Dynamics of Sexual Selection in the Hawaiian Drosophilidae: A Paradigm for Evolutionary Change

Abstract

Research on the Hawaiian Drosophilidae has been ongoing for more than four decades and has served as a model system for understanding mechanisms of speciation not only for biota within the Hawaiian Archipelago but also for other groups elsewhere in the world. The multidisciplinary approach has been extremely productive and the results of the research have provided significant insights into the genetic mechanisms that are critical during the initial stages of species formation. While classical theories of evolutionary biology have been and continue to be tested using this group of insects, researchers who have been involved in the Hawaiian Drosophila project have also been able to formulate new ideas and new theories of evolutionary processes. In this paper, the dynamics of sexual selection, i.e. changes within the sexual environment of a population, are reviewed as an important driver of evolutionary change especially during the initial stages of species formation. Thus, while the Hawaiian Drosophilidae has often been cited as an excellent example of explosive adaptive radiation, sexual selection has played an even greater role in the evolution of this group.