Male animals are typically more elaborately ornamented than females, probably because females make more of an energetic investment in raising young. However, this generality may not apply in cooperatively breeding vertebrates, where the energetic load is similar in males and females. The socially diverse African starlings are now used to study this issue, revealing that where intrasexual competition among females may be intense, female trait elaboration is selected for.
- Dustin R. Rubenstein
- Irby J. Lovette