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Science 14 December 1990:
Vol. 250. no. 4987, pp. 1556 - 1558
DOI: 10.1126/science.250.4987.1556
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Articles

Evolution of a Balanced Sex Ratio by Frequency-Dependent Selection in a Fish

David O. Conover 1 and David A. Van Voorhees 1

1 Marine Sciences Research Center, State University of New York, Stony Brook, NY 11794-5000

Balanced (1 to 1) sex ratios are thought to evolve by a process known as frequency- dependent selection of the minority sex. Five populations of a fish with genetically based variation in temperature-dependent sex determination were maintained for 5 to 6 years in artificial constant-temperature environments that initially caused the sex ratio to be highly skewed. Increases in the proportion of the minority sex occurred in subsequent generations until a balanced sex ratio was established, thus confirming a central premise underlying the theory of sex-ratio evolution.


THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
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Sex-Sorted Sperm and Fertility: An Alternative View.
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Sex predetermination and the ethics of sex selection.
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Evolution of Autosomal Suppression of the Sex-Ratio Trait in Drosophila.
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An Experimental Demonstration of Fisher's Principle: Evolution of Sexual Proportion by Natural Selection.
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Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)