Peahens prefer to mate with peacocks that have the brightest and largest tail displays. The peacock's tail is a disadvantage to the males, because it is large and cumbersome and hinders them from escaping from predators. Given these facts, why isn't the peacock's tail selected against by natural selection?
A) Peacocks lack the mutations to allow selection to work.
B) Only a few peacocks have large tail displays.
C) In spite of the disadvantage, peacocks with larger tails leave more offspring.
D) It is selected against, but because a peahen gives birth to so many males, the population is not greatly affected.
E) Peacocks do not reproduce sexually.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Peacocks with larger and brighter tails are preferred by peahens for mating, which means they have more opportunities to reproduce. Despite the survival disadvantage posed by the large tail, the reproductive advantage ensures that the genes for larger tails are passed on to more offspring, thus not being selected against by natural selection.

Peahens Prefer to Mate with Peacocks That Have the Brightest