title: Intralocus sexual conflict over human height.
abstract: Intralocus sexual conflict (IASC) occurs when a trait under selection in one sex constrains the other sex from achieving its sex-specific fitness optimum. Selection pressures on body size often differ between the sexes across many species, including humans: among men individuals of average height enjoy the highest reproductive success, while shorter women have the highest reproductive success. Given its high heritability, IASC over human height is likely. Using data from sibling pairs from the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study, we present evidence for IASC over height: in shorter sibling pairs (relatively) more reproductive success (number of children) was obtained through the sister than through the brother of the sibling pair. By contrast, in average height sibling pairs most reproductive success was obtained through the brother relative to the sister. In conclusion, we show that IASC over a heritable, sexually dimorphic physical trait (human height) affects Darwinian fitness in a contemporary human population.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands. g.stulp@rug.nl
authors.forename: Gert
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Stulp
authors.forename: Bram
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Kuijper
authors.forename: Abraham P
authors.initials: AP
authors.lastname: Buunk
authors.forename: Thomas V
authors.initials: TV
authors.lastname: Pollet
authors.forename: Simon
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Verhulst
mesh_terms: D001827:Body Height / Q000235:genetics*; D005260:Female; D005298:Fertility / Q000502:physiology; D056084:Genetic Fitness / Q000235:genetics*; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D040641:Quantitative Trait Loci / Q000235:genetics*; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012641:Selection, Genetic; D012737:Sex Factors; D035781:Siblings; D014922:Wisconsin