Can Inbreeding Explain Female Promiscuity? (2 of 3) (IMAGE)

American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)

Can Inbreeding Explain Female Promiscuity? (2 of 3)

Caption

Magnified spermatozoa of Tribolium castaneum flour beetles. Competition between sperm of different males within a female reproductive tract, leading to selection of compatible sperm, could explain why promiscuous inbred females have higher fitness than females that were mated to single males.This image relates to an article that appeared in the Sept. 23, 2011, issue of Science, published by AAAS. The study, by Ł. Michalczyk; University of East Anglia in Norwich, UK, and colleagues was titled, "Inbreeding Promotes Female Promiscuity."

Credit

Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) photograph by Łukasz Michalczyk

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