Integrative and Comparative Biology Advance Access originally published online on May 22, 2007
Integrative and Comparative Biology 2007 47(2):169-171; doi:10.1093/icb/icm003
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Ecological dimorphisms: An introduction to the symposium

*Functional Morphology Laboratory, University of Antwerp, Wilrijk B-2610, Belgium
Department of Anatomical Sciences, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook NY 11794-8081, USA
Correspondence: 1E-mail: slailvaux{at}gmail.com
A growing body of literature is devoted to understanding differences between males and females in numerous behavioral, morphological, and physiological variables that do not appear to play a role in sexual or fecundity selection. Despite the increasing attention paid to such ecological dimorphisms, there has thus far been no attempt to consolidate or review studies in this area. This symposium comprises a series of papers that examine ecological dimorphisms from several diverse perspectives, spanning a range of ecological fields from functional morphology to behavior and evolution of life-history. These studies show that gender exerts considerable effects on individual ecology, even outside of the context of reproduction.
From the symposium "Ecological Dimorphisms in Vertebrates: Proximate and Ultimate Causes" presented at the annual meeting of the Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology, January 3–7, 2007, at Phoenix, Arizona.