The peacock tail in flight, the classic example of an ornament assumed to be a Fisherian runaway
Fisherian runaway or runaway selection is a sexual selection mechanism proposed by the mathematical biologist Ronald Fisher in the early 20th century, to account for the evolution of ostentatious male ornamentation by persistent, directional female choice.[1][2][3] An example is the colourful and elaborate peacock plumage compared to the relatively subdued peahen plumage; the costly ornaments, notably the bird's extremely long tail, appear to be incompatible with natural selection. Fisherian runaway can be postulated to include sexually dimorphic phenotypic traits such as behavior expressed by a particular sex.
Extreme and (seemingly) maladaptive sexual dimorphism represented a paradox for evolutionary biologists from Charles Darwin's time up to the modern synthesis. Darwin attempted to resolve the paradox by assuming heredity for both the preference and the ornament, and supposed an "aesthetic sense" in higher animals, leading to powerful selection of both characteristics in subsequent generations.[3] Fisher developed the theory further by assuming genetic correlation between the preference and the ornament, that initially the ornament signalled greater potential fitness (the likelihood of leaving more descendants), so preference for the ornament had a selective advantage. Subsequently, if strong enough, female preference for exaggerated ornamentation in mate selection could be enough to undermine natural selection even when the ornament has become non-adaptive.[3] Over subsequent generations this could lead to runaway selection by positive feedback, and the speed with which the trait and the preference increase could (until counter-selection interferes) increase exponentially.[3]
Modern descriptions of the same mechanism using quantitative genetic and population genetic models were mainly established by Russell Lande and Mark Kirkpatrick in the 1980s, and are now more commonly referred to as the sexy son hypothesis. [4][5]
Female (left) and male (right) pheasant, a sexually dimorphic speciesPeacock spider males perform courtship dances that display their boldly-patterned chelicerae, legs, and abdomens. Females are cryptic brown.
^Andersson, M. (1994). Sexual selection. Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-00057-3.
^Andersson, M.; Simmons, L.W. (2006). "Sexual selection and mate choice". Trends in Ecology and Evolution. 21 (6): 296–302. CiteSeerX 10.1.1.595.4050. doi:10.1016/j.tree.2006.03.015. PMID 16769428.
^ abcdGayon, J. (2010). "Sexual selection: Another Darwinian process". Comptes Rendus Biologies. 333 (2): 134–144. doi:10.1016/j.crvi.2009.12.001. PMID 20338530.
^Kirkpatrick, Mark (1982). "Sexual Selection and the Evolution of Female Choice". Evolution, 36 (1): 1–12. https://doi.org/10.2307/2407961
^Lande, R. (1980). Sexual Dimorphism, Sexual Selection, and Adaptation in Polygenic Characters. Evolution, 34 (2): 292–305. https://doi.org/10.2307/2407393
Fisherianrunaway or runaway selection is a sexual selection mechanism proposed by the mathematical biologist Ronald Fisher in the early 20th century,...
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known as Fisherianrunaway, in which males become ever showier. Russell Lande explored this with a quantitative genetic model, showing that Fisherian diploid...
outlining many concepts that are still considered important such as Fisherianrunaway, Fisher's principle, reproductive value, Fisher's fundamental theorem...
male traits ought to erode genetic diversity by Fisherianrunaway, but diversity is maintained and runaway does not occur. Many attempts have been made to...
desired in the other sex, causing a positive feedback loop called a Fisherianrunaway, for example, the extravagant plumage of some male birds such as the...
founders of population genetics. He outlined Fisher's principle, the Fisherianrunaway and sexy son hypothesis theories of sexual selection. His contributions...
evolved in animals, including the Fisherianrunaway model and the good genes hypothesis. As explained by the Fisherianrunaway model, sexually dimorphic males...
being perhaps the most famous example of sexual selection and the Fisherianrunaway. Commonly occurring sexual dimorphisms such as size and colour differences...
and energy. Such sperm gigantism is thought to have evolved via a Fisherianrunaway process, with a genetic link between sperm length and the length of...
sexual conflict between the sexes, often described with the term Fisherianrunaway. Thierry Lodé emphasized the role of such antagonistic interactions...
large colorful tail feathers found in male peacocks, are a result of Fisherianrunaway as well as several more species specific factors. Due to females selecting...
argument in evolutionary biology") and Fisherianrunaway, a concept in sexual selection about a positive feedback runaway effect found in evolution. The final...
extravagant tail has been argued to be to attract females (see also Fisherianrunaway and handicap principle). According to this theory superior execution...
said ornament, which can lead to a positive feedback loop known as a Fisherianrunaway. These structures serve as cues to animal sexual behaviour, that is...
Another hypothesis for the thick body hair on humans proposes that Fisherianrunaway sexual selection played a role (as well as in the selection of long...
been lost. Another possibility is that long head hair is a result of Fisherianrunaway sexual selection, where long lustrous hair is a visible marker for...
red meat to white meat. Hunting and shooting in the United Kingdom FisherianRunaway BirdLife International (2016). "Phasianus colchicus". IUCN Red List...
reproductive benefit in itself, apart from attracting females, because of Fisherianrunaway. The peacock's tail may be one example. It has also been seen as an...
Polygenic adaptation Population size Quantitative genetics Runaway process (Fisherianrunaway) Selective sweep Selfish genetic element Sexual selection...
unambiguously caused by the process of adaptation is not a trivial task. Fisherianrunaway Social trap The Limits to Growth Black robin Ecological traps Evolutionary...
chosen for greater intelligence as an indicator of healthy genes and a Fisherianrunaway positive feedback loop of sexual selection would have led to the evolution...
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