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<p>Sexual selection has long been accepted as a widespread force of evolution shaping male traits across taxa. In recent years, biologists have begun to investigate the extent to which sexual selection may also shape traits among females. However, current models of sexual selection have largely been developed using assumptions that--while generally met in males--often do not apply to females. Thus, attempts to apply these contemporary models to the study of sexual selection in females reveal weaknesses in the theoretical framework for sexual selection research. One consequence of this for empirical research is that researchers often infer the action of sexual selection upon evidence of male mate choice. Although male mate choice is increasingly common, it is much less likely to exert selection pressure than its female counterpart. I begin by proposing a conceptual framework that explicitly accounts for ...Next, I investigate a female trait that has recently become an iconic example of sexual selection in females; that is the exaggerated estrous swellings of cercopithecine primates. By combining morphological data collected with a non-invasive photographic method and observational behavioral data with longitudinal ecological and demographic data from the ongoing Amboseli Baboon Research Project, I examine the sources of variance in this exaggerated signal of fertility. Finally, I test the hypothesis that male baboons prefer females with larger sexual swellings because those females have higher fitness. I find no evidence to support this hypothesis. Instead, my results suggest that mate choice among male baboons has evolved to detect, not the intrinsic quality of the female as has typically been proposed, but the quality of a reproductive opportunity.</p> / Dissertation

La Réaction Sulfatique Interne (RSI) est une pathologie du béton pouvant affecter les matériaux soumis à un échauffement au-delà de 65°C. Elle consiste en une formation d'ettringite dans le matériau durci et conduit à son gonflement. Il s'en suit une fissuration et une dégradation des performances mécaniques pouvant poser des problèmes d'intégrité structurelle à l'instar de la Réaction Alcali-Granulat (RAG) à laquelle elle est fréquemment couplée in situ. Lorsqu'un ouvrage est atteint, il convient de poser un diagnostic, évaluer son aptitude au service, prédire son évolution et mettre en uvre des méthodes de réparation. Ceci nécessite une compréhension fine des effets de la RSI à l'échelle microscopique et à l'échelle de l'ouvrage. De nombreuses études expérimentales et théoriques ont été menées pour déterminer les mécanismes mis en uvre et les paramètres influençant la RSI. Toutefois, la complexité des phénomènes rend délicate la transposition de ces connaissances à l'échelle de la structure. Les approches macroscopiques semblent donc plus adaptées à ce type de problème. Pour mettre au point ces approches, il est nécessaire de comprendre en détail les effets de la pathologie à l'échelle du matériau et de la structure. Cette thèse décrit les résultats d'une étude de laboratoire basée sur des essais sur éprouvettes pour caractériser les couplages entre les gonflements et l'humidité, la température et l'état de contraintes. Ces travaux ont également été l'occasion d'étudier les couplages entre RAG et RSI. En parallèle, des suivis dimensionnels et hydriques de poutres soumises à des conditions d'exposition à l'humidité contrôlées ont permis de constituer une base de données des effets structurels de la RSI. La confrontation de ces essais menés conjointement à l'échelle du matériau et de la structure fournit des données permettant de mettre au point des méthodes de re-calcul des ouvrages et de les valider en confrontant leurs prédictions aux résultats expérimentaux / Delayed Ettringite Formation (DEF) is a reaction that can affect concretes exposed to temperatures higher than 65°C. The corresponding formation of ettringite in the hardened material leads to swellings, cracking and decrease of the mechanical properties. Thus it gives serious concern in terms of structural integrity and serviceability. DEF is often coupled with Alkali-Aggregate Reaction (AAR) in the field. For a structure manager, it is necessary to be able to diagnose the reaction, to assess the serviceability of the structure, to predict its evolution and to repair it. To reach these objectives, it is necessary to understand DEF effects both at the microscopic scale and the structure scale. In the literature, a lot of theoretical and experimental researches have been reported and deal mainly with the chemo-physical mechanisms. These results emphasize the complexity of the microscopic features of DEF and thus can hardly be used to model its structural effects. Thus, macroscopic approaches seem to be more adapted. To develop such approaches, it is necessary to understand the effect of the deleterious process at the scale of the material and of the structure. In this context, this research proposes to quantify the couplings between DEF-induced swellings and moisture, temperature and mechanical loadings thanks to material tests on concrete cylinders. The couplings between DEF and AAR are as well investigated. Moreover the monitoring of dimensions and water content of concrete beams is also performed while being exposed to various controlled water supply conditions. The corresponding results provide a database useful to analyse quantitatively the mechanical effects of DEF (for the material and for the structures) and to validate the numerical models by comparing their predictions to the experimental behaviour