"Disentangling causal evolutionary relationships between sexual selection and parental care"Long, XiaoyanSexual selection and parental care strategies are intricately connected, with the caring sex (which invests the most in offspring) typically exhibiting choosiness in mating partners, while the less-caring sex often displays ornamental traits. Despite extensive debate, the literature lacks consensus on the causal relationships between sexual selection and parental care patterns. In this study, we propose a novel approach grounded in causal inference theory to untangle causality among interacting traits in the course of evolution. We then employ individual-based evolutionary simulations to study the coevolution of parental care and sexually selected traits, allowing for various processes that generate sexual selection. These include pre-mating sexual selection (acting via mating success) and post-mating sexual selection (acting via fertilization success). Through causal analysis of simulation data, we aim to elucidate the evolutionary causality underlying sex roles. |
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