Evolution of mechanisms controlling mating behavior

Crews, D.; Moore, M.

The proximate mechanisms underlying mating behavior in naturally occuring species can be fundamentally different from those in more commonly studied laboratory and domesticated forms. In naturally occuring species, reproductive strategies are much more divers, and mechanisms controlling behavior are correspondingly diverse. A variety of hormonal, environmental, and social cues can be used to activate mating behavior. Which cues are used by particular species depends on differences in environmental and physiological constraints imposed by particular reproductive strategies. Study of this diversity of mechanisms promises to identify specific selective forces that have shaped their evolution. This evolutionary perspective leads to widely applicable generalizations and provides a useful context within which to conceptualize differences between species, populations, and individuals.

Evolution of mechanisms controlling mating behavior

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