The contributions of direct and indirect selection to the evolution of mating preferences

Many influential mathematical models of sexual selection have stressed that mating preferences evolve due to correlations that build between mating preferences and preferred display traits – that is, through indirect selection. Nevertheless, there is a perception that indirect selection should generally be overwhelmed by direct selection, for example in the form of search costs. Recent work by Fry has used quantitative genetic models to argue that in many cases, including when there are direct benefits (a fecundity advantage to mating with the preferred male), direct and indirect selection may be of similar magnitude. Here I use population genetic models, in which the strength of the genetic correlation is an emergent property of evolution at mating preference and display trait loci, to assess the relative contributions of direct and indirect selection to the evolution of mating preferences. For the cases of direct benefits and of indirect benefits with fixed and frequency-dependent sea..., Equations were derived in the archived Mathematica files and simulations were run in C.  , , # The contributions of direct and indirect selection to the evolution of mating preferences [https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.nvx0k6f25](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.nvx0k6f25) ## Description of the data and file structure The equations used for the project were derived in the Mathematica files and simulations were run in the C files. ### Variables and parameters in files int verticalres        // vertical resolution of final table 1000 int horizontalres   // horizontal resolution of final table 1000 double maxx         // maximum value for x-axis variable on figures double maxy         // maximum value for y-axis variable double intervalx   // step size for x-axis variable double intervaly   // step size fot y-axis variable double r                 // recombination rate double alpha      // preference strength double f          // fecundity advantage double Diseq        // linkage disequilibrium D float dirsel             // measure of direct selection...