Question

Read the passage and answer the following question.

A certain species of bird has two feather variations displayed by males: a dull-colored one that blends into their preferred habitat and a brightly colored one that is very obvious. The adult females are dull colored. The predation rate for brightly colored adults is three times higher than for the dull-colored adults. In spite of this, the brightly colored plumage persists in the population.

Which of the following is the correct explanation?

• A. Females prefer the brighter plumage and so mate with this phenotype more often.
• B. The dull plumage provides a selection advantage over the bright plumage.
• C. The adults with dull plumage require less energy investment to ensure their survival.
• D. Those brightly colored birds that do survive have more highly developed survival skills than those that do not survive.
• E. Dull-colored adult males are more lethargic than the brightly colored birds.

Answer 1

The correct option is A Females prefer the brighter plumage and so mate with this phenotype more often.

Dull plumage confers a survival advantage to birds by protecting them against predators while those having brighter plumage are easily spotted. However, brighter plumage helps male birds to attract female birds for mating and confers reproductive advantage. This leads to persistence of brighter plumage population despite its more chances to get captured by a predator. Thus, the correct answer is option A.