What is sexual selection

English naturalist Charles Darwin revolutionized scientific thinking when he proposed that species evolve what is sexual selection time to become adapted to their environments by means of natural selection in his On the Origin of Species There was a problem providing the content you requested Please contact us via our support center for more information and provide the reference number below. While both sexual selection and natural selection are evolutionary processes that increase an organism's fitness, they differ in several important ways.

Male baboons Papio are more than twice as large as females, and the behaviour of the docile females contrasts with that of the aggressive males. One is the preference shown by one sex often the females for individuals of the other sex that exhibit certain traits. Many exaggerated male traits are now thought to have evolved as a result of female mate choice, although several competing hypotheses exist to explain the origin and maintenance of these female preferences.

Please note that our editors may make some formatting changes or correct spelling or grammatical errors, and may also contact you if any clarifications are needed. Our editors what is sexual selection review what you've submitted, and if it meets our criteria, we'll add it to the article. Consequently, as the male trait spreads because females prefer it, the female preference itself also spreads because it is linked with the male trait. Sexual selection frequently produces sexual dimorphism and exaggerated male traits, often in opposition to the forces of natural selection.