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Sexual Dimorphism in Flowers and Inflorescences

  • Chapter
Gender and Sexual Dimorphism in Flowering Plants

Abstract

Darwin’s theory of natural selection successfully explains why organisms are designed to meet environmental challenges, his simple proposal being that heritable traits that confer survival benefits on individuals will come to predominate in populations (Darwin 1859). Thus, it was a special challenge for him to explain the evolution of secondary sex characters that impair survival in animals. His proposed solution was the theory of sexual selection, according to which features that enhance mating success can evolve despite a possible survival cost (Darwin 1871). This original concept and its recent refinements (see reviews in Andersson 1994; M∅ller 1994; Andersson and Iwasa 1996) were inspired by obvious patterns. For example, it is easy to distinguish female and male peafowl by sight at a great distance, and the males’ exaggerated tails clearly appear to hinder locomotion and camouflage.

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Authors
  1. Vincent M. Eckhart
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  1. Section of Ecology and Systematics, Cornell University, 14853-2701, Ithaca, NY, USA

    Monica A. Geber  & Todd E. Dawson  & 

  2. Dept. of Biology, Indiana University, 47405, Bloomington, IN, USA

    Lynda F. Delph

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© 1999 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Eckhart, V.M. (1999). Sexual Dimorphism in Flowers and Inflorescences. In: Geber, M.A., Dawson, T.E., Delph, L.F. (eds) Gender and Sexual Dimorphism in Flowering Plants. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-03908-3_5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-03908-3_5

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  • Print ISBN: 978-3-642-08424-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-662-03908-3

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