Sexual selection sexually selected trait

Birkhead, T. R., Pellatt, E. J., Matthews, I. M., Roddis, N. J., Hunter, F. M., McPhie, F., and Castillo-Juarez, H. 2006. Genic capture and the genetic basis of sexually selected traits in the zebra finch. Evolution 60 2389-2398. 

Iyengar, V. K. and Eisner, T. (1999a). Heritability of body mass, a sexually selected trait, in an arctiid moth (Utetheisa ornatrix). Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, USA 96 9169-9171. 

Heritability of the sexually selected trait (Utetheisa ornatrix)... 

Before addressing these arguments about how selection alters the level of additive genetic variation, it is instructive to examine the data. A recent literature search was carried out of studies that measured the heritability of sexual traits (Pomiankowski Moller 1995). A comparison was made of the additive genetic variation in sexual and similar non-sexual traits from the same species. Ideally the same trait from the female (or the non-sexually selected sex) was used for comparison. When this was not available, another non-sexually dimorphic trait was used. 

Hill, G. E. 1990. Female house finches prefer colorful males Sexual selection for a condition-dependent trait. Anim. Behav. 40 563-572. 

Andersson, M. (1994) Sexual Selection. Princeton University Press, Princeton, New Jersey. Albone, E.S. (1984) Mammalian Semiochemistry. John Wiley Sons limited, New York Badyaev, A.V., Hill, G.E., Dunn, P.O. and Glenn, J.C. (2001) Plumage color as a composite trait Developmental and functional integration of sexual ornamentation. Amer. Nat. 158, 221-235... 

Variation is most likely to be maintained by mutation when a trait is affected by genes at many different loci. Miller (2000, this volume) points out that because the human brain is so complex, any mutation is likely to affect intelligence. He also offers the hypothesis that some aspects of human intelligence are sexually selected. 

A similar logic can be applied to sexual traits. Pomiankowski Moller (1995) suggested that persistent directional selection caused by female mate preferences disproportionately favours individuals with higher trait values. Such selection favours increased phenotypic variance and so selects for an increase in the... 

---