So, our prompt is: The question for you to ponder is how does something like this evolve? With your knowledge of sexual selection theory, can you formulate a hypothesis that explains why female courtship might have evolved in this species? Is there anything about pipefish biology that might support your hypothesis?
To start, pipefish are part of Syngnathinae family, which seahorses are also from, which makes seahorses and pipefish cousins. As we probably all know by now, the males of the seahorse world are the ones who carry the eggs and "birth" them when they're ready to shoot out, like a tiny baby cannon.
(Pictured below: baby cannon engaged)
Since we know that they're from the same family, we can dig deeper. According to the Great Google™, male pipefish are also the baby carriers. So, from this, we can assume that females are doing what males do during intersexual selection and are trying to court the males through their size, colors, and mating dance in order to get someone to carry and tend to their eggs.
This may likely have to do with the fact that, like the peacocks (but sex in reverse), the males might be looking for the female that displays the most color or the largest girth, as she might have greater survivability and, in turn, will pass that onto her young. The males are smaller and more drab in appearance, so they're probably ideal as carriers to protect the eggs.
That all being said, that's probably exactly why it evolved in this species, but in the females instead of the males, since they're from that family that does things a little differently (but effectively, I guess).
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