Coquetry’s power lies in suspended, non-committal oscillation between yes and no

Evidence

The Grants showed that year-to-year fluctuations in rainfall led to dramatic shifts in the types and amounts of seeds available to the birds, and this resulted in selection favoring deep beaks in some years but thin beaks in others. Although natural selection was directional and strong for most years of this period, the pattern of selection oscillated, so that the net effect was stasis. Despite multiple bouts of rapid change, birds at the end of the sample period had roughly the same bill shapes as those at the beginning. — Emlen, Douglas J, Animal Weapons_ The Evolution of Battle, 701 (#expands, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Oscillating selection can produce stasis despite strong directional pressure — Emlen, Douglas J, Animal Weapons_ The Evolution of Battle, 701

Related

• Oscillating selection can produce stasis despite strong directional pressure (similarity 0.82)
• Oscillating directional selection can produce net evolutionary stasis (similarity 0.80)

Broader Connections

• Oscillating selection can produce stasis despite strong directional pressure #expands (0.75) — Emlen, Douglas J, Animal Weapons_ The Evolution of Battle, 701