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Show 5: Why Sex? |
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57 minutes, 7 DVD chapters |
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Chapter 1. Prologue (2:40) |
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Introduction to the show's theme: sex and genes, driving behavior and driving evolution
- All living beings are programmed to transmit their genes to the next generation
- From an evolutionary perspective, sex is more important than life
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Chapter 2. Lesbian Lizards (5:04) |
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Asexual reproduction and questioning the importance of males
- A female-only lizard species gives birth without having had sex; each egg has a complete set of her mother's genes
- If a female-only species can thrive, are males necessary?
- The biological imperative to pass on genes
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Chapter 3. The Advantage of Sex (9:46) |
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Exploring the evolutionary advantages to sexual reproduction
- Studying asexual and sexual reproduction in Sonoran minnows to demonstrate the value of males
- The Red Queen theory: when a species stops evolving, it is doomed
- The evolutionary advantages of genetic variability among offspring
- Speculating on the origins of sex
- Descriptions of sperm and eggs: quantity versus quality
- At a deep biological level, males and females want different things
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Chapter 4. The Peacock's Tail (8:28) |
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Male ornamentation and the theory of sexual selection
- Darwin's theory of natural selection explained traits that improved species' survival, but not extravagances like the peacock's tail
- Why are ornaments typically seen on males?
- Ornaments as an indication of good genes
- Male competition and female choice, as seen in peacock mate selection
- In some species, females choose good behavioral traits or good genes
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Chapter 5. Songbirds and Monogamy (5:36) |
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Shared parenting and its evolutionary implications
- Monogamy as a social solution to a biological dilemma
- Female songbirds cheating on mates to give offspring better genes
- Jacana birds and the reversal of male-female roles
- Gender roles determined by who competes for mates and who cares for young
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Chapter 6. Chimpanzees and Bonobos (8:13) |
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Social differences between two closely related species
- Chimpanzee society is patriarchal and violent
- Bonobo society is peaceful, due to female solidarity
- Exploring how a change in feeding ecology influenced chimpanzee and bonobo differences
- Implications for early humans, and humans today
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Chapter 7. Sex and Human Behavior (16:44) |
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Exploring how modern human behavior springs from our evolutionary past
- Evolutionary psychologists' provocative theories about humans and our drive to reproduce
- Research into human scent and genetic compatibility
- Mate selection and the evolutionary roots of attractiveness
- Did brains evolve, in part, to attract mates?
- Humans have gone beyond the biological urge, and will raise children that do not share our genes
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Buy the DVD |
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