Question

C. Males of the Flat-headed Aardvark (Orycteropus veneskyi) have the curious and unique habit of producing loud, ringing sounds by hurling themselves head-first against large boulders, a behavior that is absent in all other aardvarks. Although males provide females with neither resources necessary for breeding nor parental care, females mate preferentially with males that produce the loudest and most frequent collisions. How would you test the hypothesis that female mating preferences in Orycteropus veneskyi are consistent with the good genes model of sexual selection? Briefly explain (5 points). D. How would you test the hypothesis that female mating preferences in Orycteropus veneskyi are consistent with the sensory exploitation model of sexual selection? Briefly explain (5 points). 5. Imagine that you are studying the evolutionary relationships of four species of aardvarks in the genus Orycteropus: O. humphreysi, O. whitenacki, O. nelsoni, and O. veneskyi. As a suitable outgroup for your phylogenetic analysis you use another type of aardvark, Leptorycteropus ostrofskyi. Character differences among the five aardvark species are summarized in the table at right Species Ear Color shape type digits N teeth O humphreysed Pointed Flared 18 18 14 ht Pointed Flared nelsoni Flat vones Leptorycteropus 18 (outgroup)ray Pointed Flared

Answer 1

An aardvark feed on insects like termites and ants which generally found in mounds . Animal will dig into mounds to eat insects by using its sticky and long toungues .so baby animal having with similar genetics which enable him to find its food with easiness are selected in nature . Females preference for the above mentioned traits will ensure passing of father aardvark genes into offspring and ensure survival and fitness of species .