Naturalist: One of the most powerful forces of natural selection is that exercised by individuals in choosing a mate.

Naturalist: One of the most powerful forces of natural selection is that exercised by individuals in choosing a mate. Among most insects and vertebrates, males do the courting and females do the choosing. This division of labor makes sense. Sperm are less costly, energetically speaking, than eggs and are always more abundant. All other factors being equal, therefore, a male optimizes his contribution to the gene pool by mating as frequently as possible. On the other hand, a female seeks quality—often measured by the physical appearance of the male—rather than quantity, because her energy investment in each act of reproduction is typically greater than the male’s investment

Which of the following is a logical consequence of the ideas offered by the author?

A) This explains the sometimes violent skirmishes between males competing for territory.
B) Often, the female of the species has little or no use for the male after conception or fertilization, and in some cases she kills the male.
C) This process of sexual selection is more apt to produce striking visual and other adaptations among males than among females.
D) Therefore, in any given species, the females will outnumber the males.
E) This, in part, explains why breeding females often cluster for protection of their offspring.


OA C

Source: Magoosh