The finding by Madden and Tanner (2003) that female bowerbirds, when given a choice of grapes of different colors, prefer to eat blue ones, and that male bowerbirds prefer to decorate their bowers with blue objects is consistent with the
A) good genes model.
B) runaway selection hypothesis.
C) sensory bias model.
D) all of the above.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The sensory bias model suggests that preferences in a mate choice context can evolve if one sex (usually females) has a pre-existing bias for certain sensory stimuli. In the case of the bowerbirds, the females' preference for blue objects, including food, indicates a pre-existing sensory bias towards the color blue. This bias is then exploited by males who decorate their bowers with blue objects to attract females, fitting the sensory bias model.

The Finding by Madden and Tanner (2003) That Female Bowerbirds