Sympatric speciation by sexual selection (original) (raw)

Nature volume 402, pages 523–526 (1999)Cite this article

Abstract

There is increasing evidence1,2,3,4,5,6 for the process of sympatric speciation7,8, in which reproductive isolation of species occurs without physical isolation. Theoretical models9,10,11,12,13,14 have focused on disruptive natural selection as the crucial pressure for splitting a species. Here we report the theoretical finding that sympatric speciation may be caused by sexual selection even without disruptive natural selection. Specifically, we show that variation in a male secondary sexual character with two conspicuous extremes and the corresponding variance in female mating preference around no preference may jointly evolve into bimodal distributions with increasing modal divergence of the male and female traits, pulling a population apart into two prezygotically isolated populations. This mode of speciation, driven by two runaway processes15,16,17 in different directions, is promoted by an increase in the efficiency of females in discriminating among males or a decrease in the cost of male conspicuousness, indicating that sympatric speciation may occur more readily if barrier-free or predator-free conditions arise. Although even a slight cost of female preference would cancel the runaway process of sexual selection18, it would not cancel the divergent runaway processes of sympatric speciation.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Subscribe to this journal

Receive 51 print issues and online access

$199.00 per year

only $3.90 per issue

Buy this article

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Additional access options:

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Turner,G. F. Speciation mechanism in Lake Malawi cichlids: A critical review. Arch. Hydrobiol. 44, 139–160 (1994).
    Google Scholar
  2. Deutsch,J. C. Colour diversification in Malawi cichlids: evidence for adaptation, reinforcement or sexual selection? Biol. J. Linn. Soc. 62, 1–14 (1997).
    Article Google Scholar
  3. Seehausen,O., Alphen,J. J. M. & Witte,F. Cichlid fish diversity threatened by eutrophication that curbs sexual selection. Science 277, 1808–1811 (1997).
    Article CAS Google Scholar
  4. Seehausen,O. & Alphen,J. J. M. The effect of male coloration on female mate choice in closely related Lake Victoria cichlids (Haplochromis nyererei complex). Behav. Ecol. Sociobiol. 42, 1–8 (1998).
    Article Google Scholar
  5. Ritchie,M. G. & Phillips,S. D. F. in Endless Forms: Species and Speciation (eds Howard, D. J. & Berlocher, S. H.) 291–308 (Oxford Univ. Press, New York, 1998).
    Google Scholar
  6. Albertson,R. C., Markert,J. A., Danley,P. D. & Kocher,T. D. Phylogeny of a rapidly evolving clade: The cichlid fishes of Lake Malawi, East Africa. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 96, 5107–5110 (1999).
    Article ADS CAS Google Scholar
  7. Tauber,C. A. & Tauber,M. J. in Speciation and its Consequences (eds Otte, D. & Endler, J. A.) 307–344 (Sinauer, Sunderland, 1989).
    Google Scholar
  8. Bush,G. L. Sympatric speciation in animals: new wine in old bottles. Trends Ecol. Evol. 9, 285–288 (1994).
    Article CAS Google Scholar
  9. Maynard Smith,J. Sympatric speciation. Am. Nat. 100, 637–650 (1966).
    Article Google Scholar
  10. Tauber,G. A. & Tauber,M. J. A genetic model for sympatric speciation through habitat diversification and seasonal isolation. Nature 268, 702–705 (1977).
    Article ADS CAS Google Scholar
  11. Doebeli,M. A quantitative genetic competition model for sympatric speciation. J. Evol. Biol. 9, 893–909 (1996).
    Article Google Scholar
  12. Kawecki,T. J. Sympatric speciation via habitat specialization driven by deleterious mutations. Evolution 51, 1751–1763 (1997).
    Article Google Scholar
  13. Kodrashov,A. S. & Kondrashov,F. A. Interactions among quantitative traits in the course of sympatric speciation. Nature 400, 351–354 (1999).
    Article ADS Google Scholar
  14. Dieckmann,U. & Doebeli,M. On the origin of species by sympatric speciation. Nature 400, 354–357 (1999).
    Article ADS CAS Google Scholar
  15. Fisher,R. A. The Genetical Theory of Natural Selection (Clarendon, Oxford, 1930).
    Book Google Scholar
  16. Lande,R. Models of speciation by sexual selection on polygenic traits. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 78, 3721–3725 (1981).
    Article ADS MathSciNet CAS Google Scholar
  17. Seger,J. Unifying genetic models for the evolution of female choice. Evolution 39, 1185–1193 (1985).
    Article Google Scholar
  18. Pomiankowski,A. The costs of choice in sexual selection. J. Theor. Biol. 128, 195–218 (1987).
    Article CAS Google Scholar
  19. Liou,L. W. & Price,T. D. Speciation by reinforcement of premating isolation. Evolution 48, 1451–1459 (1994).
    Article Google Scholar
  20. Turner,G. F. & Burrows,M. T. A model of sympatric speciation by sexual selection. Proc. R. Soc. Lond. B 260, 287–292 (1995).
    Article ADS Google Scholar
  21. Pomiankowski,A., Iwasa,Y. & Nee,S. The evolution of costly mate preferences I. Fisher and biased mutation. Evolution 45, 1422–1430 (1991).
    Article Google Scholar
  22. Iwasa,Y., Pomiankowski,A. & Nee,S. The evolution of costly mate preferences II. The ‘handicap’ principle. Evolution 45, 1431–1442 (1991).
    PubMed Google Scholar
  23. Wu,G.-I. A stochastic simulation study on speciation by sexual selection. Evolution 39, 66–82 (1985).
    Article Google Scholar

Download references

Acknowledgements

M.H. thanks J. Lawton and the NERC Centre for Population Biology for their hospitality. This work was supported by a MESSC grant to M.H.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Ecological Research, Kyoto University, Kyoto, 606-8502, Japan
    M. Higashi, G. Takimoto & N. Yamamura

Authors

  1. M. Higashi
    You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar
  2. G. Takimoto
    You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar
  3. N. Yamamura
    You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence toM. Higashi.

Rights and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Higashi, M., Takimoto, G. & Yamamura, N. Sympatric speciation by sexual selection.Nature 402, 523–526 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1038/990087

Download citation

This article is cited by