Despite a shared genetic architecture between males and females, sexual differences are widespread. The extent of this shared genetic architecture, reflected in the intersexual genetic correlation, has previously been correlated with the extent of phenotypic sexual dimorphism in shared traits. However, the magnitude of the difference in sex-specific additive genetic variances may also fuel sexu...

The phenotypic variance-covariance matrix (P) describes the multivariate distribution of a population in phenotypic space, providing direct insight into the appropriateness of measured traits within the context of multicollinearity (i.e., do they describe any significant variance that is independent of other traits), and whether trait covariances restrict the combinations of phenotypes availabl...

1. Given the rapid and reversible impact of the environment on plant ecophysiological traits, it has been speculated that such traits may have low heritabilities, high phenotypic plasticity and experience selection which is highly variable. 2. We estimated heritabilities, phenotypic plasticity and natural selection on five ecophysiological traits (carbon : nitrogen (C : N) ratio, leaf water con...

Numerous widespread Alpine plant species show molecular differentiation among populations from distinct regions. This has been explained as the result of genetic drift during glacial survival in isolated refugia along the border of the European Alps. Since genetic drift may affect molecular markers and phenotypic traits alike, we asked whether phenotypic differentiation mirrors molecular patter...

The genetic architecture of complex traits underlying physiology and disease in most organisms remains elusive. We still know little about the number of genes that underlie these traits, the magnitude of their effects, or the extent to which they interact. Chromosome substitution strains (CSSs) enable statistically powerful studies based on testing engineered inbred strains that have single, un...

Understanding the genetic basis of phenotypic variation is essential for predicting the direction and rate of phenotypic evolution. We estimated heritabilities and genetic correlations of morphological (fork length, pectoral and pelvic fin ray counts, and gill arch raker counts) and life-history (egg number and individual egg weight) traits of pink salmon (Oncorhynchus gorbuscha) from Likes Cre...

The present study aimed to estimate heritability, genetic and phenotypic correlations between body weight and body measurement traits in Iranian Makuei sheep. The used data were collected from 1989 to 2012 at Makuei Sheep Breeding Station in Maku (West Azarbayjan province). The data included body weight and five body measurement traits (body length (BL), heart girth (HG), withers height (WH), r...

BACKGROUND AND AIMS In species with specialized pollination, floral traits are expected to be relatively invariant and decoupled from the phenotypic variation affecting vegetative traits. However, inferring the degree of decoupling between morphological characters from patterns of phenotypic correlations is difficult because phenotypic correlations result from the superimposition of several sou...

The striking diversity of sperm shape across the animal kingdom is still poorly understood. Postcopulatory sexual selection is an important factor driving the evolution of sperm size and shape. Interestingly, morphometric sperm traits, such as the length of the head, midpiece and flagellum, exhibit a strong positive phenotypic correlation across species. Here we used recently developed comparat...