Catalogue Search | MBRL
Are you sure you want to remove the book from the shelf?
{{itemTitle}}
8,289
result(s) for
"Sexual selection in animals"
Sort by:
A taste for the beautiful : the evolution of attraction
\"Darwin developed the theory of sexual selection to explain why the animal world abounds in stunning beauty, from the brilliant colors of butterflies and fishes to the songs of birds and frogs. He argued that animals have 'a taste for the beautiful' that drives their potential mates to evolve features that make them more sexually attractive and reproductively successful. But if Darwin explained why sexual beauty evolved in animals, he struggled to understand how. In [this book], Ryan ... tells the remarkable story of how he and other scientists have taken up where Darwin left off and transformed our understanding of sexual selection, shedding new light on human behavior in the process\"--Amazon.com.
Book
Nutritional condition affects tergal gland secretion and courtship success of male cockroaches
An integral part of the courtship sequence of the German cockroach (Blattella germanica) involves the male raising his wings to expose tergal glands on his dorsum. When a female cockroach feeds on the secretion of these glands, she is optimally positioned for mating. Core chemical components have been identified, but the effect of male diet on the quality of the tergal gland secretion remains unexplored. After validating the pivotal role of tergal feeding in mating, we starved or fed reproductively mature males for one week. We then paired each male with a sexually receptive female and observed their interactions through an infrared-sensitive camera. While starvation had no effect on male courtship behavior, it did influence the duration of female tergal feeding and mating outcomes. Females fed longer on the gland secretion of fed males, and fed males experienced greater mating success than starved males (73.9% vs. 48.3%, respectively). These results suggest that the quality of the tergal gland secretions, and by association mating success, are dependent on the nutritional condition of the male.
Journal Article
The evolution of beauty : how Darwin's forgotten theory of mate choice shapes the animal world -- and us
What can explain the incredible diversity of beauty in nature? Richard O. Prum, an award-winning ornithologist, discusses Charles Darwin's second and long-neglected theory--aesthetic mate choice--and what it means for our understanding of evolution. In addition, Prum connects those same evolutionary dynamics to the origins and diversity of human sexuality, offering riveting new thinking about the evolution of human beauty and the role of mate choice, thereby transforming our ancestors from typical infanticidal primates into socially intelligent, pair-bonding caregivers. Prum's book is an exhilarating tour de force that begins in the trees and ends by fundamentally challenging how we understand human evolution and ourselves. -- adapted from dust jacket.
Book