Polyandry: The Evolution Of Monogamy

Words: 1326
Pages: 6

Magdalena Chavez
Dr. Dunn
BIOL311
November 6, 2015
Experimental evolution of Mus musculus post-copulatory sexual strategies in females and DNA fragmentation in the spermatozoa of male counterparts over successive generations
Keywords: polygamy, polyandry, post-copulatory, sexual selection, DNA fragmentation, Mus musculus, competition, monogamy

Background information: Polygamy is the act of an individual copulating with multiple mates, whereas monogamy refers to an individual species copulating with a single individual. Polygamy is a phenomenon that is taxonomically widespread, and is not subject to only the male counterpart of a species. Polyandry (female-multiple partner copulation) is a common copulation strategy that incites spermatozoa competition. Polyandrous females use this mating strategy and cryptic female choice as a mean for post-copulatory sexual selection. A plethora of studies have been conducted to test correlations between non-invertebrates and the benefits of polyandry; however, there are only few that have tested variables involving mammalian,
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2005. Faithful without care: the evolution of monogyny. Evolution. 59(7):1400-1405.
This source is an experimental article from a reputable source in the scientific community that has been cited 82 times and references 31 other sources. This article provided a model to determine a mathematical hypothesis for the evolution of monogyny as it related to mortality risks and paternal investments. The author mathematically concluded that monogyny is favored when there is a male-biased sex ratio (more males mating than females, more males surviving until maturity). This article was helpful in determining the background variables affecting monogamous and polygamous sexual strategies.

5 Kvarnemo C, Simmons L. 2013. Polyandry as a mediator of sexual selection before and after mating. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences.