From elaborate displays, then, females may glean information about male fitness and quality, his “good genes.” That’s one idea, says Stoddard, but there are others. The “signal efficiency” theory, for instance, which might be called the bright beacon hypothesis: Complex signals may have evolved not because they’re conveying information about quality, but because they efficiently communicate, “Here’s a male who is ready to mate!” The more signals you make, and the brighter, louder, and flashier they are, the more conspicuous you will be to members of the opposite sex.
