Data from: Selection in a fluctuating environment and the evolution of sexual dimorphism in the seed beetle Callosobruchus maculatus

Temperature changes in the environment, which realistically include
environmental fluctuations, can create both plastic and evolutionary
responses of traits. Sexes might differ in either or both of these
responses for homologous traits, which in turn has consequences for sexual
dimorphism and its evolution. Here we investigate both immediate changes
in and the evolution of sexual dimorphism in response to a changing
environment (with and without fluctuations) using the seed beetle
Callosobruchus maculatus. We investigate sex differences in plasticity and
also the genetic architecture of body mass and developmental time
dimorphism to test two existing hypothesis on sex differences in
plasticity (adaptive canalization hypothesis and condition dependence
hypothesis). We found a decreased sexual size dimorphism in higher
temperature and females responded more plastically than males, supporting
the condition dependence hypothesis. However, selection in a fluctuating
environment altered sex specific patterns of genetic and environmental
variation, indicating support for the adaptive canalization hypothesis.
Genetic correlations between sexes (r_MF) were affected by fluctuating
selection, suggesting facilitated independent evolution of the sexes.
Thus, the selective past of a population is highly important for the
understanding of the evolutionary dynamics of sexual dimorphism.