ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Sexual conflict

Sexual conflict is the idea that sometimes male and female animals can have different goals when it comes to mating and reproducing.

For example, let's say there's a male bird who wants to mate with as many females as possible. This is because he wants to pass on his genes to as many offspring as he can.

On the other hand, female birds may choose to mate with only one male or a select few males. This is because they want to be sure that their offspring will receive good genes and be successful in life.

So you can see that there is a conflict between the goals of the male and female birds when it comes to mating.

This conflict can lead to things like competition between males for access to females, or females using sneaky tactics to mate with male birds without them knowing.

Overall, sexual conflict is about differences in reproductive goals between males and females, and how this can lead to conflicts and competition in the animal kingdom.