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Sexual selection
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== In different taxa == Sexual selection is widely distributed among the [[eukaryote]]s, occurring in plants, fungi, and animals. Since Darwin's pioneering observations on humans, it has been studied intensively among the insects, spiders, amphibians, scaled reptiles, birds, and mammals, revealing many distinctive behaviours and physical adaptations.<ref name="Nieuwenhuis 2012"/> === In mammals === {{Main|Sexual selection in humans|Sexual selection in mammals}} Darwin conjectured that [[Heritability|heritable]] traits such as beards, hairlessness, and [[steatopygia]] in different human populations are results of [[sexual selection in humans]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Darwin |first=Charles |author-link=Charles Darwin |title=The Descent of Man and Selection in Relation to Sex |year=1882 |location=London |publisher=John Murray |page=578<!--and much of the book--> |url=http://darwin-online.org.uk/content/frameset?itemID=F955&viewtype=text&pageseq=1}}</ref> Humans are sexually dimorphic; females select males using factors including voice pitch, facial shape, muscularity, and height.<ref>{{cite book |last=Buss |first=David |date=2019 |edition=Sixth |title=Evolutionary Psychology: The New Science of the Mind |chapter=Women's Long-Term Mating Strategies |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Sn6JDwAAQBAJ |publisher=Routledge |isbn=9780429590061 }}</ref><ref name="Feinberg Jones 2006">{{cite journal |last1=Feinberg |first1=D. R. |last2=Jones |first2=B. C. |last3=Law Smith |first3=M. J. |last4=Moore |first4=F. R. |last5=DeBruine |first5=L. M. |last6=Cornwell |first6=R. E. |last7=Hillier |first7=S. G. |last8=Perrett |first8=D. I. |display-authors=3 |date=1 February 2006 |title=Menstrual cycle, trait estrogen level, and masculinity preferences in the human voice |journal=Hormones and Behavior |volume=49 |issue=2 |pages=215–222 |doi=10.1016/j.yhbeh.2005.07.004 |pmid=16055126 |s2cid=14884832}}</ref> Among the many instances of sexual selection in mammals is extreme sexual dimorphism, with males as much as six times heavier than females, and male fighting for dominance among [[elephant seal]]s. Dominant males establish large [[Harem (zoology)|harem]]s of several dozen females; unsuccessful males may attempt to copulate with a harem male's females if the dominant male is inattentive. This forces the harem male to defend his territory continuously, not feeding for as much as three months.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |title=Earless Seals |encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of Marine Mammals |edition=2nd |editor-last=Perrin |editor-first=William F. |editor2-last=Würsig |editor2-first=Bernd |editor3-last=Thewissen |editor3-first=J. G. M. |publisher=Academic Press |location=Burlington, Massachusetts |isbn=978-0-12-373553-9 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2rkHQpToi9sC&q=elephant+seal+greatest+sexual+dimorphism&pg=PA23 |page=346 |year=2008 }}</ref><ref name="McCann 1981">{{cite journal |last=McCann |first=T. S. |year=1981 |title=Aggression and sexual activity of male Southern elephant seals, ''Mirounga leonina'' |journal=Journal of Zoology |volume=195 |issue=3 |pages=295–310 |doi=10.1111/j.1469-7998.1981.tb03467.x }}</ref> Also seen in mammals is sex-role reversal, as in the highly social [[meerkat]]s, where a large female is dominant within a pack, and female–female competition is observed. The dominant female produces most of the offspring; the subordinate females are nonbreeding, providing [[Altruism (biology)|altruistic]] care to the young.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Clutton-Brock |first1=T. H. |last2=Hodge |first2=S. J. |last3=Spong |first3=G. |year=2006 |title=Intrasexual competition and sexual selection in cooperative mammals |url=https://scholar.sun.ac.za/handle/10019.1/12319 |journal=Nature |volume=444 |issue=7122 |pages=1065–8 |doi=10.1038/nature05386 |pmid=17183322 |bibcode=2006Natur.444.1065C |s2cid=4397323 }}</ref><ref name=coop>{{cite journal |last1=Clutton-Brock |first1=T. H. |last2=Russell |first2=A. F. |last3=Sharpe |first3=L. L. |title=Behavioural tactics of breeders in cooperative meerkats |journal=Animal Behaviour |date=2004 |volume=68 |issue=5 |pages=1029–1040 |doi=10.1016/j.anbehav.2003.10.024 |s2cid=53175143}}</ref>{{Clear}} === In arthropods === {{Main|Sexual selection in spiders|Sexual selection in insects}} Sexual selection occurs in a wide range of [[spider]] species, both before and after copulation.<ref name="Eberhard 2009">{{cite journal |last=Eberhard |first=William G. |title=Postcopulatory sexual selection: Darwin's omission and its consequences |journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences |volume=106 |issue=supplement 1 |date=16 June 2009 |doi=10.1073/pnas.0901217106 |pages=10025–10032|pmid=19528642 |pmc=2702800 |doi-access=free }}</ref> Post-copulatory sexual selection involves sperm competition and cryptic female choice. Sperm competition occurs where the sperm of more than one male competes to fertilise the egg of the female. Cryptic female choice involves the expelling of a male's sperm during or after copulations.<ref name="Peretti Eberhard 2010">{{cite journal |last1=Peretti |first1=A. V. |last2=Eberhard |first2=W. G. |title=Cryptic female choice via sperm dumping favours male copulatory courtship in a spider |journal=Journal of Evolutionary Biology |volume=23 |issue=2 |year=2010 |doi=10.1111/j.1420-9101.2009.01900.x |pages=271–281|pmid=20487130 |s2cid=9110472 |doi-access=free }}</ref> Many forms of sexual selection exist among the insects. Parental care is often provided by female insects, as in bees, but male parental care is found in [[Belostomatidae|belostomatid]] water bugs, where the male, after fertilizing the eggs, allows the female to glue her eggs onto his back. He broods them until the [[Nymph (biology)|nymph]]s hatch 2–4 weeks later. The eggs are large and reduce the ability of the male to fertilise other females and catch prey, and increases its predation risk.<ref name="Gilbert Manica 2015">{{cite journal |last1=Gilbert |first1=James D. J. |last2=Manica |first2=Andrea |title=The evolution of parental care in insects: A test of current hypotheses |journal=Evolution |volume=69 |issue=5 |date=30 April 2015 |doi=10.1111/evo.12656 |pages=1255–1270|pmid=25825047 |pmc=4529740 |s2cid=17791711 }}</ref> Among the [[Firefly|fireflies]] (Lampyrid beetles), males fly in darkness and emit a species-specific pattern of light flashes, which are answered by perching receptive females. The colour and temporal variation of the flashes contribute to success in attracting females.<ref name="Lewis Cratsley 2008">{{cite journal |last1=Lewis |first1=Sara M. |last2=Cratsley |first2=Christopher K. |s2cid=16360536 |date=January 2008 |title=Flash Signal Evolution, Mate Choice, and Predation in Fireflies |journal=[[Annual Review of Entomology]] |volume=53 |issue=1 |pages=293–321 |doi=10.1146/annurev.ento.53.103106.093346 |pmid=17877452}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Branham |first1=Marc A. |last2=Wenzel |first2=John W. |date=December 2001 |title=The Evolution of Bioluminescence in Cantharoids (Coleoptera: Elateroidea) |journal=[[The Florida Entomologist]] |volume=84 |issue=4 |pages=565 |doi=10.2307/3496389 |jstor=3496389 |url=http://journals.fcla.edu/flaent/article/view/75005 |doi-access=free}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Martin |first1=Gavin J. |last2=Branham |first2=Marc A. |last3=Whiting |first3=Michael F. |last4=Bybee |first4=Seth M. |date=February 2017 |title=Total evidence phylogeny and the evolution of adult bioluminescence in fireflies (Coleoptera: Lampyridae) |journal=[[Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution]] |volume=107 |pages=564–575 |doi=10.1016/j.ympev.2016.12.017 |pmid=27998815 |doi-access=free|bibcode=2017MolPE.107..564M }}</ref> Among the [[beetle]]s, sexual selection is common. In the [[mealworm]] beetle, ''Tenebrio molitor,'' males release pheromones to attract females to mate.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Pölkki |first1=Mari |last2=Krams |first2=Indrikis |last3=Kangassalo |first3=Katariina |last4=Rantala |first4=Markus J. |date=2012-06-23 |title=Inbreeding affects sexual signalling in males but not females of Tenebrio molitor |journal=Biology Letters |language=en |volume=8 |issue=3 |pages=423–425 |doi=10.1098/rsbl.2011.1135 |issn=1744-9561 |pmc=3367757 |pmid=22237501}}</ref> Females choose mates based on whether they are infected, and on their mass.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Worden |first1=Bradley D. |last2=Parker |first2=Patricia G. |date=2005-11-05 |title=Females prefer noninfected males as mates in the grain beetle Tenebrio molitor: evidence in pre- and postcopulatory behaviours |url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0003347205002393 |journal=Animal Behaviour |volume=70 |issue=5 |pages=1047–1053 |doi=10.1016/j.anbehav.2005.01.023}}</ref> <!--This is NOT A LIST, we don't want an example farm here --- obviously there are thousands --> === In molluscs === Postcopulatory intersexual selection occurs in ''[[Idiosepius paradoxus]]'', the Japanese pygmy squid. Males place their spermatangia on an external location on the female's body. The female physically removes spermatangia of males she is presumed to favour less.<ref name="Sato-2016">{{Cite journal |last1=Sato |first1=Noriyosi |last2=Yoshida |first2=Masa-aki |last3=Kasugai |first3=Takashi |date=2016-11-17 |title=Impact of cryptic female choice on insemination success: Larger sized and longer copulating male squid ejaculate more, but females influence insemination success by removing spermatangia |url=https://doi.org/10.1111/evo.13108 |journal=Evolution |volume=71 |issue=1 |pages=111–120 |doi=10.1111/evo.13108 |pmid=27805265 |s2cid=8866473 |issn=0014-3820}}</ref><ref name="Sato-2013">{{Cite journal |last1=Sato |first1=Noriyosi |last2=Kasugai |first2=Takashi |last3=Munehara |first3=Hiroyuki |date=2013-03-01 |title=Sperm transfer or spermatangia removal: postcopulatory behaviour of picking up spermatangium by female Japanese pygmy squid |url=https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-012-2112-5 |journal=Marine Biology |volume=160 |issue=3 |pages=553–561 |doi=10.1007/s00227-012-2112-5 |bibcode=2013MarBi.160..553S |issn=1432-1793|hdl=10069/31698 |s2cid=253740276 |hdl-access=free }}</ref> === In amphibians and reptiles === {{Main|Sexual selection in amphibians|Sexual selection in scaled reptiles}} Many amphibians have annual breeding seasons with male–male competition. Males arrive at the water's edge first in large numbers, and produce a wide range of vocalizations to attract mates. Among frogs, the fittest males have the deepest croaks and the best territories; females select their mates at least partly based on the depth of croaking. This has led to sexual dimorphism, with females larger than males in 90% of species, and male fighting to access females.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Phelps |first1=S. |last2=Rand |first2=A. |last3=Ryan |first3=M. |year=2006 |title=A cognitive framework for mate choice and species recognition |journal=The American Naturalist |volume=167 |issue=1 |pages=28–42 |doi=10.1086/498538 |pmid=16475097 |bibcode=2006ANat..167...28P |s2cid=15851718 }}</ref><ref name="Wells Schwartz 2007">{{cite book |last1=Wells |first1=Kentwood D. |last2=Schwartz |first2=Joshua J. |title=Hearing and Sound Communication in Amphibians |chapter=The Behavioral Ecology of Anuran Communication |series=Springer Handbook of Auditory Research |year=2006 |volume=28 |publisher=Springer |location=New York |url=http://hydrodictyon.eeb.uconn.edu/courses/herpetology/Readings/Wells%20and%20Schwartz%202007%20Beh.%20Ecol.%20anuran%20comm..pdf |isbn=978-0-387-32521-7 |doi=10.1007/978-0-387-47796-1_3 |pages=44–86|s2cid=160384362 }}</ref> [[Spikethumb frog]]s are suggested to engage in male-male competition with their elongated prepollex to maintain their mating site.<ref name="Gonzalez-Mollinedo-2020">{{Cite journal |last1=Gonzalez-Mollinedo |first1=S. |last2=Marmol-Kattan |first2=A. |date=2020 |title=The underground sex life of the Guatemalan Spike-thumb Frog (Plectrohyla guatemalensis) |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/347752233 |journal=Neotropical Biology and Conservation |volume=15 |issue=4 |pages=551–559|doi=10.3897/neotropical.15.e57142 |doi-access=free }}</ref> The prepollex, which serves as a rudimentary digit, contains a projecting spine that may be used during this combat, leaving scars on the heads and forelimbs of other males.<ref name="Duellman-1992">{{Cite journal |last1=Duellman |first1=W.E. |last2=Campbell |first2=J.A. |date=1992 |title=Hylid frogs of the genus Plectrohyla: systematics and phylogenetic relationships |url=https://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/handle/2027.42/56425/MP181.pdf?sequence=1 |journal=Museum of Zoology, University of Michigan |issue=181}}</ref> Many different tactics are used by snakes to acquire mates. Ritual combat between males for the females they want to [[mating|mate]] with includes topping, a behaviour exhibited by most [[Viperidae|viperids]], in which one male twists around the vertically elevated fore body of its opponent and forcing it downward. Neck biting is common while the snakes are entwined.<ref name="Shine Langkilde Mason 2004">{{cite journal |last1=Shine |first1=Richard |last2=Langkilde |first2=Tracy |last3=Mason |first3=Robert T. |title=Courtship tactics in garter snakes: How do a male's morphology and behaviour influence his mating success? |year=2004 |journal=Animal Behaviour |volume=67 |issue=3 |pages=477–483 |s2cid=4830666 |doi=10.1016/j.anbehav.2003.05.007 }}</ref><ref name="Blouin-Demers Gibbs Weatherhead 2005">{{cite journal |last1=Blouin-Demers |first1=Gabriel |last2=Gibbs |first2=H. Lisle |last3=Weatherhead |first3=Patrick J. |title=Genetic evidence for sexual selection in black ratsnakes, ''Elaphe obsoleta'' |year=2005 |journal=Animal Behaviour |volume=69 |issue=1 |pages=225–34 |s2cid=3907523 |doi=10.1016/j.anbehav.2004.03.012 }}</ref> === In birds === {{Main |Sexual selection in birds}} Birds have evolved a wide variety of mating behaviours and many types of sexual selection. These include intersexual selection (female choice) and intrasexual competition, where individuals of the more abundant sex compete with each other for the privilege to mate. Many species, notably the [[Bird-of-paradise|birds-of-paradise]], are sexually dimorphic; the differences such as in size and coloration are energetically costly attributes that signal competitive breeding. Conflicts between an individual's fitness and signalling adaptations ensure that sexually selected ornaments such as coloration of plumage and courtship behaviour are [[honest signal|honest]] traits. Signals must be costly to ensure that only good-quality individuals can present these exaggerated sexual ornaments and behaviours. Males with the brightest plumage are favoured by females of multiple species of bird.<ref name=saino2013>{{cite journal|last=Saino|first=Nicola|author2=Romano, Maria |author3=Rubolini, Diego |author4=Teplitsky, Celine |author5=Ambrosini, Roberto |author6=Caprioli, Manuela |author7=Canova, Luca |author8=Wakamatsu, Kazumasa |author9=Roulin, Alexandre |display-authors=3 |title=Sexual Dimorphism in Melanin Pigmentation, Feather Coloration and Its Heritability in the Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica) |journal=PLOS ONE |year=2013 |volume=8 |issue=2 |pages=e58024 |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0058024 |pmid=23469134 |pmc=3585210 |bibcode=2013PLoSO...858024S|doi-access=free}}</ref><ref name=edwards2012>{{cite journal |last=Edwards |first=D.B. |title=Immune investment is explained by sexual selection and pace-of-life, but not longevity in parrots (Psittaciformes) |journal=PLOS ONE |year=2012 |volume=7 |issue=12 |pages=e53066 |pmid=23300862 |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0053066 |pmc=3531452 |bibcode=2012PLoSO...753066E |doi-access=free }}</ref><ref name="Doutrelant 2012">{{cite journal |last1=Doutrelant |first1=C. |last2=Grégoire |first2=A. |last3=Midamegbe |first3=A. |last4=Lambrechts |first4=M. |last5=Perret |first5=P. |title=Female plumage coloration is sensitive to the cost of reproduction. An experiment in blue tits |journal=[[Journal of Animal Ecology]] |date=January 2012 |volume=81 |issue=1 |pages=87–96 |pmid=21819397 |doi=10.1111/j.1365-2656.2011.01889.x |doi-access=free|bibcode=2012JAnEc..81...87D }}</ref> Many bird species make use of [[mating call]]s, the females preferring [[Bird vocalization|males with songs]] that are complex and varied in amplitude, structure, and frequency. Larger males have deeper songs and increased mating success.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Hall |first=L. |author2=Kingma, S. A. |author3=Peters, A. |title=Male songbird indicates body size with low-pitched advertising songs |journal=PLOS ONE |year=2013 |volume=8 |issue=2 |pages=e56717 |pmid=23437221 |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0056717 |pmc=3577745 |bibcode=2013PLoSO...856717H |doi-access=free}}</ref><ref name="Pfaff 2007">{{cite journal |last=Pfaff |first=J. A. |author2=Zanette, L. |author3=MacDougall-Shackleton, S. A. |author4=MacDougall-Shackleton, E. A. |title=Song repertoire size varies with HVC volume and is indicative of male quality in song sparrows (Melospiza melodia) |journal=[[Proceedings of the Royal Society B]] |date=22 August 2007 |volume=274 |issue=1621 |pages=2035–40 |pmid=17567560 |doi=10.1098/rspb.2007.0170 |pmc=2275172}}</ref><ref name="Nemeth 2012">{{cite journal |last=Nemeth |first=E. |author2=Kempenaers, B. |author3=Matessi, G. |author4=Brumm, H. |title=Rock sparrow song reflects male age and reproductive success |journal=PLOS ONE |year=2012 |volume=7 |issue=8 |pages=e43259 |pmid=22927955 |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0043259 |pmc=3426517 |bibcode=2012PLoSO...743259N |doi-access=free}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |author1= Mikula, P. |author2= Valcu, M. | author3= Brumm, H. | author4= Bulla, M. | author5= Forstmeier, W. | author6= Petrusková, T. | author7= Kempenaers, B. | author8= Albrecht, T | year=2021| title= A global analysis of song frequency in passerines provides no support for the acoustic adaptation hypothesis but suggests a role for sexual selection. | journal= Ecology Letters | volume= 24 | issue = 3 | pages= 477–486|doi=10.1111/ele.13662|pmid= 33314573|s2cid= 229176172 | doi-access= free |bibcode= 2021EcolL..24..477M }}</ref>{{Clear}} === In plants and fungi === {{Main|Sexual selection in flowering plants|Sexual selection in fungi}} [[Flowering plant]]s have many secondary sexual characteristics subject to sexual selection including [[floral symmetry]] if [[pollinator]]s visit flowers assortatively by degree of symmetry,<ref name="Møller Eriksson 1995">{{cite journal |last1=Møller |first1=Anders Pape |last2=Eriksson |first2=Mats |date=1995 |title=Pollinator Preference for Symmetrical Flowers and Sexual Selection in Plants |journal=Oikos |volume=73 |issue=1 |pages=15–22 |doi=10.2307/3545720 |jstor=3545720|bibcode=1995Oikos..73...15M }}</ref> nectar production, floral structure, and inflorescences, as well as sexual dimorphisms.<ref name="Ashman Delph 2006">{{Cite journal |last1=Ashman |first1=Tia-Lynn |last2=Delph |first2=Lynda F. |date=1 August 2006 |title=Trait selection in flowering plants: how does sexual selection contribute? |journal=Integrative and Comparative Biology |volume=46 |issue=4 |pages=465–472 |doi=10.1093/icb/icj038 |pmid=21672758 |doi-access=free}}</ref><ref name="Moore Pannell 2011">{{cite journal |last1=Moore |first1=Jamie C. |last2=Pannell |first2=John R. |title=Sexual selection in plants |journal=Current Biology |year=2011 |volume=21 |issue=5 |pages=R176–R182 |doi=10.1016/j.cub.2010.12.035 |pmid=21377091 |s2cid=18044399 |doi-access=free |bibcode=2011CBio...21.R176M }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Wilson |first=Mary F. |date=June 1979 |title=Sexual Selection In Plants |journal=The American Naturalist |volume=113 | issue=6 |pages=777–790 |doi=10.1086/283437 |bibcode=1979ANat..113..777W |s2cid=84970789 }}</ref> [[Fungi]] appear to make use of sexual selection, although they also often reproduce asexually. In the [[Basidiomycetes]], the sex ratio is biased towards males, implying sexual selection there. [[Male–male competition]] to fertilise occurs in fungi including yeasts. [[Sex pheromone#Signalling|Pheromone signaling]] is used by female gametes and by conidia, implying male choice in these cases. Female–female competition may also occur, indicated by the much faster evolution of female-biased genes in fungi.<ref name="Nieuwenhuis 2012">{{cite journal |doi=10.1111/jeb.12017 |pmid=23163326 |volume=25 |issue=12 |title=Sexual selection in fungi |year=2012 |journal=Journal of Evolutionary Biology |pages=2397–2411 |last1=Nieuwenhuis |first1=B. P. S. |last2=Aanen |first2=D. K. |s2cid=5657743 |doi-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last=Leonard |first=Janet L. |date=1 August 2006 |title=Sexual selection: lessons from hermaphrodite mating systems|journal=Integrative and Comparative Biology |volume=46 |issue=4 |pages=349–367 |doi=10.1093/icb/icj041 |pmid=21672747 |doi-access=free }}</ref><ref name="Beekman Nieuwenhuis Ortiz-Barrientos Evans 2016">{{cite journal |last1=Beekman |first1=Madeleine |last2=Nieuwenhuis |first2=Bart |last3=Ortiz-Barrientos |first3=Daniel |last4=Evans |first4=Jonathan P. |title=Sexual selection in hermaphrodites, sperm and broadcast spawners, plants and fungi |journal=Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences |publisher=The Royal Society |volume=371 |issue=1706 |date=19 October 2016 |issn=0962-8436 |doi=10.1098/rstb.2015.0541 |page=20150541|pmid=27619704 |pmc=5031625 }}</ref><ref name="Whittle Johannesson 2013">{{cite journal |last1=Whittle |first1=Carrie A. |last2=Johannesson |first2=Hanna |title=Evolutionary Dynamics of Sex-Biased Genes in a Hermaphrodite Fungus |journal=Molecular Biology and Evolution |publisher=Oxford University Press |volume=30 |issue=11 |date=20 August 2013 |doi=10.1093/molbev/mst143 |pages=2435–2446|pmid=23966547 |doi-access=free }}</ref> <gallery mode="packed" caption="Example sexual selection mechanisms in the named taxa"> File:Gorillafamily.JPG|[[Sexual selection in mammals|Among mammals]], the male gorilla is much larger than female. File:Phidippus putnami male.jpg|Males of many [[spider]]s, such as this ''[[Phidippus putnami]]'', have elaborate courtship displays. File:Toe-Biter.jpg|A male ''[[Abedus indentatus]]'' [[Belostomatidae|belostomatid bug]] carries eggs on its back. File:Fireflies, Georgia, US (detail).jpg|Each [[firefly]] species attracts mates with its own flash pattern. File:Dendropsophus microcephalus - calling male (Cope, 1886).jpg|Male ''[[Dendropsophus microcephalus]]'' calling File:Indian rat snake,Ptyas mucosa, Territorial Fight.jpg|Territorial fight in the Indian rat snake, ''[[Ptyas mucosa]]'' File:Victoria's Riflebird courtship - Lake Eacham - Queensland S4E8070 (22198704599) (cropped).jpg|Male [[Victoria's riflebird]] displaying to a female File:Satin Bowerbird nest.jpg|A male [[satin bowerbird]] guards its bower from rival males in the hope of attracting females with its decorations. File:MacquarieIslandElephantSeal.JPG|Male [[southern elephant seal]]s fighting on [[Macquarie Island]] for the right to mate File:Lily Lilium 'Citronella' Flower.jpg|''[[Citronella (genus)|Citronella]]'' flower's symmetry may have been subject to sexual selection by its [[pollinator]]s. File:RanaArvalisBlueMale3.jpg|Male [[moor frog]]s become blue to signal their fitness to females. </gallery>
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