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Very intresting question. The problem is that animal intelligence is hard to measure not only for scientists, but probably also for the potential mate. Paradoxically, that is why selection for intelligence, if it occurred, may be very strong. One has to be smart in order to recognise smart behaviour, so preference and preferred feature are strongly ...

TL;DR: There is a dearth of actual experimental evidence. However: there is at least one study that confirmed the process ([STUDY #7] - Myxococcus xanthus; by Fiegna and Velicer, 2003). Another study experimentally confirmed higher extinction risk as well ([STUDY #8] - Paul F. Doherty's study of dimorphic bird species an [STUDY #9] - Denson K. McLain). ...

Firstly I'll clarify that you are talking about simultaneous hermaphrodites rather than sequential hermaphrodites (1st one sex, then the other e.g. the limpet Patella vulgata). It is perhaps easiest to address the question by countering it and asking why dioecy (2 sex systems/2 gonochoric types e.g. male and female) is better? As you have pointed out there ...

The male kakapo (Strigops habroptila) in that video is called Sirocco. Kakapo were (and still are) very close to extinction, so in the 1980s the Kakapo Recovery Programme was launched. As part of this programme, rangers monitor all known kakapo in the wild, visiting their nests and generally ensuring they are in good health. When Sirocco was a young chick, a ...

The biggest problem with this question, (not just here, but for everyone who asks it,) is drawing on our culturally constructed definition of maleness to look for mechanisms of genetic inheritance of what are considered "male" traits. We could measure frequency distributions of height, but we don't have a way to accurately probe any of the other qualities ...

At least for physical data (heigth, weight etc) you can have a look of the DINED Anthropometric database http://dined.io.tudelft.nl/dined/. Here you can find mean and standard deviation data for Dutch population studies on numerous anthropometric measures, and you can stratify the results by sex.

First of all for the first 22 chromosomes (and the mitochondrial chromsome) are the same between women and men. The X and the Y together are something like 1.5% of the total DNA in the human cell. The X chromosome is also in common, so it has the same chromosomal (genetic) variations the same as women and men. While I am not sure about the differences you ...

I know nothing about biology however I did watch an amazing PBS documentary on cuttlefish that I think is fairly relevent. From http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/nature/kings-of-camouflage.html NARRATOR: During mating, males outnumber the females, sometimes 10 to one. And they're all looking for the chance to pass on their genes. While a female lays eggs ...

I'm not completely certain about the vocabulary used in this context so let me know if you wish clarification There are a few hypothesis why females care about the sexual features of males, the two most prominent are: The sexy son hypothesis states that a sexually attractive male will have sexually attractive offspring which, in turn, is also more likely ...

I have been pondering this question for a while and I get what RG255 is saying. I'm just not sure I entirely buy it. Take earthworms, for example. They are simultaneous true hermaphrodites (as far as I understand). The anatomy doesn't have to be that complex*. They simply have two genital openings (one for eggs and one for sperm) and they line up in a "69" ...