BACK TO sexual selection

sexual selection vs. natural selection

sexual selection

noun
  1. a special type of natural selection in which the sexes acquire distinct forms either because the members of one sex choose mates with particular features or because in the competition for mates among the members of one sex only those with certain traits succeed.

natural selection

[ nach-er-uhl si-lek-shuhn, nach-ruhl ]
noun
  1. the process by which forms of life having traits that better enable them to adapt to specific environmental pressures, as predators, changes in climate, or competition for food or mates, will tend to survive and reproduce in greater numbers than others of their kind, thus ensuring the perpetuation of those favorable traits in succeeding generations.