Experiment gives insight into how species maintain diversity

[Tank]

Experiment gives insight into how species maintain diversity

(PhysOrg.com) -- One of the big problems evolutionary biologists have to wrangle with is in trying to explain why members of an individual species aren't more alike. If say, high testosterone in males makes them more aggressive, for example, and thus more successful at mating, why doesn't the level of testosterone level off at some point as that trait is passed on to successive generations while those with lower levels continue to lose out? And how do so-called antagonistic traits between the genders contribute to diversity? If males with more testosterone get to mate more, but more testosterone in females leads to smaller litters, how do the two traits work together to ensure that diversity wins in the end? Well, nobody really knows for sure, but a group of international researchers has taken a step towards figuring it out. In their paper published in Science the team shows that so-called frequency-dependent selection may have a lot to do with it...

...Next, the voles were released into an enclosed area of wilderness that simulated how the voles would live in the wild and it was here that the team came up with some interesting results. They found that when they released just a few of the high testosterone males and lots of low testosterone males into the same area, the males once again reigned supreme with the ladies. But when they released lots of high testosterone males with lots of lots of low testosterone males, the males with the lower levels actually did better than those with the high levels, indicating that there was something clearly at play. The researchers suggest that such results came about because the high testosterone level males spent more time fighting or showing off than mating, which gave the low testosterone males more of a chance to mate...

Interesting answer into a longstanding problem and also into an insight into how unexpected experimental conditions can effect outcomes.

[Stevil]

What about colony creatures like bees and ants, where there are specific types of these creatures built for specific roles?
An ant colony without the explorer ants, would struggle to find new food sources. So in these colonies, diversity is essential for survival.

[Tank]

What about colony creatures like bees and ants, where there are specific types of these creatures built for specific roles?
An ant colony without the explorer ants, would struggle to find new food sources. So in these colonies, diversity is essential for survival.

I suppose the issue here is at what point is an ant and ant. Is it at the individual level or the collective level? I would posit that as only one female is producing all the offspring, which most of the time are sterile, the colony is the total organism. Differentiating between the 'casts' in the ant colony is not the same type of diversity that is being dealt with in the article.

[Stevil]

I suppose the issue here is at what point is an ant and ant. Is it at the individual level or the collective level? I would posit that as only one female is producing all the offspring, which most of the time are sterile, the colony is the total organism. Differentiating between the 'casts' in the ant colony is not the same type of diversity that is being dealt with in the article.

Most societies exhibit colony behaviors.
Humans certainly do. I know guys in NZ whom think French, Italian, Swedish girls are hot. I went to Italy on a work trip and colleges had the impression that Aussie girls are hot. So I think in some ways we seek diversity in our partners.

Going back to the observation of the voles, I could see why the low testosterone vole becomes more desirable when it becomes scarce and hence diversely special.

[Pharaoh Cat]

The researchers suggest that such results came about because the high testosterone level males spent more time fighting or showing off than mating, which gave the low testosterone males more of a chance to mate...

Gives new resonance to the saying, "I'm a lover not a fighter!"