Romanesco Fractals, Dolphin Names & Evolution vs. Mating
Curiosity Weekly
Warner Bros. Discovery
4.6 • 963 Ratings
🗓️ 23 August 2021
⏱️ 16 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Learn about evolutionary compromises; the fractals of Romanesco cauliflower; and dolphins that learn each other’s names.
Conflict traits: when evolution and mating conflict with each other by Cameron Duke
- Experiments show natural selection opposes sexual selection. (2021). EurekAlert! https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2021-06/uoe-esn060721.php
- Mulder, M. B., & Rauch, K. L. (2009). Sexual conflict in humans: Variations and solutions. Evolutionary Anthropology: Issues, News, and Reviews, 18(5), 201–214. https://doi.org/10.1002/evan.20226
- Okada, K., Katsuki, M., Sharma, M. D., Kiyose, K., Seko, T., Okada, Y., Wilson, A. J., & Hosken, D. J. (2021). Natural selection increases female fitness by reversing the exaggeration of a male sexually selected trait. Nature Communications, 12(1). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-23804-7
Here's why Romanesco cauliflower grows in a fractal pattern by Briana Brownell
- Ouellette, J. (2021, July 8). What fractals, Fibonacci, and the golden ratio have to do with cauliflower. Ars Technica; Ars Technica. https://arstechnica.com/science/2021/07/what-fractals-fibonacci-and-the-golden-ratio-have-to-do-with-cauliflower/
- Azpeitia, E., Tichtinsky, G., Le Masson, M., Serrano-Mislata, A., Lucas, J., Gregis, V., Gimenez, C., Prunet, N., Farcot, E., Kater, M. M., Bradley, D., Madueño, F., Godin, C., & Parcy, F. (2021). Cauliflower fractal forms arise from perturbations of floral gene networks. Science, 373(6551), 192–197. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.abg5999
Dolphins can learn each other's names by Grant Currin
- Morell, V. (2021, April 22). Dolphins learn the “names” of their friends to form teams—a first in animal kingdom. Science | AAAS. https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2021/04/dolphins-learn-names-their-friends-form-teams-first-animal-kingdom
- King, S. L., Connor, R. C., Krützen, M., & Allen, S. J. (2021). Cooperation-based concept formation in male bottlenose dolphins. Nature Communications, 12(1). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-22668-1
- Shyr, L. (2021, May 5). Dolphins Help Those Who’ve Helped Them Before, Even When They’re Not Friends. Atlas Obscura; Atlas Obscura. https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/dolphins-work-in-teams
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hi, you're about to get smarter in just a few minutes with Curiosity Daily from Curiosity.com. |
| 0:06.0 | I'm Cody Gough. And I'm Ashley Hamer. |
| 0:08.0 | Today you learn about what happens when evolution and mating conflict with each other, |
| 0:12.0 | the weird reason why Romanesco cauliflower grows. evolution and mating conflict with each other, |
| 0:12.5 | the weird reason why Romanesco cauliflower |
| 0:14.9 | grows in a fractal pattern, |
| 0:16.6 | and why dolphins learn each other's names. |
| 0:19.7 | Let's satisfy some curiosity. Evolution happens in a few different ways. |
| 0:25.0 | The two most well-known ways are natural selection, which is about survival, |
| 0:30.0 | and sexual selection, which is about mate choice. |
| 0:34.0 | They're basically two processes with the same end goal, |
| 0:37.0 | but in practice they don't always get along with each other all that well. |
| 0:42.0 | That's right, sometimes sex is the enemy of survival. |
| 0:46.8 | Most of the time natural selection and sexual selection jive just fine. For example, let's take a look at the forest birds called peafowl, which you probably |
| 0:56.9 | know the guys are called peacocks. They evolve by natural selection. That weeds out the birds that don't pea-fowl well enough. |
| 1:05.0 | The males, with their big colorful peacocktails, look the way they do as a product of sexual selection. |
| 1:12.6 | The females like those extravagant feathers, |
| 1:15.8 | and having those feathers is a sign that the male is healthy and a good mate. |
| 1:20.4 | I mean, he must be if he can survive in spite of his ridiculous plumage |
| 1:25.3 | So if she meets with him there's a good chance they'll have lots of healthy babies |
| 1:30.0 | But other times the forces work in opposite directions like hitting the accelerator and the break at the same time |
| 1:36.8 | Which doesn't really get you very far |
... |
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