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Free keywords:
amphibians and reptiles; birds; life history evolution; mammals; quantitative genetics; simulation; theory; trade-offs
Abstract:
We present a model for the advantage of sexual reproduction in multicellular
long-lived species in a world of structured resources in short supply. The
model combines features of the Tangled Bank and the Red Queen hypothesis
of sexual reproduction and is of broad applicability. The model is ecologically
explicit with the dynamics of resources and consumers being modelled by
differential equations. The life history of consumers is shaped by body massdependent
rates as implemented in the metabolic theory of ecology. We find
that over a broad range of parameters, sexual reproduction wins despite the
two-fold cost of producing males, due to the advantage of producing offspring
that can exploit underutilized resources. The advantage is largest when
maturation and production of offspring set in before the resources of the
parents become depleted, but not too early, due to the cost of producing males.
The model thus leads to the dominance of sexual reproduction in multicellular
animals living in complex environments, with resource availability being the
most important factor affecting survival and reproduction
