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Data from: Multivariate selection and intersexual genetic constraints in a wild bird population

Cite this dataset

Poissant, Jocelyn et al. (2016). Data from: Multivariate selection and intersexual genetic constraints in a wild bird population [Dataset]. Dryad. https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.qt745

Abstract

When traits are genetically correlated between the sexes, the response to selection in one sex can be altered by indirect selection in the other sex, a type of genetic constraint commonly referred to as intralocus sexual conflict (ISC). While potentially common, ISC has rarely been studied in wild populations. In this study, we applied a multivariate framework to quantify the microevolutionary impacts of ISC over a set of morphological traits (wing length, tarsus length, bill depth, and bill length) in a wild population of great tits (Parus major) from Wytham Woods, UK. Specifically, we quantified the impact of cross-sex genetic covariances (the B matrix) on the additive genetic variance for relative fitness expected to be generated by directional selection and additive genetic (co)variance. Together, multivariate sex-specific selection and additive genetic (co)variance were expected to generate additive genetic variance for relative fitness that was uncorrelated between the sexes (cross-sex genetic correlation = -0.003, 95% CI = -0.83, 0.83). Gender load, defined as the expected reduction in additive genetic variance for relative fitness generated by the traits under study due to sex-specific effects, was estimated at 50% (95% CI = 13%, 86%). This study provides novel insights into the evolution of sexual dimorphism in great tits and illustrates how quantitative genetics and selection analyses can be combined in a multivariate framework to quantify the expected microevolutionary impacts of ISC.

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