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Wildlife: What's Hot & What's Not
Many women like their men to have some style—or maybe just a modicum of fashion sense. Well, apparently, so does Colorado's state bird.
According to a new study out of the University of California-Santa Cruz, female lark buntings pick their mates each year by first deciding the season's hottest must-haves. One year, larger white wing patches might be all the rage, and the next: beak size. If this sounds superficial, it's not. Somehow these traits signal to the female which male will have the best nesting success based on environmental conditions during that particular year.
For example, if one year there are a lot of ground squirrels, which are major nest predators, the female lark bunting will want a good defender—and certain male plumage may signal that trait. "But in a year when grasshopper populations are low, she needs a good provider," says Alexis Chaine, lead author of the paper, which recently appeared in the journal Science. In that case, the "boy" with the best-suited beak size will get the "girl."
The researchers, who conducted their study over a five-year period on the Pawnee National Grasslands in Colorado, believe this dynamic sexual selection is probably occurring in other species as well and that it may be an important factor in the evolution of male traits.
Put another way: Never question the female's prerogative to change her mind.
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