Question

Antagonistic coevolution is now thought to be a potent driver of speciation because?

1) Female preferences and their associated male displays tend to diverge between populations, causing individuals to be less likely to interbreed with each other.
2) Bright male ornaments honestly reveal the parasite loads of individual males. Parasites and hosts are constantly coevolving, and this drives population differences in male ornament colors or forms.
3) The arms races that arise between male tactics and female countermeasures proceed independently in different populations, creating incompatibilities between them.
4) All of the above are reasons why antagonistic coevolution between males and females is thought to drive speciation.
5) None of the above.

Answer 1

Antagonistic coevolution can be a strong driver of speciation as it contributes to diverging female preferences, varying male ornaments that signal parasite loads, and independent arms races between male and female reproductive strategies leading to reproductive incompatibilities. the correct answer is 4) All of the above are reasons why antagonistic coevolution between males and females is thought to drive speciation.

Step-by-step explanation:

Antagonistic coevolution is thought to be a powerful driver of speciation because of several interrelated factors. The reasons include:

1. Female preferences and associated male displays tend to diverge between populations, leading to reduced interbreeding.
2. Male ornaments, which represent a male's parasite load, differ due to the coevolution of hosts and parasites, influencing mate selection and driving population differences in traits.
3. The independent coevolutionary arms races between male tactics and female countermeasures in different populations result in reproductive incompatibilities.

Considering these points, the correct answer is that 'All of the above' are reasons why antagonistic coevolution between males and females is believed to drive speciation. the correct answer is the correct answer is 4) All of the above are reasons why antagonistic coevolution between males and females is thought to drive speciation.