Friday, May 1

natural selection


The exuberant tail of the peacock is thought to be the result of sexual selection by females. This peacock is an albino — it carries a mutation that makes it unable to produce melanin. Selection against albinos in nature is intense because they are easily spotted by predators or are unsuccessful in competition for mates, and so these mutations are usually rapidly eliminated by natural selection (Cited from Wikipedia).

It's such a beautiful peacork. But it's such a pity that their genes cannot be passed on due the cruel fact of natural selection.