Animal Attraction | Female Socialization | Mating Rituals | Sperm Fights | DNA Gender Roles 2010 Research
/Water Mating Battlefield
Mating | Divinely Complex Mating Strategies of Poecilia Parae AOC Green Beings 12/29/2010
Unlike most species, ‘poecilla parae’ have maintained a level of color purity unknown in most of the animal or human kingdom. The fish come in exactly five, genetically determined colors: red, yellow, blue, parae (clear with a black stripe), and immaculate (drab grey that mimics the color of immature females).
This is one complicated evolutionary story, so please listen up!
Immaculates Must Get Dirty
If ‘immaculate’ makes you think of the Virgin Mary and birth without a sexual romp, erase. We’re entering the rough and tumble world of males at war. Even immaculates have to play ball, in order to reproduce.
‘Super Mom’ Snake
Defying Science & Male Boas, ‘Super Mom’ Snake Decides to Make Babies Solo 11/4/2010
Dr Warren Booth’s NC State University researchers have discovered that female boa constrictors perform an impossible feat.
A ‘Super mom’ female boa constrictor made babies without mating, twice producing females that show absolutely no male influence — no genetic fingerprint that a male was involved or anywhere near the scene of the reproductive process.
Good gosh! Eve may mate with the devil after all. How many times have we seen woman and serpent imagery in centuries of art?
Scientists previously considered parthenogenesis — or asexual reproduction — to be impossible in reptiles.
Ironically, male snakes courted ‘Super mom’ and she had babies the old-fashioned way before producing two broods of all-female, WW-chromosome babies with male DNA. Dr Booth’s team is stunned.
“Reproducing both ways could be an evolutionary ‘get-out-of-jail-free card’ for snakes,” Booth says. “If suitable males are absent, why waste those expensive eggs when you have the potential to put out some half-clones of yourself? Then, when a suitable mate is available, revert back to sexual reproduction.” Science Daily
Dr Booth owns one of the girl baby snakes and is interested to watch whether she mates with males or goes it alone. Could this be a new evolutionary-girl power in the making?
Say What? Too Much Estrogen?
In Finches, Too Much Estrogen, not Testosterone, May Be the Culprit 6/17/2010
The notion that too much testosterone is to blame for reckless traders’ stock bets and schoolboys’ attention deficit hyperactivity disorder are just two arguments that bolster the understanding that testosterone is a ‘bad’ hormone and estrogen is a ‘good’ one. Because they need each other to survive and reproduce, testosterone and estrogen are the subject of more critical study by open-minded scientists.
The science connecting these hormonally-rich ‘bad people’ is the fact that they share a tendency for their ring fingers to be longer than their index fingers. Accepted wisdom is that this condition, rare in women, is caused by too much testosterone in the womb.
Published this week in the Proceedings of the Royal Society, Wolfgang Forstmeier and his colleagues at the Max Planck Institute for Ornithology in Seewiesen, Germany, conclude that oestrogen—the hormone of femininity—rather than testosterone, may be to blame.
Once again, testosterone is going to rehab and the allegedly sweet character of estrogen is again under the microscope. The findings are only in birds and not necessarily applicable to humans, but estrogen may be going to rehab. Read on at The Economist: Sex hormones: For the birds
Complex Female Sperm Choices
This is the reproductive tract (less ovaries) of female D. melanogaster initially mated to GFP-sperm male then remated to RFP-sperm male. Green sperm heads have left the storage organs and can be seen mixing with red sperm heads in the bursa. (Credit: Scott Pitnick, Syracuse University)‘Glow-in-the-Dark’ Sperm Reveal Sexy Secrets AOC Green Beings 3/10/2010
Creative thinking inspired Syracuse University biology professors to genetically alter the heads of fruitflies to be green or red. Because most of nature is promiscuous, meaning that the female mates with more than one male, in search for the best sperm for her offspring — it’s been very difficult for researchers to keep track of events within her body.
Jaws dropped when researchers saw the real action among ‘glow-in-the-dark’ sperm. Read on in Green Beings
Among Ants, End of Men
Common Ant Dispenses with Males Entirely 3/9/2010
A widespread fungus-gardening ant is the only ant species in the world known to have dispensed with males entirely. Most social insects — the wasps ants and bees — go through daily life without males, living in matriarchal colonies run by swarms of sterile sisters bowing down to an egg-laying queen. In reserve, these social instincts retain an ability to produce a crop of males when necessary, to propagate the species.
Queens of the ant Mycocepurus smithii reproduce without fertilization and appear to have dispensed with males entirely. Scientists are fascinated with this evolutionary development. Read on at Science Daily.Plant Punishment
Science Daily reports that punishment is important in plant-pollinator relationships. In language that I love — likening botany-based behavior human relationships — wasps are ‘obligated’ by Mother Nature to pollinate sexy figs. In exchange, the fig fruit gives the wasp temporary lodging.
What about wasps who don’t fulfill their sexual duty? Fig trees “punish” these “cheaters” by dropping unpollinated fruit, killing the wasp’s offspring inside, report researchers working at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute.
Figs and wasps have an understanding not always comprehended by humans. Sanctions against cheaters may be critical to nature’s ecological balance.
Chorus Line Flowers
Credit: iStockphoto/Rob BroekShowgirl Flowers Are Just Looking for Love & Good Sex AOC Green Beings 12/17/2010
Sex in nature is irresistably fascinating. José María Gómez and Francisco Perfectti of the University of Granada have used complex geometric analysis to show that insect pollinators influence the evolution of flower shape.
It isn’t the case that flowers have no brains of their own. With all the talk about female emancipation, a girl flower is still on a life mission to get polinated. The researchers found that insects have different preferences in flower shape.
Kinky Sex on Sundance
Isabella Rossellini’s ‘Seduce Me’ Series on Kinky Animal Sex 11/24/2010
Isabella Rossellini’s new ‘Seduce Me’ series focuses on ‘wildly sexy’ animals who enjoy what humans would call kinky sex. Because dolphins are our honorary animal at Anne of Carversville, we share the ‘Seduce Me’ video on dolphin sexuality.
When they’re not playing around, dolphins are providing a lot of scientific information on effective new sonar technology. All that bubble frolicking among dolphins has some serious science attached to it. Read on in ‘Sensually Yours’.
Smart Sensuality Fireflies
Sexual Firefly Flashing Fine-Tuned for Perfect Match 7/9/2010
If only people were as smart as fireflies, we wouldn’t spend so much time on dates with the wrong potential mate. This post is not an embrace of arranged marriages because we do believe in natural sparks. But fireflies don’t spend their time wondering if the chemistry for a perfect union exists or not.
There’s coded messages in those flickering beacon lights. In reality, scientists believe the synchronous flashing preserves female fireflies’ recognition of suitable mates.
Of the roughly 2,000 species of fireflies around the world, scientists estimate that about 1 percent synchronize their flashes over large areas. In their study, Moiseff and his coauthor Jonathan Copeland of Georgia Southern University tested the idea that the males of these species synchronize to facilitate the females’ ability to recognize the particular flashing pattern of their own species.
The challenge in this case is whether Mother Nature has armed an individual species to stand out in a crowd. The truth is there’s genetic Morse code in those flickering lights. When scientists created a virtual world allowing female fireflies to identity their own species 80% responded with desire and lust. When the virtual flickering was from a fake firefly not in her species, the female response rate was 10 percent.
Bottom line: what can Mother Nature teach humans, if only we would follow the sensible behavior of fireflies? via Science Daily.
Sexy Golden Showers
Two crawfish fight while considering mating in a cloud of visualized urine.Mating Crawfish Engage in Urine Warfare 3/31/2010
Unlike conservatives, I will admit when I’m wrong. In all honesty, I thought ‘golden showers’ were for weak men, perhaps Wall Street raiders seeking penance for their sins. Wrong! Wrong! Double wrong! Enduring a golden shower is fit for the Marlboro man, if crawfish have anything to teach us about human sexuality.
Note once again, that the female of the animal kingdom has REAL power.
Walking through urine drives crayfish into an aggressive sexual frenzy, so intense that only the strongest males get to mate.
Fiona Berry and Thomas Breithaupt from the University of Hull, UK, investigated the effects of urine-based chemical signaling on sexually active crayfish. Breithaupt said, “Our results confirm that females initiate courtship behavior; males will only attempt to mate if they receive urinary signals from the female. Females, however, send a mixed message by releasing an aphrodisiac while also acting very aggressively towards the males.” via Science Daily
By stimulating aggressive behavior, the female crayfish gets to ‘check out’ her future mate. Researchers note the male may stop pissing on the female crayfish first, in an effort to win her favor and enhance meting success.
FYI, I am convulsing in laughter for 5 minutes now. Anne
Sibling Sperm Cooperate
Credit: iStockphoto/Katherine Garrenson via Science DailyIn Mice Sibling Sperm Join Forces for Big Score
In mice where the female is ‘promiscuous’, meaning that she’s biologically programmed to mate with more than one male, mouse sperm can discriminate between their own sibling sperm and those from other males. Only when competitors are in the mouse fertilization game, do sibling sperm join forces to outswim their competitors.
“This finding that sperm can discriminate suggests that sperm may be much more complex than we’ve appreciated,” says Hoekstra, John L. Loeb Associate Professor of the Natural Sciences at Harvard. “Because more than 95 percent of mammals are promiscuous, it’s possible this ability to discriminate and cooperate may be fairly widespread.” via Science Daily
Fruit Fly Beauty Penalty
Sexy Fruit Flies Have Fewer Babies AOC Green Beings 12/30/2009
Pity the good-looking, sexy female fruit fly. Pursued relentlessly by male fruitflies, Ms Sexy looses precious time to look for food. Worse still, too much sex leaves Ms Sexy overloaded with toxic semen.
Bottom line, the pretty girls produce fewer babies. And you thought there was no justice in the world. Read on in Green Beings.
Hey Big Guy
In Chichild Fish and Humans (?) ‘You Tarzan, Me Jane’ May Apply 11/27/2010
Evolutionary biology and sex in nature are core topics at Anne of Carversville. Studying animals, we see ourselves in so many cases. Remember — parts of our reptilian brain are alive and well, driving much of our human behavior every day.
Women tend to put ourselves on the pedestal, saying that men are the scoundrels. In fact, the ladies aren’t always so noble in our intentions either. Consider the African cichlid fish.
Stanford researchers discovered that a female cichild is gaga over a male cichild until she witnesses him losing a fight with another male. Areas of her brain associated with anxiety showed increased activity after watching him lose the fight, and she dumped him.
Conversely, when her guy won the battle, the female cichild showed increased excitation in parts of th brain associated with reproduction and also in the brain’s pleasure center.
Read more about this fascinating study, led by Julie Desjardins, a postdoctoral researcher in biology at Stanford: Female fish — and humans? — lose interest when their male loses a slugfest.
Smart Sparrows
Ugly Betty Sparrow Refuses to Chase the Perfect Male Mate 8/28/2010
One of the fundamental assumptions of evolutionary mating is that females always want to “trade up”, finding the best possible mate for future offspring. This scientific assumption puts the finest males at the center of evolution’s beauty contest — because we all know that in the world of science, historically it’s males that call the evolutionary shots. Factually-speaking, Mother Nature often has another opinion.
Enter the ugly Betty house sparrow onto the evolutionary, reproductive scene. Researchers from the Konrad Lorenz Institute for Ethology in Vienna determined that Betty doesn’t buy every copy of Cosmo she can get her claws on, perfecting her strategy for getting the homecoming king, big badge-breasted sparrow as a future mate. Betty, the ordinary sparrow girl, is far more realistic about her options in sparrow partners. In reality, she doesn’t dream of mating out of her sparrow league and realistically sets her sights on a more ordinary, attainable mate like herself.
There’s a silver lining in this sad sparrow story about accepting reality among the beautiful people. Ordinary sparrow mates have been shown to invest more time in parental care then their debonair, drop-dead-gorgeous, stud muffin sparrow counterparts. If raising happy sparrow birdies is the objective, less may be better for ugly Betty house sparrows. via Science Daily
Gender Bender Research
In Fruit Flies, Most Cells Are Gender Neutral 5/10/2010
The next time a handsome guy slides up next to your stilettos and purrs: “Baby, you are all woman”, you just smile and say “Actually my doublesex expression is turned on in only a few parts of my body. Lucky for you, it’s ‘down there’.
In a study with potentially staggering implications for humanity — if the patriarchy lets the news be published — “researchers at the Janelia Farm Research Campus of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute find that most cells in flies’ bodies are identical, regardless of whether they are in a male or a female.” via Science Daily
This study demonstrates that only a subset of cells is likely to know whether they are male or female. Carmen Robinett and her colleagues found that male and female fruit flies are really a mixture of cells that are sex-specific and cells that are sexless. Many of the fly’s cells never turn on the doublesex gene.
If these profound findings hold in more advanced animals — that the majority of body cells are sex neutral — there is every reason to believe they hold in humans. The connections between fruit flies and humans are highly linked.
Research on the differences between male and female brains have been very encouraging for women. Let’s just say that the female brain operates on multiple cylinders, compared to the male brain.
If this discovery holds higher up the species development chain, it will be the biggest kick in the butt given to the patriarchy since Lilith stormed out of the Garden of Eden. As Oprah would say: “This is big!!!”
Is Monogamy Smart?
Dragonflies mating — better-looking than fruit flies
Nature’s Females Know Monogamy Breeds Extinction 2/26/2010
A new study on why females in almost every animal species are not monogamous brings important news for critical thinkers. Simply stated, promiscuity may prevent extinction of the species, even if the mere thought of promiscuity in women drives men mad.
We talking science here, not religious morality. Believe it or not, men’s best efforts to control women’s fertility could backfire if they’re not careful. Not to worry now, when the topic is only fruit flies. For the record, the SR chromosome is universal.
For this study, the scientists worked with the fruit fly Drosophila pseudoobscura. They gave some populations the opportunity to mate naturally, meaning that the females had multiple partners. The others were restricted to having one mate each. They bred several generations of these populations, so they could see how each fared over time.
Bad news. Over 15 generations of fruit flies, almost 50% of the flies not able to mate the way nature intended were extinct. The male chromosome died out. Kaput! Of course, I’m not making the case for polyandry or multiple spouses, but from a scientific perspective, the Middle East has it all wrong. Read on Does promiscuity prevent extinction? via Science Daily
No Male DNA
Kaguya Mouse Born From Two Mothers, No Male DNA, Lives Longer 12/20/2009
New research in mice suggests that having two mothers may be the key to a longer lifespan.
A Japanese research team has determined that mice with two biological mothers but no father have a life span 30 percent longer than normal.
Professor Tomohiro Kono, of the Tokyo University of Agriculture, led more exhaustive research after developing a biological trick leading in 2004 to the birth of a mouse called Kaguya with no biological father.
Kaguya was the first mouse conceived by two biological mothers and no father, after Professor Kono determined that he could genetically manipulate mouse eggs to make them behave like sperm.
Suprisingly, Kaguya not only made her way into the world, but she lived 793 days, compared with an average lifespan for her strain of mouse of 600-700 days.
Curious as to whether Kaguya’s lifespan was related to her genetic composition, his tea, created 13 more “bimaternal” (BM) mice and compated these with 13 female ‘normal’ mice of the same strain.
The results, printed in the journal Human Reproduction, confirm that the group of 13 mommy-only mice lived an average of 186 days longer than the control-group females. Translated for humans, 81 year-olds would now live to 105. via How having two mothers may be the key to a longer lifespan London Times
