Projects per year
Abstract
The classical view of sex ratio evolution, popularized by R. A. Fisher, is that the sex ratio at birth should be equal when males and females require the same level of parental investment. Thus, although differences in mortality between the sexes during parental investment will cause deviations from an equal sex ratio at birth, differential mortality after parental investment should have no effect. However, a recent theoretical model appears to contradict this view, suggesting that differential mortality after the period of parental investment does cause deviations from an equal sex ratio at birth. Moreover, the life stage at which mortality differs (juvenile vs. adult) is predicted to cause contrasting effects on sex ratio evolution. These results are in stark contrast with Fisher's hypothesis. Here, we resolve this disparity by analyzing a stage- and sex- structured model of population dynamics. We find that selection always drives the population to an equal sex ratio at birth regardless of differential mortality effects after parental investment, thus confirming Fisher's hypothesis. The disparity appears to be due to incorrect accounting of mutant-resident unions, which we avoid by considering separate union classes for different types of mutant-resident unions.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 3175-3180 |
Number of pages | 6 |
Journal | Evolution |
Volume | 75 |
Issue number | 12 |
Early online date | 11 Oct 2021 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 1 Dec 2021 |
Funding
The authors thank S. West for helpful discussions and three reviewers for helpful comments on the manuscript. AP is supported by a University Research Studentship from the University of Bath. BA is supported by the Natural Environment Research Council (grant nos. NE/N014979/1 and NE/V003909/1).
Funders | Funder number |
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Natural Environment Research Council | NE/N014979/1, NE/V003909/1 |
University of Bath |
Keywords
- Adult
- age structure
- evolution
- juvenile
- mortality
- sex ratio
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics
- Genetics
- General Agricultural and Biological Sciences
Fingerprint
Dive into the research topics of 'Does differential mortality after parental investment affect sex ratio evolution? No'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.Projects
- 2 Finished
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The eco-evolutionary dynamics of age-specific resistance to infectious disease
Ashby, B. (PI)
Natural Environment Research Council
1/06/20 → 31/01/24
Project: Research council
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Fellowship Ben Ashby - Host-parasite Coevolution in Complex Communities
Ashby, B. (PI)
Natural Environment Research Council
1/10/16 → 30/09/22
Project: Research council