title: Bearded ladies: females suffer fitness consequences when bearing male traits.
abstract: A central assumption in evolutionary biology is that females of sexually dimorphic species suffer costs when bearing male secondary sexual traits, such as ornamentation. Nevertheless, it is common in nature to observe females bearing rudimentary versions of male ornaments (e.g. 'bearded ladies'), as ornaments can be under similar genetic control in both sexes. Here, we provide evidence that masculinized females incur both social and reproductive costs in nature. Male fence lizards (Sceloporus undulatus) discriminated against ornamented females during mate choice. Ornamented females had lower reproductive output, and produced eggs that were laid and hatched later than those of non-ornamented females. These findings support established theories of the evolution of sexual dimorphism and intralocus sexual conflict, and raise questions regarding the persistence of masculinizing ornamentation in females.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Intercollege Graduate Program in Ecology, and Center for Brain, Behavior and Cognition, The Pennsylvania State University, , 208 Mueller Laboratory, University Park, PA 16802, USA.
authors.forename: Lindsey
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Swierk
authors.forename: Tracy
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Langkilde
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D005075:Biological Evolution; D019521:Body Patterning; D003163:Competitive Behavior; D005260:Female; D056084:Genetic Fitness; D008116:Lizards; D008297:Male; D052586:Mating Preference, Animal; D015233:Models, Statistical; D010641:Phenotype; D012727:Sex Characteristics; D012726:Sexual Behavior, Animal
keywords: Sceloporus undulatus; intralocus sexual conflict; mate choice; sexual dimorphism