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The contribution of sexual selection to ecological and mutation‐order speciation
Author(s) -
Rundle Howard D.,
Rowe Locke
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
evolution
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.84
H-Index - 199
eISSN - 1558-5646
pISSN - 0014-3820
DOI - 10.1111/evo.13599
Subject(s) - biology , genetic algorithm , sexual selection , ecological speciation , selection (genetic algorithm) , evolutionary biology , ecological selection , reproductive isolation , incipient speciation , divergence (linguistics) , order (exchange) , coevolution , mechanism (biology) , disruptive selection , ecology , natural selection , genetics , genetic variation , epistemology , population , computer science , sociology , artificial intelligence , gene , gene flow , linguistics , demography , philosophy , finance , economics
Abstract Abundant evidence supports a role for sexual selection in the evolution of reproductive isolation, and it is thus unsurprising that much attention has been given, both conceptually and empirically, to understanding its role in speciation. In doing so, debate has arisen on how sexual selection fits within the much used ecological versus mutation‐order classification of speciation mechanisms, with sexual selection often presented as a distinct third alternative. We argue that models of speciation by sexual selection include a fundamental role of divergent selection between environments or mutation order in initiating the process. Rather than representing a unique mechanism, sexual selection layers a coevolutionary process between males and females on top of the classic mechanisms such that the evolution of each sex can now be driven by divergent selection, mutation order, and selection arising from interactions with the other sex. In addition to blurring the distinction between ecological and mutation‐order speciation, this coevolutionary process is likely to speed divergence. Sexual selection is not unique in this way; coevolutionary processes can similarly arise from ecological interactions between populations or species, with similar results. Ultimately, understanding the contribution of sexual selection to speciation will require identifying the processes that drive the divergence of mating biases.