Studies of female platyfish, whose male counterparts have a variety of tail shapes, show that the females have a preference for male fish with artificial swordlike structures attached to their tails.This observation is most consistent with the
A) notion of a molecular clock.
B) maximum likelihood principle.
C) sensory exploitation hypothesis.
D) principle of homoplasy.
E) parsimony principle.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The sensory exploitation hypothesis suggests that males evolve traits that manipulate existing sensory biases of the female. In this case, the artificial swordlike structures attached to the males' tails may be manipulating the female's preference for sword-shaped objects, providing evidence for the sensory exploitation hypothesis.

Studies of Female Platyfish, Whose Male Counterparts Have a Variety