From: usenet@baradel.demon.co.uk   
      
   In message   
   , David   
   Friedman  writes   
   >In article   
   ><1ir9mxo.1tamt7e1uaxgyaN%green_knight@greenknight.org.uk.invalid>,   
   > green_knight@greenknight.org.uk.invalid (Catja Pafort) wrote:   
   >   
   >> Helen Hall wrote:   
   >>   
   >> > Yes, the male could father more offspring if he had more partners,   
   >> > but if he helps one partner raise the young, then they're more likely to   
   >> > survive. There is not just one best male strategy, which you seem to be   
   >> > implying. There are several.   
   >>   
   >> And similarily, the success in raising offspring for a female partnered   
   >> with a competent and dominant male is quite high.   
   >   
   >But she doesn't have to be his only partner. A sufficiently successful   
   >male can provide better for two or more partners than a sufficiently   
   >unsuccessful one for one.   
   >   
   >> is not the same   
   >> as only bearing the children fathered by said good provider, in fact,   
   >> that would be bad strategy for her.   
   >   
   >Why? To the extent that being a good provider is due to heritable   
   >characteristics, she wants those characteristics for her offspring, so   
   >why should she bear children by other and worse providers?   
   >   
   Because he's cute and charming and fun to be with. As Aqua said, there   
   is strong selection on the grounds of appearance.   
      
   Helen   
      
   --   
   Helen, Gwynedd, Wales *** http://www.baradel.demon.co.uk   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)