Studies of female platyfish, whose male counterparts have a variety of tail shapes, show that the females have a preference for male fish with artificial swordlike structures attached to their tails. This observation is most consistent with
A) the notion of a molecular clock.
B) the maximum likelihood principle.
C) the sensory exploitation hypothesis.
D) the principle of homoplasy.
E) the parsimony principle.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The observation is most consistent with the sensory exploitation hypothesis, which suggests that females may have a pre-existing sensory bias that males exploit through the development of exaggerated traits. In this case, the swordlike structures may stimulate a sensory preference in females that evolved in response to other visual cues in the environment, such as the shape of predator fins.

Studies of Female Platyfish, Whose Male Counterparts Have a Variety