Question

I read a book The Descent of Man from Charles Darwin. What is the reason for the following statement?

It would be no advantage and some loss of power if both sexes were mutually to search for each other.

I know that in most species it is the male having an active role in the search of a partner to mate, but Darwin provided no fact in supporting the quoted statement about the disadvantage of mutual search.

Mr. Darwin died 139 years ago, so his books became a public domain (70 years after his death). Here is a link to a pdf file:

The Descent of Man - Charles Darwin

There it is page number 273, in the pdf file page number 322, in the lower half.

EDIT: The explanation provided on Wikipedia, that I just found, is the Batemans principle. It says that the females are more valuable, because of greater time and energy they put into producing offspring, compared to that of the males. Hence, the males compete for the females.

Answer 1

Darwin's work describes sexual selection dynamics, where females invest more in offspring, leading males to compete, and differences in appearance between sexes, known as sexual dimorphism, result from this competition.

Step-by-step explanation:

The statement from Charles Darwin's work The Descent of Man regarding the evolutionary pressure on males to compete for mating opportunities and on females to select mates is rooted in the concepts of natural selection and sexual dimorphism. Bateman's principle, which explains that females typically invest more energy into producing and nurturing offspring than males, leads to a situation where males often compete for the chance to mate. Furthermore, sexual dimorphism, which encapsulates the physical differences between males and females, emerges from this competition and selection process.

Males may develop elaborate traits to signify genetic quality, as per the good genes hypothesis, thereby attracting females who select mates that may offer genetic benefits to their offspring, which could enhance survival rates despite fewer offspring being produced.