Inflatable Toads Thwart Sex
Livescience.com (Utah, USA) July 8th, 2010 08:45 AM: Inflatable Toads Thwart Sex
When grasped by a male they do not want to have sex with, female cane toads will inflate their bodies so rival males can dislodge the unwanted suitor.
Researchers recently discovered that this puffing up makes it easier for larger, more desirable male toads to knock puny, but persistent paramours off of a female's back. This novel method of mate selection – never seen before in any animal – gives females some say over who ends up as father of their tadpoles.
"Our study shows that females can exert mate choice by inflating their bodies," said lead author Bas Bruning, an ecologist at Vrije University in Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
It has long been known that toads and frogs can defensively swell themselves with air to increase their body size, a survival trick that intimidates predators and prevents snakes from being able to swallow them. Now it seems that female toads have co-opted this tactic in the evolutionary battle of the sexes.
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