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arXiv · 1509.08158

Handicap principle implies emergence of dimorphic mating displays

Sara M. Clifton·Rosemary I. Braun·Daniel M. Abrams
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Abstract

Species spanning the animal kingdom have evolved extravagant and costly ornaments to attract mating partners. Zahavi's handicap principle offers an elegant explanation for this: ornaments signal individual quality, and must be costly to ensure honest signalling, making mate selection more efficient. Here we incorporate the assumptions of the handicap principle into a mathematical model and show that they are sufficient to explain the heretofore puzzling observation of bimodally distributed ornament sizes in a variety of species.

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Sara M. Clifton, Rosemary I. Braun, Daniel M. Abrams. 2016-11-01. Handicap principle implies emergence of dimorphic mating displays. https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2016.1970

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