Karen Kovaka (Virginia Tech)
This talk contrasts two primary mechanisms of sexual selection. In the first mechanism, potential mates select for traits that are accurate signals of mate quality. The second mechanism is an aesthetic one in which potential mates select for traits they find aesthetically pleasing. Scientists disagree about the relationship between these two mechanisms and about which, if either, should be the null hypothesis in sexual selection research. I offer an account of the relationship between the two mechanisms and argue that neither should be the null hypothesis in sexual selection research.
