Sex and Sexual Selection

This set of flashcards covers key concepts related to sex and sexual selection, as discussed in the lecture.

Asexual Reproduction

A reproductive strategy where genetically identical cells are produced from a single parent cell through mitosis.

Parthenogenesis

A form of asexual reproduction where females produce offspring from unfertilized eggs.

Hermaphroditism

An individual organism possessing both male and female reproductive tissues, with potential for sequential sex changes.

Gonochorism

A reproductive strategy where organisms are differentiated as male or female and do not change sex.

Sex Determination

The biological system that determines the sexual characteristics of an organism based on genetic or environmental factors.

XX/XY System

The genetic sex determination system in which XX denotes females and XY denotes males, common in humans and most mammals.

ZW System

The genetic sex determination system where females are ZW and males are ZZ, found in birds and some insects.

Haplodiploid

A system of sex determination in which males are haploid and females are diploid.

Fisher-Muller Hypothesis

The hypothesis that sex may help populations adapt better to changing environments by combining beneficial mutations.

Sexual Selection

The process where certain traits increase an individual's chances of mating and reproducing, independent of natural selection.

Differential Parental Investment

The concept where females typically invest more in gametes, while males can produce many gametes at a lower cost.

Anisogamy

The difference in gamete size and investment between males and females, typically characterized by males producing numerous small sperm and females producing fewer large eggs.

Sexual Dimorphism

The condition where the two sexes of the same species exhibit different characteristics beyond the differences in their sexual organs.

Sensory Bias

The preference of females for certain male traits that may not directly correlate with the traits' adaptive benefit.

Handicap Hypothesis

The theory that males with more extreme characteristics are indicating their genetic quality due to the survival cost of such traits.

Post-copulatory Guarding

Behavior where males protect their investment in females to increase the chances of their own reproductive success.

Darwinian Sexual Selection

A form of natural selection distinct from survival of the fittest, where traits evolve not solely for survival but for increased reproductive success.