Read Sexual Selection
A focused NSEB read for the sexual selection pattern. Learn the linked concept, then apply it in the source questions.
Living-system questions are solved by matching a structure or organism to its function, process and stated condition.
Sexual Selection
Artificial head ornament alters zebra finch preference. Female offspring preferred ornamented males when they were reared by an ornamented father, even though zebra finches naturally lack crests. This demonstrates that mate preference can be learned during development through sexual imprinting, rather than being genetically fixed.
Handicap and honest signals
A costly trait can serve as an honest signal when only high-quality individuals can bear its survival cost. The signal's handicap is central to the inference; a trait used only as a weapon is a different explanation.
Test whether preference preceded the ornament
If female platysfish prefer an artificial long tail despite lacking the male sword, that preference existed before the sword evolved. Map the sensory bias to the lineage before platysfish and swordtails split, then map the sword to the later swordtail lineage. This is a pre-existing sensory bias, not proof that the ornament first created the preference. Choose A.
OlympIQ exam lens
- ✓Artificial head ornament alters zebra finch preference
- ✓Preference for an artificial trait in a close relative can reveal a sensory bias that predates the trait.
Read the conditions in the stem carefully and use the stated model, labels, or assumptions before choosing an answer.
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