ダーウィンが提唱して以来、私たちはどのように性淘汰に対する理解を進めてきたのでしょうか。生物が繁殖のために行う投資や交配様式の変異、異性間闘争、性的二形の起源などを検討し、雌は本当に美的根拠だけで雄を選択するのかや、異なる種でどのような異性間闘争があるかを論じます。また、性淘汰の理論モデルはヒトに当てはめることができるのか、という難問にも挑みます。
  

• Discusses our current understanding of a major and often puzzling aspect of evolutionary biology
• Introduces the astounding array of behaviours and decorative traits in the animal world used for competing for mates, and considers the evolutionary logic that underpins them
• Looks at the history of the concept of sexual selection, from Darwin's original insights to our present understanding
• Considers the thorny question of how, and even whether, sexual selection might apply to human beings

 
What is responsible for the differences between the sexes in so many animals, from the brilliant plumage of birds of paradise to the antlers on deer? And why are the traits that distinguish the sexes sometimes apparently detrimental to survival? Even when they look more or less alike, why do males and females sometimes behave differently? Questions like these have intrigued scientists and the public alike for many years, and new discoveries are showing us both how wildly variable the natural world is, and how some basic principles can help explain much of that variation. Like natural selection, sexual selection is a process that results from differential representation of genes in successive generations. Under sexual selection, however, the crucial characteristics that determine whether an individual reproduces depend on sexual competition, rather than survival ability. 

This Very Short Introduction considers the history of our understanding of sexual selection, from Darwin's key insights to the modern day. Considering the investment animals place on reproduction, variation in mating systems, sexual conflict, and the origin of sexual dimorphism, Marlene Zuk and Leigh Simmons discuss questions such as whether females can really choose between males on aesthetic grounds, and how sexual conflict is resolved in different species. They conclude with a consideration of the thorny question of how, and even if, sexual selection theory applies to humans.