XV.2.1 Sexual selection is more intense in species where one parent is sufficient for care of the offspring

In some species, both parents must care for the offspring; otherwise the probability of survival of the offspring and their viability are substantially reduced (e.g. altricial birds). In other species, the number of offspring brought to maturity is limited by other factors and the amount of parental care is less important (insects, most fish, etc.). This case leads to extremely uneven investment of the energy of the two parents into care for the offspring and sexual selection can function most effectively in these cases.

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The classical Darwinian theory of evolution can explain the evolution of adaptive traits only in asexual organisms. The frozen plasticity theory is much more general: It can also explain the origin and evolution of adaptive traits in both asexual and sexual organisms Read more
Draft translation from: Evoluční biologie, 2. vydání (Evolutionary biology, 2nd edition), J. Flegr, Academia Prague 2009. The translation was not done by biologist, therefore any suggestion concerning proper scientific terminology and language usage are highly welcomed. You can send your comments to flegratcesnet [dot] cz. Thank you.