Clutton-Brock Tim
Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge CB2 3EJ, UK.
Science. 2007 Dec 21;318(5858):1882-5. doi: 10.1126/science.1133311.
Research on sexual selection shows that the evolution of secondary sexual characters in males and the distribution of sex differences are more complex than was initially suggested but does not undermine our understanding of the evolutionary mechanisms involved. However, the operation of sexual selection in females has still received relatively little attention. Recent studies show that both intrasexual competition between females and male choice of mating partners are common, leading to strong sexual selection in females and, in extreme cases, to reversals in the usual pattern of sex differences in behavior and morphology.
性选择研究表明，雄性第二性征的进化以及性别差异的分布比最初认为的更为复杂，但这并不妨碍我们对所涉及的进化机制的理解。然而，雌性的性选择运作仍然受到相对较少的关注。最近的研究表明，雌性之间的同性竞争和雄性对交配伴侣的选择都很常见，导致雌性中存在强烈的性选择，在极端情况下，还会导致行为和形态上性别差异的通常模式发生逆转。
