Animals, like people, are beauty seekers. However, their beauty pageants are primarily for breeding and population reproduction. As for whether they also understand the same aesthetics as people, there are many opinions.
<h2 class = "pgc-h-arrow-right" > butterfly's beauty pageant</h2>
A typical example of animal beauty pageant is butterflies.
Arizona State University Biology Professor Ronald L. Rutowski L. Rutowski has been studying butterflies for 25 years. He found that the courtship of butterflies is a thrilling process of showing beauty.
His research on the yellow butterfly found that the upper wing spots of male butterflies are different from those of female butterflies, the former can reflect ultraviolet rays, the latter can not reflect ultraviolet rays; male butterflies encounter female butterflies, they will fly around the latter for a period of time, trying to mate, but when encountering passing male butterflies, they will fly away. In the process of seeking the game, the female butterfly does not immediately agree with the male butterfly's pursuit, but will make some choices, of course, to choose the male butterfly with beautiful wings.
Moreover, the beauty of butterflies is not determined by people's aesthetic vision, but by the aesthetics of butterflies themselves. Under the optical instrument, we can see that the wings of young male butterflies are not only large, but also colorful. Because it reflects ultraviolet rays, the wings of male butterflies look more beautiful and colorful. But as they age, the color of male butterfly wings becomes lighter. With this, female butterflies can choose young and beautiful male butterflies. On the other hand, after the female butterfly chooses a young and beautiful male butterfly, she cannot immediately make it a hundred years of good, but also let the male butterfly fly for a long time, about an hour.
The purpose of the female butterfly is still to choose, that is, to observe whether the male butterfly is male, agile and powerful. The female will lie down and cooperate with the male butterfly to become her good thing. Of course, in the pursuit of female butterflies, male butterflies must use some "special language", that is, secrete some chemicals and sprinkle on female butterflies, so that female butterflies recognize the "sweet words" of male butterflies.
It is because of these factors that the butterfly's marriage proposal becomes the process of beauty pageant and selection of strong butterflies. In this way, their descendants will be strong and beautiful, able to withstand the test and elimination of the harsh environment.
<h2 class= "pgc-h-arrow-right" > bird pageant</h2>
Male peacocks are attracted to their companions for their beautiful wings. Its feathers are gorgeous, with a tuft of feathers 10 cm long on its head, which is quite kingly. When the tail screen is opened, it is about 3 meters wide and about 1.5 meters high. Its color is gorgeous, like a brocade woven of red, green and yellow velvet. When the male peacock courted the female peacock, it unfolded a gorgeous tail screen, not only to the female peacock, but also to show its beauty and worthy of the female peacock's commitment.
In addition, the male peacock is also around the female peacock, dancing, such as turning, opening, dancing, playing, singing, tail screen, etc., when the female peacock is dazzled and heartbroken, she will agree to the male peacock's courtship. Especially when several male peacocks look at a female peacock at the same time, the courtship competition between male peacocks becomes an amazing beauty pageant, which may be unattainable for humans. Of course, after a fierce beauty contest, the most beautiful male peacocks get the love of the female peacocks.
The practicality of this courtship is, of course, the origin of beauty and aesthetics, and at the same time, as a gene, it is passed down from generation to generation in many years of life, which makes the peacock a special beauty. Similar to peacocks, the same is true of pheasants. During the love season, the rooster's body will be renewed and take on amazing colors. Their feathers and crowns become colorful, so they can impress the heart of the female pheasant. Why do female pheasants choose male pheasants with brightly colored feathers?
Birds' brightly coloured feathers mean they are highly resistant to disease. If pheasants are infected with the parasite, their feathers darken and lose color. Therefore, choosing a colorful male pheasant means choosing genes that are highly resistant to disease. It can be seen that the source of beauty is practical and healthy.
With the continuous deepening of zoologists' research, the reasons, methods and essences of animal beauty pageants are more and more profoundly displayed in front of people's eyes. In general, female swallows will only choose male suitors with bright red throat bags.
As a pervasive phenomenon, using color to attract the opposite sex is also the ability of male animals. When males compete with females, they display their own sex signals, such as color and male characteristics. For example, the bucks will use huge antlers to show their strength, not only to warn competitors not to despise themselves, but also to show that their antlers are a powerful weapon, thus proving that they are the most suitable candidate for "husband".
But birds and birds do not have such signals of courtship competition and threat. For example, the beautiful feathers of male canaries and yellow parrots do not warn opponents, but this signal also proves that "I am the strongest and the best husband candidate".
<h2 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" > the mystery of sexual selection</h2>
In 1982, two evolutionary biologists, William Hamilton and Marlene Zucker, proposed the hypothesis that an individual's high quality was related to his or her sex signal. Only individuals with good genes, such as those with antiparasitic genes, can send the strongest sexual signals. That's what high quality means.
Therefore, some zoologists have used methods of detecting male canary and pheasant blood to demonstrate a link between high quality and sex signals. They found that the number of parasites in the blood was inversely proportional to the brightness of the feathers. The fewer parasites in the body, the healthier the body, and the more beautiful and colorful the hair of the canary and pheasant. In contrast, the hair is thinning and dark.
Later, Pierre of Paris and Anders Morey of the Marie Curie University put forward different perspectives through research. They believe that the strength of an animal's sex signal is not related to the number of parasites in its blood, but rather to its immune ability. For example, immune male canaries and pheasants have very bright plumage.
Of course, whether it is a strong immune system or a small number of parasites in the body, the biological individual can prove that he has a healthy and necessarily beautiful body, which is the best "husband" candidate.
The new study also found that most animals use carotene to produce colorful sexual signals. For example, sparrows and stingrays use carotene to add color to themselves. Of course, the premise is that the females of these animals all prefer the bright colors decorated by the males with carotene. The study also found that the healthier the male, the more carotene the body synthesized.
Previous studies have shown that carotene is an important immune factor in living organisms. Carotene is involved in the detoxification of the immune system because the body needs carotene to neutralize damage from free radicals. Carotene is an antioxidant that removes free radicals before they can damage DNA, fats, and proteins.
Studies of rodents such as mice and mammals such as dogs have found that carotene in their bodies contributes to a large increase in T and B lymphocytes. These two types of cells are powerful forces against pathogenic bacteria.
Since carotene is a precious substance, animals, especially males, know how to use it. They either use carotene to help the immune system work, or detoxify with carotene, or use it to make color to attract the opposite sex. Institutionally weakened males use carotene to boost immunity, while healthy males use carotene to create sex signals (colors) that indicate that they are the strongest to attract the opposite sex.
Of course, like humans, animals believe that symmetry is an important symbol of beauty and health. Therefore, symmetry is another more important sexual signal and an important basis for sexual selection.