What tangible measure does the cost of nest construction serve as in weaver bird mate selection?
Answer
An honest signal of the male's genetic fitness, time, or vigor
The extensive effort required to build a high-quality nest acts as a crucial, honest signal during courtship. A poorly constructed nest immediately suggests that the male might be inexperienced, unhealthy, or lack the necessary vigor and time required for superior engineering. Since the female inspects the structural integrity and neatness, she uses these tangible, visible aspects of the architecture as a validated assessment of the male’s underlying genetic fitness, effectively filtering out less capable partners before mating occurs.
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