Sexual selection is an evolutionary mechanism that pits the males and females of a species against each other. Females are often described as cryptic in their display patterns because it is not necessary to be flashy. Females are given the proverbial “choice” of mate and are therefore choosy in the males. Males compete to be flamboyant and display qualities that the female uses to appraise the fitness of the suitor and decide if this will raise the fitness of her offspring. The “sexy son” hypothesis and “good genes” hypothesis respectively say that a female will choose a respective mate because it of their appeal because their children will then have that same appeal for the next generation and that a female chooses a mate based on their genes because it will result in the offspring having better genes. This makes males compete for the female and the female choice decides what is deemed appropriate. Some scientists suggest that the qualifier is not anything of apparent value, just what has evolved as the required quality. This changes with the generations of females over evolutionary time and as a result, male characteristics change as well.
Sexual selection also gives way to what is known as an evolutionary arms race. This is where the male and female are both evolving to counteract an adaptation that the other sex has that prohibits one sides reproductive fitness. Such examples are the development mechanical reproductive traits that prohibit the males from forcefully mating with a nonconsenting female, evidenced by the development of duck penises and vaginas, or the evolution of infanticide as a technique to enhance fitness. Infanticide involves a sexually mature adult, usually male, killing the offspring of another mature adult of the same species. This is done by the killer to become the new sexual partner of the deceased’s parent which would otherwise have been unavailable. This act raises the fitness of the killer and reduces the fitness of the victim’s parent.
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