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| Mating Butterflies |
The fundamental role of the male in biology is to ensure greater diversity
of characteristics within the genetic pool of a species population. The broader the range of capabilities within a
group, the more likely some individuals will survive whatever calamity confronts
them. Some individuals are better
adapted to handle drought. Others can
better survive extreme cold. Some
characteristics make for better predators.
Some organisms exhibit greater resistance to specific diseases.
There need not be an unusual stress placed on a species for genetic
diversity to play its role in selecting a population’s most capable
individuals. Each generation provides
more offspring than the environment can sustain. Many are typically lost to predation and
accident. Age related factors cause the
death of older individuals in the species.
Dominant individuals stake out more abundant territories as their own,
leaving marginal areas to less competitive animals. Poor nutrition may lead to their death or
their genetic characteristics may not continue because they were simply unsuccessful
in raising a family. Each species’
generation faces these tests in good times and bad. The more severe the tests the greater the pressures
placed on the population and the more stringent are the selection processes to
determine which individuals live to reproduce offspring. Distressed
populations either select individuals suited to the changing circumstance or
suffer extinction.
The role of the male in some species may extend beyond being a mechanism
to ensure genetic diversity. In a number
of vertebrate species the male has an important part in raising the young. Among animals that live in herds only a
select few males may be allowed to mate with the females, insuring the characteristics
of only the most dominant among the male population are represented in subsequent
generations. These factors are those of
organisms that may live several years and behavior is an important part of staying
alive. Among many invertebrate species,
such as insects, conscious behavioral choices are less likely to be a governing
factor in determining individual survival.
There are at least two significant reasons for this. The more obvious of the two is that an insect
has little room for a brain. There is a
central processing point for its nervous system that is located in the head but
its ability for complex thought is severely constrained by its tiny size.
Insect survival strategy has less to do with individual capabilities
and more to do with numbers. Female
insects are often capable of producing eggs by the hundreds, if not
thousands. The vast majority of these
offspring will not live to reproduce. They
are near the bottom of the food chain and provide themselves as food at all
stages of their life cycle. Only a few
need survive to maintain a healthy species’ population. Still, it requires an enormous amount of
protein in the female’s diet to manufacture all those eggs. Once the male has copulated with the female
and played his part in genetic recombination there is little left for him to do
that will enhance the survival of the species.
If the insect is predacious he can serve as a convenient meal for the
female, going a long way towards meeting her needs in egg production. Once the seduction is accomplished she bits
off his head and then devours a magnificent lunch.
The role of males among most insects in determining species survival beyond fertilization is negligible. In many species they represent only a small proportion of the actual population. It is among the vertebrates where behavior is often more elaborate that the male's role becomes significant. Here the young are relatively few and often require the assistance of both parents to survive. A single parent, as is the case with many birds, isn't enough to procure food for its demanding young. The benefit of the male beyond the role of genetic recombination can remain obscure, even in more complex organisms. They can be unreliable when it comes to aiding their young. Yet the vital component of maintaining species diversity is enough to insure that sexual reproduction has radiated out to include all higher forms of life. The male has evolved into a distinctly separate role from that of the female. The advantages of a male presence in a number of species may be debatable but, on the whole, appears to make for a curious partnership of the sexes. It certainly has become the focus of concern among human couples, at the dinner table and in bed.
Biology Topics:
Dragonfly
Eukaryotic Cell
Protein Creation
Living - Why?
The role of males among most insects in determining species survival beyond fertilization is negligible. In many species they represent only a small proportion of the actual population. It is among the vertebrates where behavior is often more elaborate that the male's role becomes significant. Here the young are relatively few and often require the assistance of both parents to survive. A single parent, as is the case with many birds, isn't enough to procure food for its demanding young. The benefit of the male beyond the role of genetic recombination can remain obscure, even in more complex organisms. They can be unreliable when it comes to aiding their young. Yet the vital component of maintaining species diversity is enough to insure that sexual reproduction has radiated out to include all higher forms of life. The male has evolved into a distinctly separate role from that of the female. The advantages of a male presence in a number of species may be debatable but, on the whole, appears to make for a curious partnership of the sexes. It certainly has become the focus of concern among human couples, at the dinner table and in bed.
Biology Topics:
Dragonfly
Eukaryotic Cell
Protein Creation
Living - Why?
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