In addition to these costs, the potential for male choice is enhanced by the fact that male baboons can freely sample potential mates (due to group living) and female quality is likely to vary extensively, at least in the form of fertility or infant survival that can be socially-mediated or age-related [ 54, 66- 72], and also possibly in the form of heritable quality (this study).
"[B]y mating with preferred males, females elevate the fitness of their offspring because these male traits signal heritable genetic quality".
When judging attractiveness, women may respond to features of the voice that are indicative of heritable mate quality (i.e., "good genes")—low mean F0 and D f.
Finally, and perhaps most importantly, our findings indicate that female sexual signals can advertise heritable aspects of quality just as male ornaments do [e.g. [ 1]].
If male secondary sexual traits indicate quality or viability which is heritable, a female mating with a high-quality male may produce female offspring of greater viability (i.e. survivorship and fecundity).
Paternal influences should be considered because of the possible influence of air pollution on semen quality and on heritable mutation rates of male origin (Somers et al. 2004).
Although meat quality traits are moderately heritable, large selection programmes are very difficult to implement to improve beef quality due to the lack of recorded standardized measures of beef quality [ 4, 5].
According to sexual selection theory, extravagant ornaments evolved to advertise their bearers' quality [1], such as heritable parasite resistance [2].
Sperm quality traits are believed to be moderately heritable [ 6], whereas behavioral traits usually have a low heritability [ 7].
Density is a key wood quality trait, which is moderately to highly heritable, and has been the focus of selective breeding efforts in radiata pine (Pinus radiata D.Don) in New Zealand.
