Posted on 01/23/2005 11:45:45 AM PST by beavus
So-called nuptial gifts – often consisting of food or tokens – are typically bestowed by males on females as part of courtship and copulation rituals in many species. By manipulating the nuptial gifts that female insects receive during copulation, researchers have now shown that female preferences can be exploited by males who are "cheating" on their reproductive investment by presenting easily obtainable token gifts.
Gift-giving during courtship and copulation occurs across the animal kingdom, including in humans. Nuptial gifts can range from valuable nutritious food items to inedible tokens such as leaves or silk balloons. Gift-giving is of clear benefit to females when gifts are nutritious and thus valuable, but why females of some species require an inedible and worthless gift remains unexplained. In experiments reported this week, researchers Natasha LeBas and Leon Hockham from the University of St. Andrews removed the valuable (i.e., edible) nuptial gift that male empidid dance flies normally provide their female partner and replaced the gift with either a large edible gift or an inedible cotton ball token that resembles tokens given by other empidid fly species. The researchers found that although pairs copulated longest after presentation of a large edible gift, the females receiving the worthless cotton ball token were sufficiently tricked to allow males to copulate for as long as when the males provided a small nutritious gift. Males who substitute highly visible, but easily obtainable and worthless gifts may thus be able to invade a population of genuine gift-giving males.
The research demonstrates that, at least in some cases, females are susceptible to the invasion of so-called male cheating behaviour, and it suggests that the evolution of worthless gift-giving may arise though males' sensory exploitation of female preferences for nutritious gifts.
Natasha R. LeBas and Leon R. Hockham: "An Invasion of Cheats: The Evolution of Worthless Nuptial Gifts"
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N.R.L. was supported by a Natural Research Council fellowship.
Publishing in Current Biology, Volume 15, Number 1, January 11, 2005, pages 64-67. http://www.current-biology.com
Finally!, news we can use.
The human solution to this quandry is to get the broad a small box of candy (edible gift) and a good vacuum cleaner (useful). You can probably then engage in the aforementioned "copulation" in a clean house.
I take all my dates to an all-you-can-eat buffet.
I have never actually performed gift-exchange (except in the symbolic sense) during actual copulation. What are the mechanics?
Man, I just blew coffie out my nose. That was BAAAAAAD.
Good way to find out what you can expect if you happen to slip up and marry one of them, I guess.
"Candy is dandy, but liquor is quicker."
The essence of the human male-female standoff, explained in full.
So far, my gifts of manhole-covers hasn't worked.
Simple.
Put a bow on it.
What are the interest rates on "reproductive investments" these days?
LOL
I have never actually performed gift-exchange (except in the symbolic sense) during actual copulation. What are the mechanics?
Simple.
Put a bow on it.
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And don't forget the card.
In Homo Sapiens, they are called "Cubic Zirconia".
I'm not sure, but there is a penalty for early withdrawl.
Oh no, you di'ent! LOL!
See, this is all wrong. The females tested had no knowledge of credit.
What if........
one of the male flies had to go inspect a freshly created cow pie, (as flys do) but at the moment, was carrying a fake cottonball to give to his wannabe mate.
So he drops off the cottonball at her house, goes plays in the cow pie, then, goes and retrieves another cottonball and brings it to the female.
Now does that mean they go dutch on breakfast the next morning or does he get to stay for dinner that night"" Do they order out for maybe some chinese cottonballs and a movie later and go for a triple ?? Or does he go to the bar for his next conquest or back to the cow pie??
Women are so difficult to understand sometimes...:-(
10.0! You da' MAN!
The East German judge only gave me a 7.6.
Those East German judges suck.
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