Natural Selection of Peacocks
Competition between male Peacocks
History of the male Peacock
Peacocks are African birds. They are known for there colorful feathers. Peacocks are omnivores. They eat mostly flower petals, seeds, and small insects. They have a life span of 23 years. They have a mass of 4-6 kg.
Natural Selection
A female Peacock will pick a mate based on the males health and physical condition. This means that a few males get picked to mate with a female. This creates competition between the male population.
Reproduction
A female Peacock will pick a mate based on a few things. First a male Peacock must be in good health. Next the male must have colorful and bright feathers to attract a female. The colorful feather trait will be passed down.
Genetic Variation
There are two genetic variations colorful feathers and dull feathers. A Peacock with colorful feathers is a favorable mate to a female so that trait will be passed down more frequently. The dull color feather trait will be passed down less than the colorful trait.
Competition
There is a lot of competition between male Peacocks for finding a female mate, because of this only males with the favorable trait of bright and colorful feathers get picked to mate.
Future of the Species
In the future the male Peacock population will mostly have bright and colorful feathers because they are preferable mates for females. Also over time the trait for dull feathers will become less common.