How To Win Even If You re A Loser. Hannah Mulhausen and Mary O Sullivan

Transcription

1 How To Win Even If You re A Loser Hannah Mulhausen and Mary O Sullivan

2 Let s Discuss!!! What are some tactics the losers use to get mates?

3 MATES: A How-to Guide 1) Sneaking 2) Gangs 3) Lurking 4) Masturbation 5) Large Testes

4 How You Become A Sneak The only option based on poor physical fitness: Bluegill Sunfish- small males impersonate females in order to spawn Black-winged Damselfly- old males sneak into young male s territory to mate with females Horseshoe Crabs- worn out males climb on top of already mating couples and add sperm to the mix Bluegill Sunfish Black-winged Damselfly Horseshoe Crab

5 Sneaking (Continued) Turn off genes during development Perdita portalis (bee)- adult size and form is dependent on how much food they receive during development Genetically hard wired Sponge louse- alpha (large), beta (resembles female) and gamma (tiny) Alpha males take over colonies of female sponges, beta and gamma males sneak into the colonies to mate with females Side-blotched lizard- perpetual oscillation of which color succeeds orange throats are large and copulate with every female they can find blue throats are smaller, possessive and guard their partner yellow throats resemble females and are sneaks

6 Join a Gang Gang of males take on the Big Guy Bluehead wrasse fish- young males team up to chase a large male away from his territory Then all the males spawn with a female when she arrives Southern Sea Lion- young males in group of as large as 40 break up harems Sometimes try to abduct the female

7 Gangs (Continued) Recommendation to Peacock: Join a Lek! A group of males displaying together Females are more attracted to groups than they are to the individual males (Inc. size of group = Inc. attraction) Produces amazing shows of talent because of the competition for the female Females visit leks to choose their favorite male Can help brothers mate so as to pass on similar genes Examples of what females find attractive: Cyrtocara eucinostomus- male spends 2 weeks building a conical sand castle Hammerheaded bat- males assemble during breeding season and honk for hours every morning and evening female chooses the best honker, the louder the better Lion- famous for fraternal cooperation, the larger a coalition of males lions, the longer they can hold onto a pride

8 To better understand Leks.

9 We ve all experienced The Lurker! Exploitation of mating signals: Some males perform while others lurk Field Cricket- sing to attract females, those who can t sing grab females before they reach the singer parasitic flies also prefer the singers Caribbean Ostracods- males give off bursts of light, other nonflashing males swim along trying to intercept females Bullfrogs- largest males sing from the territories they defend, small males hide in water and surprise females Mimicking mating signals Bolas Spider- give off scent of female moths to attract male moths

10 Masturbation Iguana- younger males masturbate when they see a female to reduce the time they need to ejaculate during sex reduce the risk of being interrupted by a larger male Occurs in many primates Sooty Mangabey- females use hands for stimulation during sex Orangutans- male and females stimulate themselves with sex toys Male Red Deer- rub tips of antlers through grass masterbate several times a day during breeding season

11 But boy, are they well hung! Big balls are a practical way for small males to increase their chances of fertilizing eggs Small males who have to sneak to mate are at risk of sperm competition California Singing Fish- males either have big brains big balls brainy fish hum to attract females, big balled fish sneak in at the perfect moment Dung Beetles- species comes in large and small males large males make burrows with female to lay eggs in, small males rush into burrow Onthophagus binodis- sneaks constitute ⅓ of population so the sneaks have larger testes and higher sperm count Onthophagus taurus- sneaks constitute ⅔ of population, ball size same in large and small beetles

12 Hunk or Runt Hunk: God complex High opinion of self Fighter Spends time strutting and preening Runt: Pushy with girls Not trustworthy Not committed Well hung