Abstract

Evolutionary conflicts of interest arisewhenever genetically different individuals interact and their routes to fitness maximization differ. Sexual selection favors traits that increase an individual’s competitiveness to acquire mates and fertilizations. Sexual conflict occurs if an individual of sex A’s relative fitness would increase if it had a “tool ” that could alter what an individual of sex B does (including the parental genes transferred), at a cost to B’s fitness. This definition clarifies several issues: Conflict is very common and, although it extends outside traits under sexual selection, sexual selection is a ready source of sexual conflict. Sexual conflict and sexual selection should not be presented as alternative expla-nations for trait evolution. Conflict is closely linked to the concept of a lag load, which is context-dependent and sex-specific. This makes it possible to ask if one sex can “win. ” We expect higher population fitness if females win. Many published studies ask if sexual selec-tion or sexual conflict drives the evolution of key reproductive traits (e.g., mate choice). Here we argue that this is an inappropriate question. By analogy, G. Evelyn Hutchinson