“A peacock’s tail is a way of signaling that its owner is so fit it can afford to have a big maladaptive tail on it and still survive”
Is that really true? I didn’t realize chickens think that way. Besides, a peacock’s fitness INCLUDES the tail. If it could demonstrate that it’s fit with a tail, and then discard the tail, it’d be badass.
“A peacock’s tail is a way of signaling that its owner is so fit it can afford to have a big maladaptive tail on it and still survive”
Is that really true? I didn’t realize chickens think that way. Besides, a peacock’s fitness INCLUDES the tail. If it could demonstrate that it’s fit with a tail, and then discard the tail, it’d be badass.
They don’t have to.
This is really true.
Actually I read recently that they see no correlation between tail quality and sex success in Peacocks.
These researchers suggest that “tail quality” is not fully encompassed by the quantities measured in that research.
How do they know how female peacocks measure tail quality?
I suppose they mean, the tail properties relevant to the “peacock’s-tail” theory of sexual selection.
It’s the standard explanation.