Chapter 2 - Key Words Flashcards
What is Sexual Selection
is a special form of natural selection
physical and psychological characteristics => attraction to more mates
Male => more offspring
Female => better care
Thus quantity and quality are both imp and lead to more viable offspring who in turn reproduce themselves.
Intrasexual selection => competition (usu between males) for mates => leads to the development of traits which incr competitive ability.
Intersexual selection => mate selection based on physical characteristics (peacock’s train which indicates physcial healthyness) and behavioural characteristics (such as protecting territory against predators)
If characters promote successful repro are genetic then they are carried to the next gen. Those with those charact will be more successful and those without will be less thus they will fade out and their genes lost from the gene pool.
Reproductive strategies - males and female have different. Males = as many as poss whereas females are limited and therefore will select a mate with either good adaptive characteristics or resources.
This shows how adaptations evolve through sexual as well as natural selection, but they also suggest the differences in the male/female behaviours in both human and non humans.
