Looking for a Few Good Males animals, history, culture Harriet Ritvo, Series Editor Looking for a Few Good Males FEMALE CHOICE IN EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGY ERIKA LORRAINE MILAM The Johns Hopkins University Press Baltimore © 2010 The Johns Hopkins University Press All rights reserved. Published 2010 Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper 2 4 6 8 9 7 5 3 1 The Johns Hopkins University Press 2715 North Charles Street Baltimore, Maryland 21218-4363 www.press.jhu.edu Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Milam, Erika Lorraine, 1974– Looking for a few good males : female choice in evolutionary biology / Erika Lorraine Milam. p. cm. — (Animals, History, Culture) Includes bibliographical references and index. isbn-13: 978-0-8018-9419-0 (hardcover : alk. paper) isbn-10: 0-8018-9419-0 (hardcover : alk. paper) 1. Courtship in animals. 2. Evolution (Biology). 3. Courtship in animals— Research—History—20th century. I. Title. ql761.m48 2010 591.56'2—dc22 2009023833 A catalog record for this book is available from the British Library. Special discounts are available for bulk purchases of this book. For more information, please contact Special Sales at 410-516-6936 or [email protected]. The Johns Hopkins University Press uses environmentally friendly book materials, including recycled text paper that is composed of at least 30 percent post-consumer waste, whenever possible. All of our book papers are acid-free, and our jackets and covers are printed on paper with recycled content. For my family, both old and new, near and far This page intentionally left blank contents Introduction  CHAPTER 1. Beauty and the Beast: Darwin, Wallace, and the Animal- Human Boundary  CHAPTER 2. Progressive Desire: Rational Evolution after the Great War  CHAPTER 3. Branching Out, Scaling Up: American Experiments on Behavior  CHAPTER 4. Courtly Behavior: The Rituals of British Zoologists  CHAPTER 5. A Science of Rare Males: The Genetics of Populations in the Long 1960s  CHAPTER 6. Selective History: Writing Female Choice into Organismal Biology  Conclusion  Acknowledgments  Notes  Essay on Sources  Index  This page intentionally left blank Looking for a Few Good Males