Why do female great apes (including humans) and female whales go through menopause?

It's about trading off between having new offspring, and investing in current offspring. I'd hazard a guess that it's more likely to evolve in cooperatively breeding groups with long lifespans....

Article on BBC
Read more about the "Grandmother Hypothesis"

Male pregnancy: The dark side

SUMMARY: New research shows evidence for cryptic mate choice in Gulf pipefish. This is supported by two observations. First, males that mate with larger ("more desirable") females raise broods that have a higher survivorship. Second, embryo success in consecutive broods is negatively correlated. These observations show that males preferentially invest their limited resources into raising broods produced by "more desirable" females. 

PS, Thanks Melissa for these links!

Genetic Code for Monogamy

RRraaawwrrr.... all about Lions

The Lion Research Center is led by Craig Packer, and is arguably the top research group on lion behavior. The website has an extensive publication list (all one-click-pdfs) on virtually all the components of the life history of lions. 

My favorite set of experiments were the choice experiments with stuffed lion toys, showing that dark manes are both more intimidating to males and attractive to females. There are a few videos as well!

Photo from the Lion Research Center

Go to Yale and learn Game Theory

Mating Systems and Parental Care

Part of a series of lectures by Steven Stearns at Yale University.   Yale University launched a program called Open Yale- where lecturers save all their course materials (including audio and video) and publish them freely online. Take a quick course in....

1. Freshman Organic Chemistry

2. Principles of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and Behavior

3. Civil War and Reconstruction Era

4. Game Theory

....and much much more.

I haven't sat down and gone through the whole EEB course yet. I'll let you know what I think in a few days. In the meantime, you've got something to learn!!

Meerkat Family Breakfast

  Meerkat Family Breakfast | photo page - everystockphoto

Effects of Helpers on Juvenile Development and Survival in Meerkats  

Although breeding success is known to increase with group size in several cooperative mammals, the mechanisms underlying these relationships are uncertain. We show that in wild groups of cooperative meerkats, Suricata suricatta, reductions in the ratio of helpers to pups depress the daily weight gain and growth of pups and the daily weight gain of helpers. Increases in the daily weight gain of pups are associated with heavier weights at independence and at 1 year of age, as well as with improved foraging success as juveniles and higher survival rates through the first year of life. These results suggest that the effects of helpers on the fitness of pups extend beyond weaning and that helpers may gain direct as well as indirect benefits by feeding pups.

Clutton-Brock et al. (2001)

Science 28 September 2001:

Vol. 293. no. 5539, pp. 2446 - 2449

DOI: 10.1126/science.1061274

Large Animal Research Group at Cambridge University 

The Alcon Blue Butterfly

This is a video excerpt from "Intimate Relations" an episode of Life in the Undergrowth (BBC).
The plot thickens...  butterfly larvae in the ants' nests are susceptible to parasitoid wasps....


Reference:

A Mosaic of Chemical Coevolution in a Large Blue Butterfly

Nash et al.
Science 4 January 2008: 88-90
DOI: 10.1126/science.1149180

Recommended Reads

Agony aunt for the bizarre, Dr. Tatiana answers difficult questions e.g.
"Don't Wanna Be Butch in Botswana" writes, "I'm a spotted hyena, a girl. The only trouble is, I've got a large phallus. I can't help feeling that this is unladylike. What's wrong with me?"
Recommended for a good laugh, but chock-full of fantastic biology!!


Dr. Tatiana's Sex Advice to All Creation