S. Bullock et D. Cliff, THE ROLE OF HIDDEN PREFERENCES IN THE ARTIFICIAL COEVOLUTION OF SYMMETRICAL SIGNALS, Proceedings - Royal Society. Biological Sciences, 264(1381), 1997, pp. 505-511
Recently, within the biology literature, there has been some interest
in exploring the evolutionary function of animal displays through comp
uter simulations of evolutionary processes. Here we provide a critique
of an exploration of the evolutionary function of complex symmetrical
displays. We investigate the hypothesis that complex symmetrical sign
al form is the product of a 'hidden preference' inherent in all sensor
y systems (i.e. a universal sensory bias). Through extending previous
work and relaxing its assumptions we reveal that the posited 'hidden p
reference' for complex symmetry is in reality a preference for homogen
eity. The resulting implications for further accounts of the evolution
ary function of complex symmetrical patterning are considered.