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  3. The evolution of sex ratio has produced, in most plants and animals with separate sexes, approximately equal numbers of males an

The evolution of sex ratio has produced, in most plants and animals with separate sexes, approximately equal numbers of males an

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问题      The evolution of sex ratio has produced, in most plants and animals with separate sexes, approximately equal numbers of males and females. Why should this be so? Two main kinds of answers have been offered. One is couched in terms of advantage to population. It is argued that the sex ratio will evolve so as to maximize the number of meetings between individuals of the opposite sex. This is essentially a "group selection" argument. The other, and in my view correct, type of answer was first put forward by Fisher in 1930. This "genetic" argument starts from the assumption that genes can influence the relative numbers of male and female offspring produced by an individual carrying the genes①. That sex ratio will be favored which maximizes the number of descendants an individual will have and hence the number of gene copies transmitted. Suppose that the population consisted mostly of females, and then an individual who produced sons only would have more grandchildren. In contrast, if the population consisted mostly of males, it would pay to have daughters. If, however, the population consisted of equal numbers of males and females, sons and daughters would be equally valuable. Thus a one-to-one sex ratio is the only stable ratio; it is an "evolutionarily stable strategy". Although Fisher wrote before the mathematical theory of games had been developed, his theory incorporated the essential feature of a game that the best strategy to adopt depends on what others are doing.
     Since Fisher’s time, it has been realized that genes can sometimes influence the chromosome or gamete in which they find themselves so that the gamete will be more likely to participate in fertilization②. If such a gene occurs on a sex-determining (X or Y) chromosome, then highly aberrant sex ratios can occur. But more immediately relevant to game theory are the sex ratios in certain parasitic wasp species that have a large excess of females. In these species, fertilized eggs develop into females and unfertilized eggs into males. A female stores sperm and can determine the sex of each egg she lays by fertilizing it or leaving it unfertilized. By Fisher’s argument, it should still pay a female to produce equal numbers of sons and daughters. Hamilton, noting that the eggs develop within their host—the larva of another insect—and that the newly emerged adult wasps mate immediately and disperse, offered a remarkably cogent analysis. Since only one female usually eggs in a given larva, it would pay her to produce one male only, because this one could fertilize all his sisters on emergence. Like Fisher, Hamilton looked for an evolutionarily stable strategy, but he went a step further in recognizing that he was looking strategy.
According to the passage, successful game strategy depends on ______.
选项 A、the ability to adjust one’s behavior in light of the behaviors of others
B、the ability to obey the rules with high flexibility
C、teamwork and cooperation with others
D、the ability to keep a dynamic stability
答案A
解析 细节推断题。作者在文章第一段最后一句点出了Fisher的观点符合游戏的规则，强调根据对方情况来调整自己的策略，所以A 为正确答案。干扰项C 强调协作精神，也关注对方行为，但是双方是竞争对手，强调团队精神没有意义。选项B “high flexibility”灵活性，文中没有提到。
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