Seminar notes: The Evolution of Males and Females

Professor Judith Mank talked about variety of sexual evolutions and adaptations in living organisms, including humans, sea turtles, wild turkeys, gobies, clownfish and so on. The important point she made was that reproduction mechanisms can be extremely diverse for evolutionary advantages. Being larger and colorful or having many offspring can be good or bad. Moreover, sexes can be determined by environmental factors, such as temperature. As a result of the current climate change, some reptiles and sea turtles are having more male members, for example. This has totally changed the sex ratios and natural balance of some species. Now, conservation biologists are trying to preserve endangered species by keeping their eggs in incubators to simulate their fertilization conditions before the human-made climate change.

 

Here is the YouTube link: The Evolution of Males and Females – with Judith Mank

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