AP BIOLOGY

Detailed explanation-1: -The classic example of mate choice is a peacock’s tail. Peahens prefer peacocks with large and colourful tails, so those peacocks get to mate more frequently and have more offspring. The male peachicks will inherit the genes for a long and colourful tail from their father and so will have a similar tail.

Detailed explanation-2: -Sexual selection is a “special case” of natural selection. Sexual selection acts on an organism’s ability to obtain (often by any means necessary!) or successfully copulate with a mate.

Detailed explanation-3: -In accordance with the consensus that sexual selection is responsible for the rapid evolution of display traits on macroevolutionary scales, microevolutionary studies suggest sexual selection is a widespread and often strong form of directional selection in nature.

Detailed explanation-4: -For example, evolving long necks has enabled giraffes to feed on leaves that others can’t reach, giving them a competitive advantage. Thanks to a better food source, those with longer necks were able to survive to reproduce and so pass on the characteristic to the succeeding generation.