Mate Choice
The "good sperm hypothesis" is very common in polyandrous mating systems. The "good sperm hypothesis" suggests that a male's genetic makeup will determine the level of his competitiveness in sperm competition. When a male has "good sperm" he is able to father more viable offspring than males that do not have the "good sperm" genes. Females may select males that have these superior "good sperm" genes because it means that their offspring will be more viable and will inherit the "good sperm" genes which will increase their fitness levels when their sperm competes.
Read more about this topic: Sperm Competition
Famous quotes containing the words mate and/or choice:
“So slowly the hot elephant hearts
grow full of desire,
and the great beasts mate in secret at last,
hiding their fire.”
—D.H. (David Herbert)
“Nobody is so constituted as to be able to live everywhere and anywhere; and he who has great duties to perform, which lay claim to all his strength, has, in this respect, a very limited choice. The influence of climate upon the bodily functions ... extends so far, that a blunder in the choice of locality and climate is able not only to alienate a man from his actual duty, but also to withhold it from him altogether, so that he never even comes face to face with it.”
—Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900)