Chapter 26, Problem 15TYPSS

Summary Introduction

To review:

The fact that how the fundamental asymmetry of sex operates in two different species, that is, the species with males not participating in parental care and species with males contributing equally in parental care with females. Due to these differences, is there any difference in the sexual dimorphism exhibited by these species.

Introduction:

In most of the species, the females tend to invest more in the parental care of their offsprings as compared to males. This phenomenon is called the fundamental asymmetry of sex. The consequence of this phenomenon is that the fitness of the female is reduced by the ability to collect resources to produce more eggs and take care of her offsprings.

In addition to this, the male fitness is reduced by the number of females he can mate with. Along with this phenomenon, there comes the sexual dimorphism which affects the fundamental asymmetry of sex in one way or another. The sexual dimorphism is the difference in the presence of more traits in males than females as a consequence of male-male competition for courtship with females.