Fisherian runaway

Let's imagine we are looking at a big group of animals who are all trying to find mates to have babies with. In this group, there are some animals that have a certain characteristic, which makes them more attractive to others. For example, let's say some male birds have really long and colorful tail feathers.

Other animals might find these long and colorful tail feathers to be very attractive, and because of that, they might be more likely to choose to mate with a male bird that has these long and colorful feathers.

As time goes on, more and more females choose to mate with males that have long and colorful feathers. Over time, this means that more and more birds in the group end up with these long and colorful feathers.

This is where Fisherian runaway comes in. Fisherian runaway is a process where a trait (like long and colorful tail feathers) becomes more and more exaggerated over time because it is perceived as attractive by the opposite sex. As each generation of animals chooses their mates, they are unconsciously selecting for this exaggerated trait, making it even more pronounced over time.

So, basically, Fisherian runaway is all about how some animals can develop really exaggerated physical traits that make them more attractive to potential mates, and this can continue to become more extreme over time through the choices animals make when choosing mates.