Abstract
Sexual selection favors male adaptations that lead to high reproductive success, such as elaborate ornaments and behavior, even at the cost of increased mortality. One important mortality factor is sex-biased predation on males. Males are vulnerable because they display at dangerous times or in exposed places, they may be clumped and economical to exploit, they are unwary and undiscriminating, they perform dangerous mating activities, and they produce conspicuous signals. In some cases virtually 100% of displaying males are killed by predators or parasitoids. Male defenses include evasive behavior, physical defenses, shifts in the spacing and timing of displays, alterations in signal form, signal loss, and evolution of alternative mating strategies. Male-biased predation systems take on aspects of an arms race, and provide many interesting examples of predator-prey coevolution.