Female animals tweak preferences and spark new signals that reshape evolution fast

Not choice alone but relaxed preference creates the signals

A new evolutionary framework suggests animal communication can change when females relax their mate preferences, allowing fresh signals to emerge and spread. Researchers describe two routes: receiver first, where females start with biases, and signal first, where males craft cues and females adapt. Sensory bias can steer both paths, with implications for speciation and conservation through behavioral flexibility.