Question

male birds of paradise have evolved to possess a brilliant display of plumage. the male shows off his plumage to woo a female. which of the following statements about this trait is true

Answer 1

I don’t see the answer choices — could you paste them? Meanwhile, here are the correct general points about the brilliant plumage of male birds-of-paradise (what a true statement would say):

- The plumage evolved mainly by sexual selection (female mate choice): males with brighter/more elaborate plumage had higher reproductive success, so alleles for that plumage increased in frequency.
- It is an adaptation for reproduction (increases mating success), not necessarily for survival; such traits can be costly (predation, energetic cost) yet persist because they boost mating success.
- The trait is heritable (genetic variation underlies the differences) and arose by differential reproductive success, not by an individual “deciding” to change during its lifetime (i.e., not Lamarckian).
- Sexual dimorphism (males show the ornament, females do not) reflects different selective pressures on the sexes.
- Mechanisms behind the pattern can include Fisherian runaway (preference and trait reinforce each other), “good genes” signalling, or handicap signaling — all are types of sexual selection explanations.

If you give the specific options, I’ll point to which one(s) are correct.