Refer to the Figure

question 23

Multiple Choice

Refer to the figure.
The figure shows a matrix of fitness payoffs for interactions between two behaviorally different types of gulls: those that always fish for themselves and those that sometimes steal fish from others. P stands for the baseline fitness that a gull derives when it fishes for itself. B is the fitness gained by a thief when it steals a fish from a fish-for-self type. C is the fitness cost associated with an attempt to steal a prey.
What is the significance of the fact that in a population composed entirely of thieves, the average fitness payoff for a thief is P - C, whereas in a population composed entirely of fish-for-self types, the average payoff is P?

• A) It tells us that fish-for-self types will become more common over time.
• B) It tells us that the spread of a trait depends not on its absolute fitness effect but rather on its fitness effect relative to an alternative trait.
• C) It tells us that the thief phenotype is an evolutionarily maladaptive trait.
• D) It tells us that the thief phenotype is costly for the population as a whole.

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