• Question: why do males have to show off in front of females before they mate?

    Asked by to Thon, Catherine, James, Natalie, Shaylon on 19 Jun 2014. This question was also asked by .
    • Photo: Natalie Pilakouta

      Natalie Pilakouta answered on 19 Jun 2014:

      In many species, females are picky and they want to mate with the “best” male. When males fight with each other (like deer do for example), the one that wins is the strongest one, and the female prefers to mate with that one, so that her young are also strong.

      Even though males have physical fights with each other in many species, in other cases, males compete with each other in different ways. For example, many birds sing to attract females, and the females pick the males with the best songs.

    • Photo: Catherine Offord

      Catherine Offord answered on 19 Jun 2014:

      This is Natalie’s field, really, but I just wanted to add another classic example. In ‘swordtail’ fish, females prefer males which have longer tails (see an picture here: ) But having a very long tail is a bit of a risk to males because it makes it more difficult to swim away from predators.

      It’s a similar story in peacocks – females prefer longer tails, but males with longer tails are more slow moving and are at greater risk from predators.

      The interesting thing in these two examples is that females prefer something which actually make a male’s life rather dangerous. So both the survival of an animal AND what females prefer in males are important in the evolution of many species.

    • Photo: James Bell

      James Bell answered on 19 Jun 2014:

      Darwin would love this question

      Essentially it’s because females need to know that they are getting a good deal. They want a mate that is really strong, fast, pretty or tuneful because he’s the one who’ll give her children the best chance of surviving.

      You might have heard of ‘survival of the fittest’ and this is just that. The most handsome, attractive, strong or otherwise males get to mate the most which means weaker males (who might not have such good genes) don’t get to pass on their genes as much. Gradually all of the next generations become products of the ‘fitter’ members of a species and this is how species adapt and stay competitive in a changing environment, by making sure the most successful members get to pass on the most genetic material

    • Photo: Shaylon Stolk

      Shaylon Stolk answered on 19 Jun 2014:

      Many species of birds– like owls, skuas, swans, and albatrosses– mate for life. It’s very important that they choose a mate who will help them take good care of their young, so before they make a choice, they look to see what possible mates have to offer. Since the female lays the eggs, which takes a lot of energy, she needs a mate who can bring her extra food. ‘Showing off’ for these species usually means building a really good nest, or bringing the female some special food. This proves to her that the male will be a good provider.

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