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Animal Behaviour: Evolution and Mechanisms pp 301–327Cite as

The quantitative study of sexual and natural selection in the wild and in the laboratory

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Abstract

I discuss the continuum of approaches that exist when studying sexual or natural selection in the wild and the laboratory. These range from behavioural observations in the laboratory, via experimental manipulations of particular traits or environments, to phenomenological studies in nature. I focus on the study of body size and related life history traits, particularly drawing from our own studies on dung flies as examples. For any given species or phenomenon, ideally all types of studies should be integrated to obtain a complete picture of the evolution of particular traits in terms of mechanisms and function, proximate and ultimate explanations. I particularly advocate the use of standardised selection measures, which are well established in the literature but underused, and which I discuss in the chapter as practical guidance for the general reader. Utilisation of such measures even in experimental, laboratory studies of behavioural mechanisms, which is often possible but rarely done, would greatly facilitate any future meta-analyses of particular traits, species and evolutionary phenomena.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, University of Zürich-Irchel, Zürich, Switzerland

    Wolf Blankenhorn

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  1. Wolf Blankenhorn
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Dept. of Sociobiology/Anthropology & CRC Evolution of Social Behavior & German Primate Center, Behavioral Ecology & Sociobiology Unit, University of Göttingen, Kellnerweg 6, 37077, Göttingen, Germany

    Peter Kappeler

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Blankenhorn, W. (2010). The quantitative study of sexual and natural selection in the wild and in the laboratory. In: Kappeler, P. (eds) Animal Behaviour: Evolution and Mechanisms. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-02624-9_11

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