Researchers from the University of Oslo investigating duck sperm have made two fascinating discoveries, first, duck sperm can destroy bacteria that can be dangerous to sperm, such as E. coli, and secondly, that those ducks with a higher amount of antibacterial sperm also had more colourful bills.
It was previously known that bill colour played a role in mate choice, but as this research shows, females may use this visual cue to show preference over ducks that indicate a lack of sexually transmitted disease and better sperm quality.
By selecting the males with brightly coloured bills, not only are they are protecting themselves from STDs, but guaranteeing a male with superior sperm, free of bacteria induced damage.
No comments:
Post a Comment