Thanks, Paul. And saying that instead of "rape" would avoid the
potential problems you describe, Craig?
-----Original Message-----
From: Paul McDonald
Sent: Tuesday, 20 May 2008 3:05 PM
To: Peter Shute
Cc: ; Merrilyn Serong;
Subject: Partners
The correct terminology in ornithological circles is 'forced
copulation'.
Cheers,
Paul
On 20/05/2008, at 2:58 PM, Peter Shute wrote:
> So what word/phrase would you use instead of rape?
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From:
> On Behalf Of
>
> Sent: Tuesday, 20 May 2008 2:27 PM
> To: Merrilyn Serong
> Cc:
> Subject: Re: [Birding-Aus] Partners
>
> Hi Merrilyn,
>
> Your contribution to this little discussion tangent is deeply
> appreciated.
> I was getting ready to throw a rant into action about the total
> undesirability of applying human legal concepts and designated crimes
> such as rape to birds or other animals.
>
> Being playful about human/bird connections is one thing, but it's
> another entirely when the term "rape" is applied to animal behaviour
> and there are a range of very dangerous and dodgy implications that
> might stem from such games.
>
> For instance, what if some human idiot "out there" decides to rid the
> world of wren "rapists" based on some half-baked bit of
> anthropomorphism.
> That's all we need. Let alone some human accused launching a defence
> along the lines of "If ducks can't help but do it, I rest my case".
>
> best wishes
>
> Craig Williams
>
>> Hi Belinda and others,
>>
>>
>> It is obvious that if a male bird mates with lots of females, he is
>> more likely to produce a greater number of offspring than if he mates
>> with only one bird. If his male offspring inherit the behavioural
>> propensity to mate with lots of females, then the proportion of
>> multiple-mating males in the population will increase, and so it goes
>> on. Those that only mate with one female, will be relatively scarce.
>>
>> If a female bird mates with several males, she will be more likely to
>> produce young with a wide variety of characteristics (sperm
>> competition aside). Depending on environmental conditions, this may
>> increase the number of offspring that survive to sexual maturity. If
>> the survivors inherit the propensity to mate with several partners,
>> then the chances of their offspring surviving will also increase,
>> etc.
>>
>> On the other hand, if a female mates with only one male, even a
>> really
>
>> good quality one, if environmental conditions change, then the
>> offspring might not be well suited to the new conditions and may not
>> survive to maturity. However, if environmental conditions are
>> unchanging, then mating with the best (fittest for the current
>> conditions) available male will produce the greatest number of
> surviving offspring.
>>
>> Similarly, under certain circumstances, young will be more likely to
>> survive if they have more than one carer, i.e. both mother and father
>> (and sometimes older siblings as well). These survivors will inherit
>> the capacity to care for young in a socially stable partnership along
>> with whatever mating system was employed by their parents (single or
>> multiple partners).
>>
>> It's all about inheritance and survival.
>>
>> Cheers,
>> Merrilyn
>>
>>
>> Belinda Cassidy wrote:
>>> Hi Kurtis, John, Rosemary, Storm, and everyone,
>>>
>>> I must apologise for being so curt. I don't know whats got into me
>>> today; anyway I didn't mean to put everyone off side. Its been an
>>> emotional week for me and I guess I sprung a leak.
>>>
>>> I think we all agree that the scientific evidence demonstrates that
>>> some birds pair for life, and some do not. I don't even know why
>>> this
>
>>> is being hotly debated, but like I said, I have my suspicions as to
>>> the reasons.
>>> You're right though Kurtis, suspicions are not the same as
>>> scientific
>
>>> fact.
>>>
>>> Cheers,
>>> Bel
>>>
>>>
>>
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dr. Paul G. McDonald
Centre for the Integrative Study of Animal Behaviour Macquarie
University Sydney, NSW 2109 Australia
Ph: +612 9850 9232 Fax: +612 9850 9231
http://galliform.bhs.mq.edu.au/~paul/
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