Overview

This book presents the first unified conceptual and statistical framework for understanding the evolution of reproductive strategies. Using the concept of the opportunity for sexual selection, the authors illustrate how and why sexual selection, though restricted to one sex and opposed in the other, is one of the strongest and fastest of all evolutionary forces. They offer a statistical framework for studying mating system evolution and apply it to patterns of alternative mating strategies. In doing so, they provide a method for quantifying how the strength of sexual selection is affected by the ecological and life history processes that influence females' spatial and temporal clustering and reproductive schedules. Directly challenging verbal evolutionary models that attempt to explain reproductive behavior without quantitative reference to evolutionary genetics, this book establishes a more solid theoretical foundation for the field. Among the weaknesses the authors find in the existing data is the apparent ubiquity of condition-dependent mating tactics.They identify factors likely to contribute to the evolution of alternative mating strategies--which they argue are more common than generally believed--and illustrate how to measure the strength of selection acting on them. Lastly, they offer predictions on the covariation of mating systems and strategies, consider the underlying developmental biology behind male polyphenism, and propose directions for future research. Informed by genetics, this is a comprehensive and rigorous new approach to explaining mating systems and strategies that will influence a wide swath of evolutionary biology.

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9780691049311

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Reviews

I found the book to be so compelling that I read it twice (and will read it again). It is challenging and provocative... The authors are accomplished teachers and each chapter is logically structured, informed, informative and interesting without every being patronizing or obscure. -- Michael T. Siva-Jothy Trends in Ecology and Evolution It is a major landmark in the area of sexual selection and mating systems and is a must read for anyone interested in moving this field forward. -- Alexander V. Badyaev Ecology The book delivers on its promise to present a thorough framework for quantitative analyses, and it does so with admirable clarity, guiding readers through the models so that any interested biologist can follow. -- Mary Jane West-Eberhard Quarterly Review of Biology

I found the book to be so compelling that I read it twice (and will read it again). It is challenging and provocative... The authors are accomplished teachers and each chapter is logically structured, informed, informative and interesting without every being patronizing or obscure. --Michael T. Siva-Jothy, Trends in Ecology and Evolution It is a major landmark in the area of sexual selection and mating systems and is a must read for anyone interested in moving this field forward. --Alexander V. Badyaev, Ecology The book delivers on its promise to present a thorough framework for quantitative analyses, and it does so with admirable clarity, guiding readers through the models so that any interested biologist can follow. --Mary Jane West-Eberhard, Quarterly Review of Biology

Author Information

Stephen M. Shuster is Professor of Invertebrate Zoology at Northern Arizona University. Michael J. Wade is Professor of Biology at Indiana University.

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