Nasty, Brutish, and Short The Quirks and Quarks Guide to Animal Sex and Other Weird Behaviour

by Senson, Pat

• ISBN13: 9780771079689
• ISBN10: 0771079680
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2010-04-13
• Publisher: McClelland & Stewart

Summary

Mating, doing it, coitus, procreating, making whoopee, copulating, I riding a disco stick: whatever you want to call it, the sex act is universal. All creatures do it, or want to, but just how they do it is wondrously diverse and includes some bizarre and several downright alarming methods. From the sea slug that produces a powerful love drug and mates with both males and females to the tiny spider that has to tear off one of its two huge sex organs just to be able to reach its paramour, the range of sexual practices is mind-boggling. Just as weird is the way some animals court then mates and rear their young (or don't).

Author Biography

For nine seasons biologist PAT SENSON was a producer with CBC Radio's national science program, Quirks & Quarks, where his documentary work received numerous awards and accolades. He can still be heard every week on CBC Radio across the country as he supplies science stories to the local afternoon shows through CBC's syndication service. Pat currently lives in Toronto with his partner and their two slightly addled cats.

Table of Contents

Introduction	p. xi
The Battle of the Sexes	p. 1
The Insects
Insect Arms Race	p. 2
Weevil Penises	p. 5
The Power of One	p. 7
Bedbug Penis Tasting	p. 10
Fishing Spider Sex	p. 12
Redback Spider Sex	p. 15
Some Crickets Like it Rough	p. 19
The Others	p. 21
Genitalia Most Fowl	p. 21
Cannibal Fish	p. 24
Infertile Monkeys	p. 26
Meerkat Infanticide	p. 29
Hyena Hormones	p. 32
Speedy Sperm	p. 34
Impressing the Other Sex	p. 37
Birds do It
Zebra Finch IQ	p. 38
Bowerbird Bullies	p. 41
Bowerbirds Come on Strong	p. 43
Godwit Vacations	p. 45
Auklets and Aphrodisiacs	p. 48
The Sound of Two Wings Clapping	p. 50
Bees (and other insects) do it
Hot Insect Sex	p. 53
Quiet Crickets	p. 56
Sniffing for Sexual Satisfaction	p. 58
Weta Walking	p. 60
Cricket Coupling	p. 63
Brotherly Love Among Crayfish	p. 66
Bisexual Beetles	p. 69
Cockroach Wars	p. 72
Water from Weevils' Sperm	p. 74
Lying Flies	p. 76
Even Animals, Land and Sea, do it
Primate Copulation Call	p. 79
Salacious Simians	p. 81
Bat Brains and Balls	p. 83
Amorous Antelope Antics	p. 86
Sea Slug Orgy	p. 88
The Barnacle's Penis	p. 91
Penis Preference in Mosquitofish	p. 94
Amazon Mollies	p. 96
Dolphin Bling	p. 99
Cichlid Dominant	p. 101
Parenting Skills	p. 105
Raising the Chicks
Cowbirds' Bad Influence	p. 106
There Goes the Neighbourhood	p. 109
Birds that Time-share	p. 112
Two-Mom Albatross Families	p. 115
Bringing up a Brood
Self-Roasting Rodents	p. 118
Father's Nose Best	p. 121
Pregnancy and Monkey Dads	p. 123
Stinking Baby Bugs	p. 126
Cannibal Tadpoles	p. 128
Lunch, Anyone?	p. 131
Finding Food
Owl Dung Nests	p. 132
Snails and their Slime	p. 135
How a Bat Holds its Licker	p. 137
Its Bite is Worse than its Bite	p. 140
Whales Lunge for Lunch	p. 141
Killer Whale Sonar	p. 144
Sea Lion Diving	p. 146
Dolphin Herders	p. 150
Guano-Eating Salamanders	p. 152
The Hummingbird's Stopwatch	p. 154
How to Avoid Becoming a Meal
Wolverine Frogs	p. 157
Bombardier Beetles	p. 159
Toadfish Pee	p. 161
Squirrels Eating Snake Skin	p. 164
Ultrasonic Gophers	p. 167
Crafty Chameleon Camouflage	p. 169
Parsing Parasite Peculiarities	p. 173
Blister Beetle Deception	p. 174
Ants Look Berry Nice	p. 176
Crustacean Kids, Parasitic Parents	p. 179
Woolly Caterpillar Medicine	p. 181
Higher, Faster, Stronger	p. 185
The Fastest Jaw in the South	p. 186
Preying Mantis Shrimp	p. 189
The Mantis Shrimp's Super-Sight	p. 192
Mandible Mayhem	p. 195
How the Bow Bug Shoots Itself	p. 196
Catapulting Caterpillar Feces	p. 199
Even More Weird Behaviour	p. 203
Washing with Urine	p. 204
Spider Venom Side Effect	p. 207
Termite Head-Bangers	p. 209
Army Ants Lie Down on the Job	p. 211
Loony Tunes	p. 214
Electric Fish	p. 216
Chimp Plans for Pitching	p. 219
Crocodiles Go Home	p. 222
Alligator Air Bags	p. 225
Bird Doping	p. 227
Scuba Bug	p. 229
Head-Under-Heels	p. 232
Bees' Knees	p. 235
Clownfish Sex	p. 237
Worm Hibernation	p. 240
Four-Eyed Fish	p. 242
Cold, Dry Bugs	p. 245
Tonguefish at the Vents	p. 248
The Games Researchers Play	p. 251
Spitting Cobras	p. 252
Worm Grunting	p. 255
Flatulent Fish	p. 258
Fearless Iguanas	p. 260
Running on Water	p. 262
Wasp Faces: Friend or Foe	p. 265
Fruit Fly Fight Club	p. 267
Tadpole Bail Out	p. 269
Flying Ants	p. 272
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