Final answer:
The good genes hypothesis explains behavior and attractiveness in sexual selection, demonstrating how superior genes are depicted through traits and selected by mates to ensure offspring fitness.
Step-by-step explanation:
The good genes hypothesis is a theory related to sexual selection, explaining how genes influence behavior and attractiveness. According to this hypothesis, individuals with advantageous traits show off these traits as honest signals of their superior genetic quality. For example, males may develop impressive ornamental traits to demonstrate their efficient metabolism or ability to fight disease. Females that choose these traits are selecting mates who are genetically fit, thereby ensuring they pass on these superior genes to their offspring. This enhances the likelihood of survival and reproductive success for their offspring, despite potentially having fewer of them due to the pickiness of mate selection.
While genetic diversity plays a crucial role in the adaptability and evolution of a population, the good genes hypothesis specifically addresses why certain ornamental traits are developed and how they impact mate choice rather than how genetic diversity contributes to overall population survival.