Question

In the wild, male house finches (Carpodus mexicanus) vary considerably in the amount of red pigmentation in their head and throat feathers, with colors ranging from pale yellow to bright red. These colors come from carotenoid pigments that are found in the birds' diets; no vertebrates are known to synthesize carotenoid pigments. Thus, the brighter red the male's feathers are, the more successful he has been at acquiring the red carotenoid pigment by his food-gathering efforts (all other factors being equal). During breeding season, one should expect female house finches to prefer to mate with males with the brightest red feathers. Which of the following is true of this situation?

Answer 1

There is no short answer.

Step-by-step explanation:

The example that is described in the question where the females choose their mates according to the color and brightness of the male house finch's feathers is an example of the natural selection processes named sexual selection and mate choice. They refer to situations where the female's or male's choice for mating depends on the physical traits of the other party which certainly indicates that their genes are favorable and healthy to produce offsprings with higher chances of survival.

Directional selection can also be a factor in this example, which indicates a situation where the phenotypes chosen by the female or male for mating purposes are the extremes of the spectrum. This can cause the dominant phenotypes to change over time, affecting the appearence of the species.

So therefore in this example, these theories can affect the choice of the female or the male in their decisions.

I hope this answer helps.