Question

What and how is sexual dimorphism influenced? Radish vs. human. (Evolutionary Biology please give a broad and clear answer. thank you!!)

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Answer 1

Sexual dimorphism relates to presence of two forms of sexual beings in a species. For example, mammals, including humans, show different forms of sexualities in individuals i.e. males and females. However, some species of animals and most of the species of plants fail to show such dimorphism, and hence, bear the male and female sex organs on the same plant. This suggests failure of sexual dimorphism.

The factors influencing sexual dimorphism can be discussed as below:

1. Extent of mobility: Since species which are highly mobile in nature and tend to locate themselves on vast variety of locations acrsos the globe are subjected to show enhanced inter-connectivity, they tend to show sexual dimorphism.
2. Location in the food-chain: As an organism increases its position in the food chain, it undergoes variation and evolution and thus shows sexual dimorphism. This not only reinforces its position in the food chain but also enhances its chances of survival.
3. Variation and evolution: Presence of sexual dimorphism suitably causes the organism to undergo recombination and thus adds up to variations. These variations help individuals to help not only to acclimatize to their environmetns but also help to establish genetic changes for next generations. Thus, these variations tend to develop acclimatization and eventually adaptations.

Thus, these are some of the reasons why sexual dimorphism emerges and helps an individual/species to sustain better than those which fail to show it.