News tagged with female choice

Faithful females who choose good providers key to evolutionary shift to modern family, study finds

In early human evolution, when faithful females began to choose good providers as mates, pair-bonding replaced promiscuity, laying the foundation for the emergence of the institution of the modern family, a new study finds.

Other Sciences / Social Sciences

created May 28, 2012 | popularity 2.7 / 5 (6) | comments 5

Female mate choice enhances offspring fitness in an annual herb

In many organisms females directly or indirectly select mates (or sperm) and potentially influence the fitness of their offspring. Mate choice and sexual selection in plants is more complex in some ways than ...

Biology / Plants & Animals

created Jun 27, 2011 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

The mechanics of speciation

Mate choice, competition, and the variety of resources available are the key factors influencing how a species evolves into separate species, according to a new mathematical model that integrates all three factors to reveal ...

Biology / Evolution

created Jun 24, 2011 | popularity not rated yet | comments 2

Are female mountain goats sexually conflicted over size of mate?

Mountain goats are no exception to the general rule among mammals that larger males sire more and healthier offspring. But University of Alberta researcher David Coltman has found a genetic quirk that might make female mountain ...

Biology / Plants & Animals

created Nov 17, 2009 | popularity 4 / 5 (1) | comments 0

Female choice benefits mothers more than offspring

The great diversity of male sexual traits, ranging from peacock's elaborate train to formidable genitalia of male seed beetles, is the result of female choice. But why do females choose among males? In a new study published ...

Biology / Plants & Animals

created Oct 22, 2009 | popularity 3.7 / 5 (3) | comments 2

Female mammals follow their noses to the right mates

Female birds often choose their mates based on fancy feathers. Female mammals, on the other hand, may be more likely to follow their noses to the right mate. That's one conclusion of Cambridge zoologist Tim Clutton-Brock ...

Biology / Plants & Animals

created Mar 17, 2009 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 1

It's in his smell

A female moth selects a mate based on the scent of his pheromones. An analysis of the pheromones used by the European Corn Borer (ECB, Ostrinia nubilalis), featured in the open access journal BMC Biology, ...

Biology / Plants & Animals

created Mar 03, 2009 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0