Behavioral Ecology Blog

…include siring more offspring- so long as you are a firefly..
MALE COURTSHIP ATTRACTIVENESS AND PATERNITY SUCCESS IN FIREFLIES
So this is a way cool study in fire flies.. Briefly, the researchers do an experiment to determine if mating success correlates with reproductive success (actual parentage) They allow females to choose and mate with their preferred [...]

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THE EVOLUTION OF MULTIPLE MATING IN ARMY ANTS
Abstract:
The evolution of mating systems in eusocial Hymenoptera is constrained because females mate only during a brief period early in life, whereas inseminated queens and their stored sperm may live for decades. Considerable research effort during recent years has firmly established that obligate multiple mating has evolved only [...]

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For the first time, sociologists have mapped the romantic and sexual relationships of an entire high school over 18 months, providing evidence that humans frequently have mating strategies that are not charcterized by exclusivity.

Slightly more than half of all students reported having sexual intercourse, a [...]

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I’m always looking for examples of parasite infection modifying host behavior. Most interesting are cases where the modified behavior enhances parasite transmission. Of this type, there are several examples.

Ant-Fluke (Youtube video)

Meet Dicrocoelium, a fellow parasite.
This lancet fluke’s lifestyle is a migration through the fluids of three hosts; a cow, a snail and an [...]

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