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Fecundity selection, also known as fertility selection, is the fitness advantage resulting from selection on traits that increases the number of offspring (i.e. fecundity). [1] Charles Darwin formulated the theory of fecundity selection between 1871 and 1874 to explain the widespread evolution of female-biased sexual size dimorphism (SSD ...
Organisms whose life history is subject to r-selection are often referred to as r-strategists or r-selected. Organisms that exhibit r -selected traits can range from bacteria and diatoms , to insects and grasses , to various semelparous cephalopods , certain families of birds, such as dabbling ducks , and small mammals , particularly rodents .
Fecundity selection builds on that idea. This idea claims that the genetic selection of traits that increase an organism's fecundity is, in turn, advantageous to an organism's fitness. [10] Fecundity Schedule. Fecundity Schedules are data tables that display the patterns of birth amongst individuals of different ages in a population.
Mate choice is a major component of sexual selection, another being intrasexual selection. Ideas on sexual selection were first introduced in 1871, by Charles Darwin, then expanded on by Ronald Fisher in 1915. At present, there are five sub mechanisms that explain how mate choice has evolved over time.
Memetics is a theory of the evolution of culture based on Darwinian principles with the meme as the unit of culture. The term "meme" was coined by biologist Richard Dawkins in his 1976 book The Selfish Gene, [1] to illustrate the principle that he later called "Universal Darwinism".
As culture increasingly affects human mating choices, ascertaining what is the 'natural' mating system of the human animal from a zoological perspective becomes increasingly difficult. Some clues can be taken from human anatomy, which is essentially unchanged from the prehistoric past:
In 2013, Fritzsche and Arnqvist tested Bateman's principle by estimating sexual selection between males and females in four seed beetles. They used a unique experimental design that showed sexual selection to be greater in males than in females. In contrast, sexual selection was also shown to be stronger for females in role-reversed species.
Female fecundity: Males benefit from a high female fecundity as it means that females can produce more offspring and have a higher potential for reproduction. It is important to note that females also benefit from high fecundity, and thus this trait is probably more affected by classical natural selection.