Large structural variants in the genome, such as inversions, may play an important role in producing population structure and local adaptation to the environment through suppression of recombination. However, relatively few studies have linked inversions to phenotypic traits that are sexually selected and may play a role in reproductive isolation. Here, we found that geographic differences in the sexually selected plumage of a...

Male traits that signal health and vigour are used by females to choose better quality mates, but in some cases the male trait selected by females differs among populations. Multiple male traits can be maintained through female mate choice if both traits are equally honest indicators of male quality, but tests of this prediction are rare. By choosing males based on such traits, females could gain direct benefits from males (as...

Hay harvests have detrimental ecological effects on breeding songbirds, as harvesting results in nest failure. Importantly, whether harvesting also affects evolutionary processes is not known. We explored how hay harvest affected social and genetic mating patterns, and thus, the overall opportunity for sexual selection and evolutionary processes for a ground‐nesting songbird, the Savannah sparrow ( Passerculus sandwichensis )....

Female birds often copulate outside the pair‐bond to produce broods of mixed paternity, but despite much recent attention the adaptive significance of this behaviour remains elusive. Although several studies support the idea that extra‐pair copulations (EPCs) allow females to obtain ‘good genes’ for their offspring, many others have found no relationship between female mating fidelity and traits likely to reflect male quality....

The class I and class II genes of the major histocompatibility complex ( Mhc ) encode dimeric glycoproteins responsible for eliciting the adaptive immune response of vertebrates. Recent work with birds suggests that the number, size, and arrangement of these genes can differ markedly across species, although the extent of this variation, and its causes and consequences, are poorly understood. We have used a 157‐base‐pair (bp)...