Sexual selection is positively associated with ecological generalism among agamid lizards.

Natural and sexual selection shape the evolution of species but the interplay between them is poorly understood. Two phylogenetic studies on birds have suggested that species with greater sexual dichromatism have a broader habitat use. We show that in agamid lizards, species with more elaborate secondary sexual traits are also ecologically more opportunistic. Species with greater dimorphism in head size and ornamentation have greater altitudinal range and broader habitat use, respectively, and species with greater sexual dichromatism have wider microhabitat use. Body size was positively associated with sexual and ecological generalism, but associations between ecological and sexual traits remained after accounting for body size. We suggest that sexual and natural selection may be linked either because sexual selection can promote generalism at the population level by favouring 'good genes', or because higher population densities may be associated with both stronger sexual selection and broader resource use.

Ostman O ，Stuart-Fox D 《-》

Sexual selection and ecological generalism are correlated in antbirds.

Tobias JA ，Seddon N 《-》

Sexual selection, natural selection and the evolution of dimorphic coloration and ornamentation in agamid lizards.

Stuart-Fox DM ，Ord TJ 《-》

Sexual selection and the evolution of complex color patterns in dragon lizards.

Many species have elaborate and complex coloration and patterning, which often differ between the sexes. Sexual selection may increase the size or intensity of color patches (elaboration) in one sex or drive the evolution of novel signal elements (innovation). The latter potentially increases color pattern complexity. Color pattern complexity may also be influenced by ecological factors related to predation and environment; however, very few studies have investigated the effects of both sexual and natural selection on color pattern complexity across species. We used a phylogenetic comparative approach to examine these effects in 85 species and subspecies of Australian dragon lizards (family Agamidae). We quantified color pattern complexity by adapting the Shannon-Wiener diversity index. There were clear sex differences in color pattern complexity, which were positively correlated with both sexual dichromatism and sexual size dimorphism, consistent with the idea that sexual selection plays a significant role in the evolution of color pattern complexity. By contrast, we found little evidence of a link between environmental factors and color pattern complexity on body regions exposed to predators. Our results suggest that sexual selection rather than natural selection has led to increased color pattern complexity in males.

Chen IP ，Stuart-Fox D ，Hugall AF ，Symonds MR ... -  《-》

Faster lizards sire more offspring: sexual selection on whole-animal performance.

Husak JF ，Fox SF ，Lovern MB ，Van Den Bussche RA ... -  《EVOLUTION》