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The pipefish species is a perfect example of sexual
dimorphism in nature. For this prompt, we were asked to watch a video of a
display of courtship between the male and female species. While normally, the
male of the species has elaborate morphological structures and striking
colors attempting to court the female of the species. The female of the species,
on the other hand, is typically the one that looks “dull” and has no striking
colors, and is being courted. In the cases of the pipefish, we see some sort of
a ‘switch’ in these courting relationships. Instead, the females have a
striking appearance and are courting the ‘dull’ males.
The question we are asked to consider is how does
something like this evolve? We believe that this sexual dimorphism is a
consequence of adaptive evolution. Males and females are different in their
investment in offspring production. We typically see the males who stand
out in appearances as only having the role of providing sperm in the production
of the offspring. The ‘drabby’ females do the rest of the work. We can
formulate a hypothesis that pipefish have the roles reversed in sexual dimorphism
because the males actually do most the of work in the production of healthy
offspring and females only provide the egg.
The whole point of one of the partners to look ‘pretty’ is to show the other partner that they are fit and have great and healthy genes to pass down to potential offspring. The other partner that has no ‘pazazz’ doesn’t need to prove anything to their partner as they are being courted, or sought after. In the case of the pipefish, the females have adapted to display colors and prove to their male counterparts that they have great genes and will produce healthy and strong offspring
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