DooDoo science presents a Maemoto Production
-
Sexual Selection.
Male peacocks are commonly known for having
large ornamental feathers with many eyelets.
But why do they have this inconvenience that
makes it harder for males to fly and escape
from predators?
This process is fueled by the idea of natural
selection which is not a competition to just
survive, but also a competition to reproduce
and create more offspring.
This process of breeding is also the main
root of sexual selection which is the topic
of today.
The mechanism behind them is actually the
same, a competition to leave more copies of
genes into the next generation.
The first peacock in the slide has smaller
feathers compared to the competitor in the
next slide, with larger, fluffier feathers.
Sexual selection is about outcompeteting other
members of the species to get many as well
as desirable mates.
In this case, males engage in competition
to attract females which in turn pushes sexual
selection with her choice (the female) choosing
a desired partner based on trait(s).
This is where the large peacock feathers vs.
smaller feathers comes into play.
Meet Bob, a tiny, featherless peacock because
he lacks large, abundant feathers the females
will be less likely to choose him as a mate,
and thus his genes would not spread on to
the next generation of peacocks.
However, the next candidate is Fernando.
He is a peacock with large, beautiful feathers
that provide him with an advantage with the
females.
Thus, he is able to be selected by a female
and produce offspring.
Because peacocks with these large trains are
more favored by partners, the next generation
will continually yield more male offspring
with these larger feathers until the majority
of the population consists of males with large,
elaborate feathers.
However, just like the beginning images the
feathers will continually become larger and
fancier until the trait would decrease their
chance of survival.
For example, a predator will have a much easier
time attacking a peacock with a more ornate
train that makes it slow versus a peacock
with a lighter train.
So what is sexual selection?
Sexual selection is how certain traits may
become more or less common depending on an
individual's ability to mate with many or
better partners.
Sexual selection leads to adaptations for
gathering mates.
It turns the drab traits of Bob into the more
magnificent feathers of Fernando.
