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The Role Of Multilevel Selection In The Evolution Of Sexual Conflict In The Water Strider Aquarius Remigis, Omar Tonsi Eldakar, David Sloan Wilson, Michael J. Dlugos, John W. Pepper

Biology Faculty Articles

In evolution, exploitative strategies often create a paradox in which the most successful individual strategy “within” the group is also the most detrimental strategy “for” the group, potentially resulting in extinction. With regard to sexual conflict, the overexploitation of females by harmful males can yield similar consequences. Despite these evolutionary implications, little research has addressed why sexual conflict does not ultimately drive populations to extinction. One possibility is that groups experiencing less sexual conflict are more productive than groups with greater conflict. However, most studies of sexual conflict are conducted in a single isolated group, disregarding the potential for selection …