sex-dimorphic traits. Reviewing theoretical and empirical work in this very active field, Malte Andersson, a leading contributor himself, provides a major up-to-date synthesis of sexual selection. The author describes the theory and its recent development; examines models, methods, and empirical tests; and identifies many unsolved problems. Among the topics discussed are the selection and evolution of mating preferences; relations between sexual selection and speciation; constraints on sexual selection; and sex differences in signals, body size, and weapons. The rapidly growing study of sexual selection in plants is also reviewed. This volume will interest students, teachers, and researchers in behavioral ecology and evolutionary biology.