On Sexual Selection
This provides a theoretical framework for evolutionary biology, but it is incremental as it builds on existing models of coevolution and fitness landscapes.
The paper tackles the problem of understanding intersexual selection as a mechanism to compensate for coevolutionary dynamics between sexes, using NK and NKCS models to show that varying fitness landscape parameters can make a simple sexual selection mechanism beneficial, with results indicating this holds whether one or both sexes exploit it.
Sexual selection is a fundamental aspect of evolution for all eukaryotic organisms with mating types. This paper suggests intersexual selection is best viewed as a mechanism to compensate for the unavoidable dynamics of coevolution between sexes that emerge with isogamy. Using the NK model of fitness landscapes, the conditions under which allosomes emerge are first explored. This extends previous work on the evolution of sex where the fitness landscape smoothing of a rudimentary form of the Baldwin effect is suggested as the underlying cause. The NKCS model of coevolution is then used to show how varying fitness landscape size, ruggedness, and connectedness can vary the conditions under which a very simple sexual selection mechanism proves beneficial. This is found to be the case whether one or both sexes exploit sexual selection.