The power of celibacy

Discovery

BBC

Science, Technology

4.3 • 1.2K Ratings

🗓️ 1 February 2021

⏱️ 28 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

You might think that sex is essential for life, but you'd be wrong! Lucy Cooke travels to the Hawaiian island of Oahu to meet a community of mourning geckos - self-cloning sisters who have done away with males altogether. An array of reptiles, amphibians and fish, along with a host of spineless wonders, from snails to spiders, can reproduce without sex. It's what biologists call parthenogenesis, from the Greek meaning “virgin birth”. Many, like the mourning gecko, make great “weed” species. They're explosive opportunists capable of rapidly colonising new territory, as they don’t need to waste energy finding a mate. But without the mixing up of genes, that sex with a male provides, they are less able to adapt and change. So sex pays if you don’t want to go extinct. Yet there is one self-cloning sister that defies that theory - the Bdelloid Rotifer. Living for millions of years and comprising over 450 species, these microscopic water dwelling creatures have conquered the planet. They get around the drawbacks of no sex, by stealing genes, and escape disease by desiccating and then coming back to life. Producer: Beth Eastwood Picture: Female Komodo dragon at London Zoo, Credit: Matthew Fearn/PA

Transcript

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0:00.0	Before you listen to this BBC podcast I'd like to introduce myself.
0:03.4	My name's Stevie Middleton and I'm a BBC commissioner for a load of sport
0:07.4	podcasts. I'm lucky to do that at the BBC because I get to work with
0:10.7	leading journalists, experienced pundits and the biggest
0:13.2	sports stars. Together we bring you untold stories and fascinating insights
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0:24.4	What that means is that we can bring you podcasts that create a real connection
0:28.7	to dedicated sports fans across the UK.
0:31.1	So if you like this podcast, head over to BBC Sounds where you'll find plenty more.
0:35.6	This is Discovery from the BBC World Service. I'm Lucy Cook and in my new series The Power Of
0:42.2	I'm exploring the surprising animal traits that at first glance may seem like a hindrance, but turn out to be winning evolutionary strategies.
0:51.0	And this one has got to take the prize for mind-blowing, a species that can reproduce
0:56.4	without sex. It's the power of celibacy.
1:02.3	Sex is a complicated business but it's essential to life right? Well apparently not.
1:09.2	There are a surprising number of female animals that have evolved to reproduce without the need for males.
1:15.6	How do they do it? And does it make life any simpler?
1:19.6	My quest to uncover the power of celibacy began on the Hawaiian island of Oahu.
1:25.0	It's 1030 in the morning and I've just hurtled across the island and I'm on the trail of a very special gecko called Leptadactylus Lagubris, which is known as the
1:38.1	morning gecko.
1:39.9	This is a species that has done without men altogether.
1:44.0	They don't need males.
1:45.0	They ain't having sex any longer.
	...

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