The cost of secondary sexual characters and the evolution of cost‐reducing traits
Abstract
Secondary sexual traits are characterized by their exaggerated expression relative to homologous nonsexual characters in other species. All models of sexual selection assume that sex traits are costly to produce and maintain, and individuals with reduced costs of production and maintenance of secondary sexual characters would be at a selective advantage. A number of morphological, physiological and behavioural traits may have evolved as a result of their cost‐reducing properties: (1) body size, which does not change throughout life, that allows certain individuals to develop exaggerated sex traits, (2) cost‐reducing traits, such as muscle size, that improve with practice and (3) actual cost‐reducing traits, such as wing size in birds with song flight, which are produced in advance of or simultaneously with the sex trait. Cost‐reducing traits may coevolve with secondary sexual characters and allow more extreme sexual signalling than would otherwise have been possible in their absence or in reduced versions.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Claims the paper makes
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
When traits are exhibited that appear cumbersome, natural selection may select for co-adaptations for the mitigation of any additional costs.
“when traits are exhibited that appear cumbersome, natural selection may select for co-adaptations for the mitigation of any additional costs4142.”
From The peacock train does not handicap cursorial locomotor performance (2016) · cites this paper as [41]
Cites
Introduction to Quantitative Genetics.
Edwards, A. W. F., & Falconer, D. S. (1982) · Biometrics · doi:10.2307/2529912 · Cited by 21,447 · see citing works
The genetical theory of natural selection
Fisher, R. A. (1930) · doi:10.5962/bhl.title.27468 · Cited by 17,617 · see citing works
The descent of man and selection in relation to sex
チャールス, ダ., & 茂穂, 田. (1907) · Tokyo Jinrui Gakkai zasshi · doi:10.1537/ase1887.22.495 · Cited by 10,909 · see citing works
Mate selection—A selection for a handicap
Zahavi, A. (1975) · Journal of Theoretical Biology · doi:10.1016/0022-5193(75)90111-3 · Cited by 5,251 · see citing works
Parasites, Bright Males, and the Immunocompetence Handicap
Folstad, I., & Karter, A. J. (1992) · The American Naturalist · doi:10.1086/285346 · Cited by 2,799 · see citing works
Biological signals as handicaps
Grafen, A. (1990) · Journal of Theoretical Biology · doi:10.1016/s0022-5193(05)80088-8 · Cited by 2,462 · see citing works
Models of speciation by sexual selection on polygenic traits
Lande, R. (1981) · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1073/pnas.78.6.3721 · Cited by 2,298 · see citing works
STRENGTH OF EVIDENCE FOR DENSITY DEPENDENCE IN ABUNDANCE TIME SERIES OF 1198 SPECIES
Brook, B. W., & Bradshaw, C. J. A. (2006) · Ecology · doi:10.1890/0012-9658(2006)87[1445:soefdd]2.0.co;2 · Cited by 2,085 · see citing works
The descent of man, and Selection in relation to sex, Vol 1.
Darwin, C. R. (1871) · doi:10.1037/12293-000 · Cited by 1,928 · see citing works
Caste and ecology in the social insects
Brian, M. V. (1979) · Animal Behaviour · doi:10.1016/0003-3472(79)90042-3 · Cited by 1,888 · see citing works
SEXUAL SELECTION AND THE EVOLUTION OF FEMALE CHOICE
Kirkpatrick, M. (1982) · Evolution · doi:10.1111/j.1558-5646.1982.tb05003.x · Cited by 1,172 · see citing works
Variance and the Value of Information
Stephens, D. W. (1989) · The American Naturalist · doi:10.1086/284969 · Cited by 1,129 · see citing works
Interactions Between the Gonadal Steroids and the Immune System
Grossman, C. J. (1985) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.3871252 · Cited by 1,057 · see citing works
Predation risk as a cost of reproduction
Magnhagen, C. (1991) · Trends in Ecology & Evolution · doi:10.1016/0169-5347(91)90210-o · Cited by 1,008 · see citing works
An empirical demonstration of risk-sensitive foraging preferences
Caraco, T. B., Martindale, S., & Whittam, T. S. (1980) · Animal Behaviour · doi:10.1016/s0003-3472(80)80142-4 · Cited by 767 · see citing works
THE EVOLUTION OF COSTLY MATE PREFERENCES II. THE “HANDICAP” PRINCIPLE
Iwasa, Y., Pomiankowski, A., & Nee, S. (1991) · Evolution · doi:10.1111/j.1558-5646.1991.tb02646.x · Cited by 757 · see citing works
Female choice selects for male sexual tail ornaments in the monogamous swallow
Møller, A. P. (1988) · Nature · doi:10.1038/332640a0 · Cited by 643 · see citing works
Self-citationAndersson, M. (1986) · Evolution · doi:10.1111/j.1558-5646.1986.tb00540.x · Cited by 639 · see citing works
Norberg, U. M. L. (1990) · Zoophysiology · doi:10.1007/978-3-642-83848-4 · Cited by 618 · see citing works
Sexual selection unhandicapped by the fisher process
Grafen, A. (1990) · Journal of Theoretical Biology · doi:10.1016/s0022-5193(05)80087-6 · Cited by 593 · see citing works
Sexual Selection and the Barn Swallow
Møller, A. P., & Gregersen, J. (1994) · doi:10.1093/oso/9780198540298.001.0001 · Cited by 562 · see citing works
Self-citationVertebrate Flight: Mechanics, Physiology, Morphology, Ecology and Evolution
(1990) · Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology Part A Physiology · doi:10.1016/0300-9629(90)90674-h · Cited by 434 · see citing works
THE EVOLUTION OF COSTLY MATE PREFERENCES I. FISHER AND BIASED MUTATION
Pomiankowski, A., Iwasa, Y., & Nee, S. (1991) · Evolution · doi:10.1111/j.1558-5646.1991.tb02645.x · Cited by 396 · see citing works
Physiological limits to sustainable energy budgets in birds and mammals: Ecological implications
Weiner, J. (1992) · Trends in Ecology & Evolution · doi:10.1016/0169-5347(92)90009-z · Cited by 389 · see citing works
The energetic cost of display in male sage grouse
Vehrencamp, S. L., Bradbury, J. W., & Gibson, R. M. (1989) · Animal Behaviour · doi:10.1016/s0003-3472(89)80120-4 · Cited by 326 · see citing works
Hormonal basis of sexual dimorphism in birds: implications for new theories of sexual selection
Owens, I. P. F., & Short, R. V. (1995) · Trends in Ecology & Evolution · doi:10.1016/s0169-5347(00)88967-3 · Cited by 293 · see citing works
Fitness, Uncertainty, and the Role of Diversification in Evolution and Behavior
Real, L. A. (1980) · The American Naturalist · doi:10.1086/283588 · Cited by 287 · see citing works
The influence of parasites on host sexual selection
Clayton, D. H. (1991) · Parasitology Today · doi:10.1016/0169-4758(91)90211-6 · Cited by 248 · see citing works
The effect of social interactions on calling energetics in the gray treefrog (Hyla versicolor)
Wells, K. D., & Taigen, T. L. (1986) · Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology · doi:10.1007/bf00303837 · Cited by 236 · see citing works
Caste and Ecology in the Social Insects
Usher, M. B., Oster, G., & Wilson, E. O. (1979) · Biometrics · doi:10.2307/2530130 · Cited by 230 · see citing works
Andersson, M. (1986) · Evolution · doi:10.2307/2408465 · Cited by 227 · see citing works
Viability costs of male tail ornaments in a swallow
Møller, A. P. (1989) · Nature · doi:10.1038/339132a0 · Cited by 216 · see citing works
Self-citationUse of non-arbitrary acoustic criteria in mate choice by female gray tree frogs
Klump, G. M., & Gerhardt, H. C. (1987) · Nature · doi:10.1038/326286a0 · Cited by 203 · see citing works
SEXUAL SELECTION BY THE HANDICAP MECHANISM
Heywood, J. S. (1989) · Evolution · doi:10.1111/j.1558-5646.1989.tb02590.x · Cited by 183 · see citing works
Evolution of mating preference and sexual dimorphism
Lande, R., & Arnold, S. J. (1985) · Journal of Theoretical Biology · doi:10.1016/s0022-5193(85)80245-9 · Cited by 172 · see citing works
Evans, M. R., & Thomas, A. L. R. (1992) · Animal Behaviour · doi:10.1016/s0003-3472(05)80229-5 · Cited by 133 · see citing works
Morphological adaptations to song flight in passerine birds: a comparative study
Hedenström, A., & Møller, A. P. (1992) · Proceedings of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences · doi:10.1098/rspb.1992.0026 · Cited by 121 · see citing works
Self-citationDIFFERENTIAL COSTS OF A SECONDARY SEXUAL CHARACTER: AN EXPERIMENTAL TEST OF THE HANDICAP PRINCIPLE
Møller, A. P., & de Lope, F. (1994) · Evolution · doi:10.1111/j.1558-5646.1994.tb02204.x · Cited by 117 · see citing works
Self-citationDifferential Costs of a Secondary Sexual Character: An Experimental Test of the Handicap Principle
Møller, A. P., & de Lope, F. (1994) · Evolution · doi:10.2307/2410256 · Cited by 96 · see citing works
Self-citationHöglund, ., Alatalo, R. V., & Lundberg, A. (1992) · Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology · doi:10.1007/bf00173942 · Cited by 75 · see citing works
Balmford, A. P., Jones, I. L., & Thomas, A. L. R. (1994) · Evolution · doi:10.1111/j.1558-5646.1994.tb05293.x · Cited by 73 · see citing works
Sexual selection in the barn swallow Hirundo rustica. VI. Aerodynamic adaptations
Møller, A. P., de Lope, F., & Saino, N. (1995) · Journal of Evolutionary Biology · doi:10.1046/j.1420-9101.1995.8060671.x · Cited by 70 · see citing works
Self-citationThe costs of secondary sexual characters in the lekking great snipe (Gallinago media)
H�glundi, J., K�l�s, J., & Fiske, P. (1992) · Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology · doi:10.1007/bf00170596 · Cited by 66 · see citing works
Møller, A. P., Lindén, M., Soler, J. J., et al. (1995) · Behavioral Ecology · doi:10.1093/beheco/6.4.368 · Cited by 42 · see citing works
Self-citationThe evolutionarily stable strategy for secondary sexual characters
Sutherland, W. J., & de Jong, M. C. M. (1991) · Behavioral Ecology · doi:10.1093/beheco/2.1.16 · Cited by 16 · see citing works
Fry, C. H. (1969) · Journal of Zoology · doi:10.1111/j.1469-7998.1969.tb01686.x · Cited by 6 · see citing works
Flagged first, then by citations
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Elaborate horns in a giant rhinoceros beetle incur negligible aerodynamic costs
McCullough, E. L., & Tobalske, B. W. (2013) · Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences · doi:10.1098/rspb.2013.0197 · Cited by 45 · see citing works
Barbosa, A. (1999) · Behavioral Ecology · doi:10.1093/beheco/10.2.128 · Cited by 33 · see citing works
The peacock train does not handicap cursorial locomotor performance
Thavarajah, N. K., Tickle, P. G., Nudds, R. L., & Codd, J. R. (2016) · Scientific Reports · doi:10.1038/srep36512 · Cited by 25 · see citing works
- Authors
- MØLLER, A. P.
- Affiliations
- University of Copenhagen (DK)
- Corresponding author
- MØLLER, ANDERS PAPE
- ORCID
- MØLLER, ANDERS PAPE
- Venue
- Ibis
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 1996-01
- Volume
- 138
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 112-119
- ISSN
- 0019-1019 (ISSN-L)
- 1474-919X
- OpenAlex
- W2155117700
- Cited by
- 66
- References
- 46
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2025: 5 · 2024: 3 · 2023: 2 · 2022: 3 · 2021: 3 · 2020: 2 · 2018: 3 · 2017: 2 · 2016: 2 · 2014: 4 · 2013: 3 · 2012: 2
- FWCI
- 4.35
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Ibis (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics › Animal Behavior and Reproduction
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Evolutionary Psychology and Human Behavior
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Ecology › Avian ecology and behavior
- Keywords
- secondary sexual characteristics, sexual selection, sexual signals, body size, muscle size, wing size, coevolution
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
