Sexual signals can reduce survival, constraining their evolutionary elaboration. However, it is unclear whether these signals, once evolved, similarly impact the evolution of naturally selected adaptations. We argue that this dynamic could be important for protective colouration, an extensively studied suite of adaptations that can also be under sexual selection. Sexual signals sometimes coevolve positively with conspicuous warning colouration, promoting synergistic, dual-function associations. However, when coupled through shared structures or behaviours, sexual traits might constrain the evolution of concealment strategies, resulting in suboptimal camouflage. We suggest hypotheses, approaches, and study systems to distinguish these opposing causal roles of sexual selection in shaping naturally selected adaptations such as protective colouration.

The evolution of complex adaptations often involves synergistic changes in multiple traits that lack standalone function. This study shows that leaf masquerade in katydids evolved through concurrent m...

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Abstract. Sensory adaptation is widely hypothesized to drive ecological speciation, yet empirical evidence from natural populations undergoing early stage

Ant queens of one species clone ants of another to create hybrid workers that do their bidding.

Even though findings from genetics and other sciences unequivocally refute biological conceptions of race, this erroneous viewpoint remains widespread among the general public. Why can’t scientists co...

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), a peer reviewed journal of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) - an authoritative source of high-impact, original research that broadly spans...