Title Document The causal relationship between sexual selection and sexual size dimorphism in marine gastropods Terence P. T. Ng1,a, Emilio Rolán-Alvarez2,3,a, Sara Saltin Dahlén4, Mark S. Davies5, Daniel Estévez2, Richard Stafford6, Gray A. Williams1* 1 The Swire Institute of Marine Science and School of Biological Sciences, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam Road, Hong Kong SAR, China 2 Departamento de Bioquímica, Genética e Inmunología, Facultad de Biología, Universidad de Vigo, 36310 Vigo Spain 3 Centro de Investigación Mariña da Universidade de Vigo 4 Department of Marine Sciences - Tjärnö, University of Gothenburg, SE-452 96 Strömstad, Sweden 5 Faculty of Applied Sciences, University of Sunderland, Sunderland, U.K. 6 Faculty of Science and Technology, Bournemouth University, U.K. a Contributed equally to this work *Correspondence: Gray A. Williams, The Swire Institute of Marine Science, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam Road, Hong Kong E-mail:
[email protected] Telephone: (852) 2809 2551 Fax: (852) 2809 2197 Author contribution. TPTN obtained data from all species except L. fabalis and contributed to data analysis, SHS contributed to sampling Swedish littorinids, MSD, RS and GAW to sampling HK littorinids, DE to Spanish samples, and ER-A contributed to Spanish sampling and data analysis. Developing the MS was led by TPTN, ER-A and GAW and all authors contributed to writing the MS and gave final approval for submission. Competing interests. We declare we have no competing interests. Acknowledgements. Permission to work at the Cape d' Aguilar Marine Reserve was granted by the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department of the Hong Kong SAR Government (Permit No.: (116) in AF GR MPA 01/5/2 Pt.12).