males

Males Aren’t Larger Than Females in Most Mammalian SpeciesA new study corrects a biased assumption promoted by Charles Darwin 150 years ago and repeated ever sinceBy Rachel Nuwer In The Descent of Man, Charles Darwin posits that in most species of mammals, males are larger than females. Although Darwin did not cite evidence to back up this claim, his view on sexual size dimorphism was readily accepted as fact, and it still dominates today.But Darwin, in this case, seems to have been wrong. An analysis of 429 mammalian…

As It Happens6:291st images humpback whale sex is between 2 malesWhen biologist Stephanie Stack first saw the photographs of two humpback whales mating in the warm waters of Hawaii, she says her mind was "completely blown.""When I realized that it was two males, it was not what I was expecting," she told As It Happens host Nil Köksal. "I thought, oh my gosh, this is incredible."Stack, chief biologist at the Pacific Whale Foundation in Maui, says this is the first time humpback whale sex has been documented. She…

Humpback Whale Sex Observed for the First Time Ever, between Two MalesPhotographers captured a healthy male humpback penetrating a weaker individual in the first record of humpback whale sexBy Melissa HobsonA male humpback whale dubbed Whale B was seen copulating with another male, Whale A, in the first-ever documented case of humpback whale mating. Credit: Lyle Krannichfeld and Brandi RomanoEach year humpback whales travel thousands of miles from their polar feeding grounds to the tropical waters where they mate, give…

February 7, 20243min readMost primate societies have long been assumed to be male-dominated, but a new study shows many have females in charge or feature power sharingBy Sara Novak Female lemurs call the shots in their societies. Not only do dominant females choose their own mates; they also use prompts—such as tail and fur pulling or the occasional nip—with both males and females to dictate which other females in the group can mate. Primatologists have long categorized the world’s 108 lemur species as a female-ruled…

Male cockroaches try to woo females with sugary treats. But a preponderance of poisoned bait traps has thrown an evolutionary wrench into this classic courting strategy, making some cockroaches lose their sweet tooth. Now, scientists behind a study published today in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B report that some crafty male roaches appear to have cooked up a new confectionary technique to get around females’ sugar aversion, helping them find more mates.…

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A wandering albatross displaying to potential mates. Credit: Samantha PatrickIn a long-studied population of wandering albatrosses, females are less likely to stick with a shy mate.The wandering albatross is the poster bird for avian monogamy. The graceful glider is known to mate for life, partnering up with the same bird to breed, season after season, between long flights at sea.But on rare occasions, an albatross pair will “divorce” — a term ornithologists use for instances when one partner leaves the pair for another…

Typically solitary creatures, octopuses aren't exactly neighborly when fellow cephalopods encroach on their personal space, even if it means turning just about anything in reach into a weapon.In a recently published study by a team of researchers in Australia, the US, and Canada, observations of wild octopuses casting shells and sand directly at other members of their species have raised questions over whether this unusual behavior is a deliberately antisocial act – or if passers by are accidentally in the line of…

Alcohol use is also closely correlated with mood disorders such as severe depression and generalized anxiety disorder.Alcohol alters anxiety-related synchronized brain activity.According to a recent study published in the journal eNeuro, alcohol changes the synchronized brain activity in the amygdala of mice, but differently for male and female mice.Alcoholism is often associated with anxiety and sadness, and a brain area known as the amygdala is implicated in both. Both rodents and humans are susceptible to the effects…

A turtle hospital in Florida said all the turtles they tested for the past four years have been female, a worrying trend it attributes to climate change.The temperature of the sand where the eggs are buried influences the sex of sea turtles.  Males are already a small minority of sea turtles – outnumbered around 10 to one – and as the sand gets hotter fewer and fewer males develop.Experts disagree about the effect of this trend on the survival of sea turtle species. Regardless, climate change is putting heavy pressure on…