Data from: Do males pay for sex? Sex-specific selection coefficients suggest not

Selection acting on males can reduce mutation load of sexual relative to
asexual populations, thus mitigating the two-fold cost of sex, provided
that it seeks and destroys the same mutations as selection acting on
females, but with higher efficiency. This could happen due to sexual
selection – a potent evolutionary force that in most systems predominantly
affects males. We used replicate populations of red flour beetles
(Tribolium castaneum) to study sex-specific selection against deleterious
mutations introduced with ionizing radiation. We found no evidence for
selection being stronger in males than in females; in fact, we observed a
non-significant trend in the opposite direction. This suggests that
selection on males does not reduce mutation load below the level expected
under the (hypothetical) scenario of asexual reproduction. Additionally,
we employed a novel approach, based on a simple model, to quantify the
relative contributions of sexual and offspring viability selection to the
overall selection observed in males. We found them to be similar in
magnitude; however, only the offspring viability component was
statistically significant. In summary, we found no support for the
hypothesis that selection on males in general, and sexual selection in
particular, contributes to the evolutionary maintenance of sex.