The evolution of sex ratio adjustment in the presence of sexually antagonistic selection

Abstract

Sex ratio adjustment (SRA) of broods has received widespread interest as a means for optimizing parental investment in offspring. Classical explanations for the evolution of SRA focus on improving offspring fitness in light of resource availability or mate attractiveness. Here, we use genetic models to demonstrate that SRA can evolve to alleviate sexual antagonism by improving the chance that the alleles of a sexually antagonistic trait are transmitted to the sex they benefit. In cases where the trait is autosomally inherited, this result is obtained regardless of whether SRA is based on the mother's or the father's genotype and irrespective of the recombination rate between the trait and SRA loci. SRA also evolves in this manner when the trait is sex-linked, provided that SRA decisions are based on the homogametic genotype (XX mothers or ZZ fathers). By contrast, when based on traits in the heterogametic sex, SRA promotes fixation of the allele that is detrimental to that sex, preventing the evolution of substantial levels of SRA. Our models indicate that the evolution of SRA in nature should be strongly influenced by the genetic architecture of the traits on which it is based and the form of selection affecting them.