May 2012
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Gene Involved in Sperm-To-Egg Binding Is Key to... →
[Researchers] found that when the gene was ‘switched off’ in male mice, less than three per cent of females’ eggs were fertilised compared to more than 80 per cent in mice when the gene was left switched on.
It is the first time that a gene of this type has been linked to fertility.
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April 2012
4 posts
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Watchjestcomedy:
Planet Earth: Just the Sex
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March 2012
3 posts
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This giant wasp may use these horrific jaws for... →
Megalara garuda — which lives on the terrifically biodiverse Indonesian island of Sulawesi — tends to max out at a length of 3-4 centimeters. It’s a hefty insect compared to similar species of wasps, but it’s the males’ oversized mandibles that have truly captivated researchers.
[…]
Megalara garuda’s heaving mandibles may have defensive capabilities, but...
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FWC asks public to locate horseshoe crab mating... →
Biologists with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) are asking the public for help pinpointing the sites where these horseshoe crabs spawn.
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he FWC asks people to report sightings through one of several convenient options. Go to MyFWC.com/Contact and click on the “Submit a Horseshoe Crab Survey” link, then “Florida Horseshoe Crab Spawning Beach Survey.” You can...
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Female-female Albatross pairings
ethanology:
Figure is taken from Young et al 2008 (full citation at bottom of post).
I came across this paper looking for something to read in my ornithology class tomorrow. Albatross populations, along with many other oceanic bird species, are threatened by a number of compounding factors, most of which are anthropogenic - including long-line fishing, nest predation from invasive mammalian...
February 2012
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The Power of Estrogen: Male Snakes Attract Other... →
h3ro-of-m1nd:
A new study has shown that boosting the estrogen levels of male garter snakes causes them to secrete the same pheromones that females use to attract suitors, and turned the males into just about the sexiest snake in the neighborhood — attracting dozens of other males eager to mate.
[Image: This female garter snake is entwined in a “mating ball,” being sought by numerous other...
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A Bug's (Sex) Life: Diving Beetles Offer... →
shychemist:
Diving beetles are voracious predators. Even small puddles of freshwater often host several different species. (Credit: D. Sikes)
Studies of diving beetles suggest sperm evolution may be driven by changes in female reproductive organs, challenging the paradigm of post-mating sexual selection being driven mostly by competition among sperm.
Studying female reproductive tracts and...
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Synalpheus brooksi, one of about six eusocial shrimp species in the genus of snapping shrimp Sylanpheus, lives in large social colonies and usually has several reproducing females in a sponge.
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January 2012
20 posts
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Y-Chromosome Variation in Hominids: Intraspecific... →
High intraspecific variation in copy number and position of the DAZ and CDY genes is seen only in the chimpanzee. We hypothesize that this is best explained by sperm competition that results in the variant DAZ and CDY haplotypes detected in this species. In contrast, bonobos, gorillas and orangutans—species that are not subject to sperm competition—showed no intraspecific variation...
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Shape - but Not Size - Codivergence between Male... →
Genitalia are among the fastest evolving morphological traits in arthropods. Among the many hypotheses aimed at explaining this observation, some explicitly or implicitly predict concomitant male and female changes of genital traits that interact during copulation (i.e., lock and key, sexual conflict, cryptic female choice and pleiotropy). Testing these hypotheses requires insights into whether...
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Molecular Mechanism Links Temperature With Sex... →
A study led by the CSIC’s Institute of Marine Sciences, in collaboration with researchers from the Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG), has found the epigenetic mechanism that links temperature and gonadal sex in fish. High temperature increases DNA methylation of the gonadal aromatase promoter in female.
The environmental temperature has effects on sex determination. There are species,...
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December 2011
28 posts
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