ReviewProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America2009
Postcopulatory sexual selection: Darwin's omission and its consequences.
Review in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 2009. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 42 papers.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
42 citing papers in PubMed, 198 citations in OpenAlex.
- Environmental influences on seminal plasma: Molecular and functional insights.The Journal of reproduction and development · 2026Review
- Semen Evaluation from Dominant Males of the Viviparous Mexican LizardVeterinary sciences · 2025Article
- Ecological and Behavioral Implications of Multiple Paternity in the Smooth-Fronted Caiman in French Guiana.Ecology and evolution · 2025Article
- Sexual size dimorphism affecting mate choice and reproduction in the pine sawyer beetle, Monochamus alternatus.Oecologia · 2024Article
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- Decoupled evolution of theProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2024Article
- Decoupled evolution of thebioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2023Article
- Differences in sperm morphology between Alouatta palliata and Alouatta pigra are consistent with the intensity of sperm competition in each species.American journal of primatology · 2023Article
- The impact of small groups on pre- and postcopulatory sexual selection in polyandrous populations.Ecology and evolution · 2023Article
- Neural mechanisms involved in female mate choice in invertebrates.Frontiers in endocrinology · 2023Review
- The evolution of sex peptide: sexual conflict, cooperation, and coevolution.Biological reviews of the Cambridge Philosophical Society · 2022Article
- Editorial: New Insights on Seminal Factors Signaling Female Reproduction in Mammals.Frontiers in veterinary science · 2022Article
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- Male-derived copulatory plugs enhance implantation success in female Mus musculus.Biology of reproduction · 2021Article
- Perspective: Re-defining "Pheromone" in a Mammalian Context to Encompass Seminal Fluid.Frontiers in veterinary science · 2021Review
- Development time mediates the effect of larval diet on ageing and mating success of male antler flies in the wild.Proceedings. Biological sciences · 2020Article
- Sexual selection on bushcricket genitalia operates in a mosaic pattern.Ecology and evolution · 2020Article
- Male age and its association with reproductive traits in captive and wild house sparrows.Journal of evolutionary biology · 2019Article
- Reduced sexual size dimorphism in a pipefish population where males do not prefer larger females.Ecology and evolution · 2019Article
- Sex peptide receptor-regulated polyandry modulates the balance of pre- and post-copulatory sexual selection in Drosophila.Nature communications · 2019Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
1 author at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
In one of his few major oversights, Darwin failed to appreciate that male-male competition and sexual selection can continue even after copulation has begun. The postcopulatory equivalents of both direct male-male battles (sperm competition) and female choice (cryptic female choice) occur within the female's body. Recognition of this hidden, but intense, sexual competition provides new insights into a variety of fields. These include the hyperdiverse and paradoxically elaborate morphology of both sperm and male genitalia, the equally puzzling and elaborate morphology of nongenitalic male structures that are specialized to grasp and stimulate females, powerful manipulative effects of substances in male semen on female reproductive physiology, paradoxical male courtship behavior that occurs after copulation has already begun, variability in parental investments, and the puzzlingly complex and diverse interactions between sperm and female products that surround animal eggs and between male gametophytes and female tissues in flowering plants. Many bizarre traits are involved, including male genitalia that are designed to explode or fall apart during copulation leaving behind parts within the female, male genitalia that "sing" during copulation, potent seminal products that invade the female's body cavity and her nervous system to influence her behavior, and a virtual Kama Sutra of courtship behavior performed after rather than before genital coupling, including male-female dialogues during copulation.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.