Survival of the Sneakiest
by the Understanding Evolution team

"Survival of the fittest" means that the strong succeed, and the weak fail, right? Well, often that's how it's portrayed, but the real story is a bit trickier. Let's take a closer look at what the crickets do...

1. When it comes to crickets, what does fitness mean?
   
   
2. Is calling good or bad for a cricket's fitness?
   
   
3. Give some examples of selection at work in this cricket story.
   
   
4. How does selection favor calling? How does selection favor not calling?

For more information: Read about the concept of fitness in Evolution 101. Read about the process of sexual selection in Evolution 101.