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When 'good genes' go bad: How sexual conflict can cause population collapse
phys.org ^ | 03/05/2023

Posted on 03/05/2023 6:05:25 AM PST by devane617

Males of a species evolving traits for sexual conflict can cause problems for females, and, ultimately, the whole population.

A new model by Imperial College London and University of Lausanne researchers, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, shows how so-called 'good genes' can sometimes cause a population to collapse.

Males of any species may compete for females, either by fighting other males for access or impressing females to win their approval. In both cases, males expressing the most competitive traits—such as the best ornaments, like peacock feathers, or the best weapons, like big body size—access more females.

To have the best traits the males must be in good condition, for example to be in better shape or carry less disease. Over time, as better-condition males mate with more females, the prevalence of 'good genes' increases throughout the population of the animal, leading to the population as a whole to improve in condition.

However, it can also backfire. Traits than improve a male's competitive prowess can also damage females. For example, some insect males have evolved penises that tear the females' insides, and in many species, including mammals, males have evolved to harass females to induce mating. These behaviors reduce female fecundity or may even kill them.

(Excerpt) Read more at phys.org ...


TOPICS: Chit/Chat; Miscellaneous; Society
KEYWORDS: weird
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This is odd.
1 posted on 03/05/2023 6:05:25 AM PST by devane617
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To: devane617

Toxic masculinity alert.


2 posted on 03/05/2023 6:09:36 AM PST by Captain Compassion (I'm just sayin')
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To: devane617

Laying the ”scientific” groundwork for why males need to be genetically altered to be less toxic. Maybe a nice brain implant to keep men docile and controllable.


3 posted on 03/05/2023 6:12:23 AM PST by Venkman
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To: Venkman

Why not just jail them all and extract the sperm from the desired ones?


4 posted on 03/05/2023 6:13:22 AM PST by devane617 (Discipline Is Reliable, Motivation Is Fleeting..)
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To: Captain Compassion
My first thought reading it.

Sort of a vague equivalent of writing an article about rail deregulation by Trump, then letting the communications channels run with the inference that it caused a train derailement, only to discover later there is no relation between the two.

But the damage is done and the objective acheived.

5 posted on 03/05/2023 6:13:55 AM PST by Tench_Coxe
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To: devane617

Message to young men: put on the beer goggles and start sleeping with the uglies. Even an overweight feminist can be attractive at 2:00 AM! /s


6 posted on 03/05/2023 6:13:59 AM PST by Spok
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To: devane617

If these alpha males don’t successfully bred then their genes go extinct. Leaving between males that do pass on their genesm


7 posted on 03/05/2023 6:21:06 AM PST by RedMonqey ("A republic, if you can keep it" Benjamin Franklin.)
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To: Spok

as the say. a two at ten becomes a ten at two.


8 posted on 03/05/2023 6:22:35 AM PST by Bull Snipe
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To: Venkman

Bingo.


9 posted on 03/05/2023 6:23:30 AM PST by sauropod (“If they don’t believe our lies, well, that’s just conspiracy theorist stuff, there.”)
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To: devane617

“For example, some insect males have evolved penises that tear the females’ insides, and in many species, including mammals, males have evolved to harass females to induce mating. These behaviors reduce female fecundity or may even kill them.”

This makes no sense from an evolutionary theory standpoint. Males that damage female reproductive systems would pass on their genes at a lower rate than those that don’t. They would be at a selective disadvantage and should eventually become extinct. In addition, females who choose such males will have a lower reproduction/survival rate and also become extinct.


10 posted on 03/05/2023 6:27:43 AM PST by Brooklyn Attitude (I went to bed on November 3rd 2020 and woke up in 1984.)
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To: Captain Compassion
Toxic masculinity.?? The females of our species are becoming more masculine then the males.!! They're running just about everything nowadays, into the ground, I might add.. :(
11 posted on 03/05/2023 6:30:35 AM PST by unread ("It's not enough that we do our best; sometimes we have to do what's required." W. Churchill.)
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To: Brooklyn Attitude
"Males that damage female reproductive systems would pass on their genes at a lower rate than those that don’t."

Maybe that's the plan.....

12 posted on 03/05/2023 6:31:58 AM PST by unread ("It's not enough that we do our best; sometimes we have to do what's required." W. Churchill.)
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To: devane617

Funny, I thought less procreative type sexual stuff was the problem. Feminization of men and stuff like that.


13 posted on 03/05/2023 6:34:09 AM PST by outinyellowdogcountry
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To: Spok; MinuteGal; M Kehoe

What a crock. Another day, another worthless study. Premise: male toxicity is bad for society and women. It’s just the opposite, males with no b*lls are far more dangerous to society. Just as you need weapons to fight off other weapons, you need big cajones around to keep other malevolent cajones at bay. Same with guns which are proxies for cajones.

Gotta keep the field level out there. Somehow we women have been able to deal with it all since the beginning of time and will continue to do so. Survival of the fittest and all that rot.


14 posted on 03/05/2023 6:34:54 AM PST by flaglady47 (Trump knows where all the bodies lie - just sayin......)
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To: devane617

Bullchit alert. 😏


15 posted on 03/05/2023 6:39:36 AM PST by Georgia Girl 2 (The only purpose of a pistol is to fight your way back to the rifle you should never have dropped)
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To: unread

“Maybe that’s the plan.....”

Not a good plan if the goal is t reduce the population. Chinese men are reported to have small reproductive organs and look at how many Chinese there are. :-)


16 posted on 03/05/2023 6:40:10 AM PST by Brooklyn Attitude (I went to bed on November 3rd 2020 and woke up in 1984.)
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To: flaglady47

If the alphas don’t breed, society is in big trouble.


17 posted on 03/05/2023 6:42:52 AM PST by Tolerance Sucks Rocks (FBI out of Florida!)
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To: devane617

Do the mating issues of other species of life apply in the same way to humans? Considering that we are logical and rational and not just acting on instinct in that area of life?


18 posted on 03/05/2023 7:03:40 AM PST by Dilbert San Diego
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To: devane617

“Imperial College London” These are the guys that cooked up the model for the COVID pandemic which predicted mass casualties.


19 posted on 03/05/2023 7:09:11 AM PST by fretzer
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To: Spok

There was a saying on thursday nights out ( The Ladies Night at most bars). “ Get Ugly Early, avoid the rush later”.


20 posted on 03/05/2023 7:23:03 AM PST by Waverunner
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