Sexual selection and mating systems under anthropogenic disturbance

Abstract

Sexual signaling and the strength of sexual selection are often predicated on the differential ability of individuals to acquire resources necessary for survival, reproduction, and mate attraction. Variation may arise through differential acquisition/defense of desirable resources used to attract mates via intrasexual competition, or investment of those resources into condition-dependent signals used in intersexual displays. The link between sexual selection and individual condition is often dependent upon relative habitat quality. Anthropogenic disturbance that affects overall quality of the habitat thus has the potential to disrupt sexual competition and signaling and associated reproductive success. In addition, alteration in habitat quality can influence the strength of sexual selection if it alters patterns of extra-pair paternity and polygamy. We will consider how anthropogenic effects might alter competitive ability, or the ability of individuals to reliably express condition-dependent signals in both acoustic and visual signals, and the potential consequences these anthropogenic effects can have on mate choice and the strength of sexual selection. Our chapter will also consider the impact that disturbance can have on reproductive output, and whether some mating systems may be more vulnerable than others in surviving anthropogenic change.