On the other hand, in the presence of an STI, mating systems such as monogamy can be advantageous if they reduce infection risk. As a result, STIs can counteract selective pressure upon mate choice, or allow the coexistence between risky and safe mating behaviours.
For example, when mate choice is important, ‘attractive’ individuals tend to have more sexual partners and thus a greater probability of becoming infected. The logic behind STIs as an evolutionary force is simple: the more sexual partners an individual has, the greater the likelihood of procuring an STI. Ī selective pressure upon mating systems that has received comparatively little attention is sexually transmitted infections (STIs). Mate choice can be adaptive as a by-product of sexual selection for healthy, disease-resistant mates, whereas prolonged sexual relationships can be adaptive when resource heterogeneity promotes mate guarding or parental investment is essential for offspring survival. Individuals can shape the mating system by preferentially assorting with partners exhibiting specific characteristics (mate choice) or by forming prolonged relationships with a small number of individuals. The evolution of mating systems is a well-studied area of biology, emphasizing the ways in which the sexual behaviour of individuals can be adaptive. As a result, it is possible for a pathogen to be highly virulent, yet for promiscuity to persist.
Second, we find that at intermediate pathogen transmission rates, monogamy is the most selectively advantageous, whereas at high- and low-transmission rates, monogamy is generally selected against. First, when pathogen virulence causes mortality rather than sterility, monogamy is more likely to evolve. From this condition, we obtain two main results. We derive a biologically intuitive invasion condition in terms of population-specific quantities. Here we use an evolutionary invasion analysis to determine what aspects of pathogen virulence and transmission are necessary for serial monogamy to evolve in a promiscuous population.
While it has been hypothesized that STIs could drive the evolutionary emergence of monogamy, there is little theoretical support. One particular selective pressure that has received comparatively little attention is sexually transmitted infections (STIs). The selective forces shaping mating systems have long been of interest to biologists.
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