Assortative mating by size without a size-based preference: the female-sooner norm as a mate-guarding criterion

The study of size-assortative mating, or homogamy, is of great importance in speciation and sexual selection. However, the proximate mechanisms that lead to such patterns are poorly understood. Homogamy is often thought to come from a directional preference for larger mates. However, many constraints affect mating preferences and understanding the causes of size assortment requires […]