0000000001317127
AUTHOR
Henna Martiskainen
The maintenance of sexually antagonistic variation in reproductive success by negative frequency-dependence in the bank vole (Myodes glareolus)
Natural selection theory predicts low variance in traits closely related to reproductive success, since the most fit trait value should replace all the others. However, a considerable amount of variation is found in life-history traits throughout the animal kingdom. The most widely accepted mechanism maintaining this variation is a balance between mutation and selection; however, observed variance is higher than predicted by mutation – selection balance alone and thus additional processes must be involved. One possible mechanism which has only recently started to gain attention is intralocus sexual conflict, where the optima of fitness related traits are sex dependent. This leads to sexuall…
Negative frequency-dependent selection of sexually antagonistic alleles in Myodes glareolus.
Sexually antagonistic genetic variation, where optimal values of traits are sex-dependent, is known to slow the loss of genetic variance associated with directional selection on fitness-related traits. However, sexual antagonism alone is not sufficient to maintain variation indefinitely. Selection of rare forms within the sexes can help to conserve genotypic diversity. We combined theoretical models and a field experiment with Myodes glareolus to show that negative frequency-dependent selection on male dominance maintains variation in sexually antagonistic alleles. In our experiment, high-dominance male bank voles were found to have low-fecundity sisters, and vice versa. These results show …
Data from: Negative frequency-dependent selection of sexually antagonistic alleles in Myodes glareolus
Sexually antagonistic genetic variation, where optimal values of traits are sex-dependent, is known to slow the loss of genetic variance associated with directional selection on fitness-related traits. However, sexual antagonism alone is not sufficient to maintain variation indefinitely. Selection of rare forms within the sexes can help to conserve genotypic diversity. We combined theoretical models and a field experiment with Myodes glareolus to show that negative frequency-dependent selection on male dominance maintains variation in sexually antagonistic alleles. In our experiment, high-dominance male bank voles were found to have low-fecundity sisters, and vice versa. These results show …