sexuality – EEBlog

Sex in nature – when weird is normal

The ninth in a series from the blog Gender and Sexuality in Nature, a 2016 UC Davis course organized by UM EEB alumnus Ash Zemenick (UM EEB B.S. 2011, Ph.D. UC Davis 2017) and Jacob Moore (B.S. University of Washington 2009, Ph.D. UC Davis 2017). So far in this blog, we’ve covered a lot of…

Homosexuality in nature

Females intrasexual fighting. These two female horned beetles are head-butting for possession of a feeding site.

The eighth in a series from the blog Gender and Sexuality in Nature, a 2016 UC Davis course organized by UM EEB alumnus Ash Zemenick (UM EEB B.S. 2011, Ph.D. UC Davis 2017) and Jacob Moore (B.S. University of Washington 2009, Ph.D. UC Davis 2017). Have you ever wondered if, how, or why animals engage…

Does transgenderism exist in nature? Some examples in birds and insects

A brown headed cowbird nestling (right) being raised by a warbler adult. Image credit: Audubon, Beth Hamel

The seventh in a series from the blog Gender and Sexuality in Nature, a 2016 UC Davis course organized by UM EEB alumnus Ash Zemenick (UM EEB B.S. 2011, Ph.D. UC Davis 2017) and Jacob Moore (B.S. University of Washington 2009, Ph.D. UC Davis 2017). Being transgender myself, I have often wondered if there are…

Sequential hermaphroditism (or why to be wary of frog DNA)

The sixth in a series from the blog Gender and Sexuality in Nature, a 2016 UC Davis course organized by UM EEB alumnus Ash Zemenick (UM EEB B.S. 2011, Ph.D. UC Davis 2017) and Jacob Moore (B.S. University of Washington 2009, Ph.D. UC Davis 2017). Last week, we discussed one type of hermaphroditism: simultaneous (also…

Simultaneous hermaphroditism

The fifth in a series from the blog Gender and Sexuality in Nature, a 2016 UC Davis course organized by UM EEB alumnus Ash Zemenick (UM EEB B.S. 2011, Ph.D. UC Davis 2017) and Jacob Moore (B.S. University of Washington 2009, Ph.D. UC Davis 2017). As an evolutionary biologist and an invertebrate zoologist, I’ve long…

Anisogamy – it matters

The fourth in a series from the blog Gender and Sexuality in Nature, a 2016 UC Davis course organized by UM EEB alumnus Ash Zemenick (UM EEB B.S. 2011, Ph.D. UC Davis 2017) and Jacob Moore (B.S. University of Washington 2009, Ph.D. UC Davis 2017). In species where anisogamy occurs, the sexes are defined by…

Why are sperm so small? Or, how did anisogamy evolve?

Anisogamous gametes – a very large egg and a very small sperm

The third in a series from the blog Gender and Sexuality in Nature, a 2016 UC Davis course organized by UM EEB alumnus Ash Zemenick (UM EEB B.S. 2011, Ph.D. UC Davis 2017) and Jacob Moore (B.S. University of Washington 2009, Ph.D. UC Davis 2017). During the first week of this course, I jumped at…