11/19 Male-Male Competition
https://sonoraninstitute.org/events/dragonfly/
This week we discussed male-male competition. There are various types of male-male competition but I have chosen to discuss sperm competition and infanticide. Dragonflies display sperm competition because the males actually remove sperm from another male before they mate. An alternative to removal is to rearrange the other males sperm so that there is a better chance of the mating males sperm success. Dolphins on the other hand occasionally engage in infanticide. The adult male dolphins drown the young by pushing them underwater so they cannot get air. This allows for the mothers to be available for breeding once more. Both forms of these male-male competition aim to give a male a better chance at producing offspring but does not have species propagation in mind. The main difference between the two types of competition discussed is that in sperm competition there is no gamete being harmed. Infanticide harms a live offspring. Additionally, more resources and care have gone into the offspring than have gone into sperm. Because of this, infanticide can seem more detrimental than sperm competition.
Sources:
http://www.bbc.com/earth/story/20150716-dolphins-that-kill-their-young#:~:text=Infanticide%20is%20rarely%20observed%20in,had%20not%20been%20seen%20before.&text=Scientists%20believe%20males%20commit%20infanticide%20to%20free%20females%20for%20mating.
https://www.britannica.com/science/sperm-competition
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