Ancient sea spider fossils discovered in volcanic ash
...long proboscis and unusual limb structures used in mating and carrying brooding embryos. The fossil record of their relationship is sparse because of their delicate nature. "This is the earliest adult fossil example, and it is preserved in extraordinary detail," said author Derek Briggs , professor of ge...Sexual competition drives evolution of a sex-related gene
...s were chosen because they represent all the major mating systems, including those in which one female copul...h as chimpanzees and macaques); and those in which mating practices fall somewhere in between (such as orangutans where a female will copulate with the domina...For yeast, a DNA break ensures sex switch for a grandchild
...plain how fission yeast cells manage to switch the mating type of a certain proportion of individuals over t...DNA break at a specific genomic site that controls mating type, the yeast equivalent of gender. When yeast cells divide, their progeny receive the same ge...Sex-determining genes of infectious fungus resemble human Y chromosome
... an entire chromosome. C. neoformans exists in two mating types determined by a single genetic locus. Earlie...arate occasions, Heitman said. The fungal mating type locus later underwent processes that suppress recombination, they found. Recombination is the p...Tropical birds sensitive to environmental cues that can be impacted by global warming
...unt for their singing, which is a part of the male mating behavior. In the Nov. 10 issue of The Journal of N... birds and cause problems with the timing of their mating seasons. "We're not going to change day length," he said. "We can change weather patterns. Studies s...What women want makes a difference
...ating as their mothers, they concluded that female mating discrimination is inherited as a dominant trait. T...he authors propose a novel model of speciation via mating discrimination in Drosophila pseudoobscura based on the combined response to auditory and olfactor...Studies in Royal Society journals include stress in birds and depletion of medieval fish stocks
...nimal species use multiple signals to secure their mating success, but it is far from clear how choosy females use distinct signals to evaluate males. We investigated the preference of female field crickets for carrier frequency and chirp rate, two components of the calling song that indicate male nutrition...... essentially set in stone at least until the next mating season, when some changes can occur. The Utah biologists tested a theory dealing with the long-term "auditory memory" formed by young sparrows when they first hear other sparrows sing. Scientists want to know how that memory is stored in the brain,...Study in Royal Society journal on first evidence for magnetic field detection in sharks
...MBRIDGE, CB2 3EJ Why do multiple traits determine mating success? Differential use in female choice and mal...an by Dr U Candolin Why multiple traits determine mating success is generally unknown. One possible explanation is that different traits serve different func...Hummingbirds lose power at high altitudes
...ith other males and courting females." Their mating display, for example, consists of repeated vertical ascents and power dives. And they engage in fast forward flight chases to kick other males off their territory. It's not surprising, then, that the loss of power and maneuverability at higher ...'Casanova' field crickets - live fast, die young
... extra capital that they got from a better diet on mating behaviour, which shortened their longevity," says ...co-author, Dr Bussiere, the best predictor of male mating success in Teleogryllus commodus is the quantity of time spent calling females. "We heightened this...Ants' 'genetic engineering' leads to species interdependency
...rategy. When the researchers prevented queens from mating with males of the other species, very few succeeded in making any workers at all, a handicap that would lead to certain population failure in the field. The new findings suggest that specialization involving reliance on interspecific hybrid workers h...Study in Royal Society journal on managing GM crops for environmental benefit
...ales. Bumblebee colonies would benefit from queens mating multiply because genetically heterogeneous worker offspring are better protected against parasitism. However, as we show, possessing sperm from several males can have negative effects on females. We artificially inseminated females with sperm only fr...Researchers find how protein allows insects to detect and respond to pheromones
..., mediate a variety of behaviors, such as feeding, mating and colonizing. The findings not only shed light on insect behavior, but also suggest that olfactory binding proteins may be new targets for synthetic chemicals that could trick insects like mosquitoes into traps or could function as repellents, sai...New research shows in the animal world, it pays to be an imposter
...ODS HOLE, MA--For the giant Australian cuttlefish, mating is a complicated undertaking complete with fightin...demonstrate that for this species, deception while mating pays off. Hanlon and his team present behavioral and genetic data demonstrating that small male cutt...Born to run? Capacity for aerobic exercise linked to risk of heart disease
... lowest aerobic capacity. Each group serves as the mating population for the next generation of high-capacity and low-capacity runners." The original founder population of 168 rats could run for an average of 23 minutes, according to Koch. Since then, the average treadmill running capacity has been increas...Evolution of classical polyandry: three steps to female emancipation
...ee evolutionary steps are crucial for this type of mating system with reversed sex roles to develop. Firstly, males take on care of the eggs (the reasons why differ between fishes and birds). Secondly, females become able to lay more eggs than a male can accommodate. Thirdly, females compete with each othe...Why attractive (but costly) males get the girls
...taneously measuring both the costs and benefits of mating to female crickets and their offspring and provide new evidence that the costs that females pay for mating with attractive males are balanced by, and may even be outweighed by, the indirect benefits of spawn...Lack of potential mates has lead to 'sloppy' gene control and risk of disease for humans
Our evolutionary ancestors' lack of choice in the mating game has left modern humans exposed to disease, according to new research published in the journal PLOS Biology tomorrow (Tuesday 25 January 2005). Key regions of our DNA, that control when genes are switched on and off, have been altered by around...Scientists find male finches frugal in their attempts to attract females
...ogy in UNC's College of Arts and Sciences, studies mating behavior in songbirds and the songs that play such a central role in their reproduction. "From people to praying mantises, individuals invest everything from their homes to their heads to attract a member of the opposite sex," Sockman said. "When mal...