Stickleback sex

The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel prints a nice article about the work of my UW colleague, Jenny Boughman. Boughman studies adaptation and mating behavior in sticklebacks -- a model species for much current research on speciation.

Either form of cuckoldry undermines female choice, she said, and works against females’ central role in controlling reproduction in the species. It can also undermine the entire speciation process.

“The female had selected a male to mate with, but in fact the father of her offspring was not the male that she picked.”

Although the thieving and sneaking Boughman saw was between males of the same species, if habitat conditions change, it could just as easily happen between species, she noted.

All her research is pointing to one overall conclusion: the speciation process is much more fragile than scientists had once thought.