Strong sexual selection fails to protect against inbreeding-driven extinction in a moth

Abstract Sexual selection is predicted to influence population persistence because skew in male reproductive success may facilitate the purging of mutation load. We manipulated strength sexual populations Indian meal moths, Plodia interpunctella, by adjusting adult sex ratios be either male- or female-biased, leading strong and weak males, respectively. After between 19 22 generations experimental evolution, we examined whether load differed these enforcing successive inbreeding, tracking extinction events, offspring viability assaying effect inbreeding on mating female choice. found no rate viability. did, however, find changes both choice, with being influenced ratio treatment number inbreeding. Males from male-biased were more successful at stock females, declined rapidly regardless treatment. Females less likely mate males onset experiment, but tended frequently increasing compared females female-biased populations. Our results demonstrate that while behaviors have diverged lines loads remained similar. This suggests benefits fitness low slow accumulate under benign environmental conditions which evolved.