Love is in the air, and so is hate! On the April 15th show, we talked about the aggression that is born of the mating season. Many animals, like these male elephant seals, battle it out to secure mating rights to females. Often we see this combat in polygamous mating systems - where one male mates with many females.It's thought that some animals have evolved elaborate visual, auditory, and olfactory displays as a strategy for avoiding costly conflicts. For example, through singing loudly and visibly from perches, male songbirds broadcast their presence to both males seeking their own territories and females searching for a mate. Lions rub their scent on trees and rocks to alert neighboring lions of their presence. Think of it as putting up a "No Trespassing" sign.
So do the ladies really just care about the biggest baddest boy on the block? Well, a male can woo a female in other ways. For example, male chimps have been shown to barter burgers for bonks. And in one ant species, the females have sworn off men completely!
For the sound quiz, we heard from some of these aggressive males: lions, elephant seals, chimps, moose, and the more showy peacock.
Music featured included John Fahey, Tony Trischka, The Appleseed Cast, The Flaming Lips, The Shins, The New Pornographers, PJ Harvey, Pajo, and Marvin Gaye.
well, I don't wanna fight, but I sure do love you.
ReplyDeleteyou should have played some alligator mating calls. pretty neat stuff.
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