Sexual Selection in a Large Dasyurid Marsupial

A key issue in evolutionary theory is how variation in life history and reproductive traits affects sexual selection, an important evolutionary agent. This project, the first on multiple breeding dasyurids from predictable environments and one of very few on marsupials, aims to determine what mechanisms of sexual selection are important in a large dasyurid, the Tasmanian devil, which has a short life span and sperm storage. This study will add substantially to our knowledge of sexual selection in marsupials, especially the consequences of sperm storage in dasyurids, and will contribute new information on sperm competition and mate choice in mammals.