• About
    • About the FIA
    • Priorities
    • Our Team
    • Brainstorming Board
    • Partners and Affiliates
    • Contact Us
  • News + Events
    • News
    • Events
    • Videos
    • Newsletters
    • @FIAumd
    • In the Media
  • Spark Grants
    • Spark Grants Overview
    • Spark Grants FAQ
    • 2012-2015 Seed Grants
    • 2012-2015 Seed Grant Winners
  • Special Topics
    • SearchReSearch
    • Curated Topics
FIA

SearchReSearch

SearchResearch Challenge (11/6/19): How many species aren’t 1:1 in gender ratios?

Dan Russell • November 6, 2019
 SearchReSearch
Republished with permission from SearchReSearch
SearchResearch Challenge (11/6/19): How many species aren’t 1:1 in gender ratios? Dan Russell

I read an interesting article...

... in The Atlantic Monthly. To wit, The Quirk of Collecting That Skews Museum Specimens Male, and had a sudden insight...

Even though I know that the majority of parrotfish on a reef are female (see our earlier blog post about parrotfish), I'd somehow assumed that in most animals, the number of females and males would be about equal.

So... I'd also assumed that animals collected in a museum would be roughly 1:1 as well.

It was pretty surprising, then, to read that in many museums collections, males outnumber females by a significant margin.

It was truly surprising to learn that bats that ended up in museums are mostly female!



Thinking about this made me wonder more generally:


1. Do most animal populations consist of males and females split roughly 50% and 50%?

2. If that's not true (and it's clearly not for parrotfish), what causes a species to have a non-equal split between males and females? What kinds of animals have very different splits?


I haven't done any searching on this, but I suspect the answer will be extraordinarily interesting!

Let us know what you find... and be sure to tell us HOW you found it!

Search on!


Share

Comments

This post was republished. Comments can be viewed and shared via the original site.
7 comments

About the Author

Dan RussellDan Russell

I study the way people search and research. I guess that makes me an anthropologist of search. While I work at Google, my blog and G+ posts reflects my own thoughts and not those of my employer. I am FIA's Future-ist in Residence. More »

Recent News

  • Deepfakes and the Future of Facts
    Deepfakes and the Future of FactsSeptember 27, 2019
  • Book cover for Joy of Search by Daniel M. Russell
    The Joy of Search: A Google Insider’s Guide to Going Beyond the BasicsSeptember 26, 2019
  • The Future of Facts in a ‘Post-Truth’ World
    The Future of Facts in a ‘Post-Truth’ WorldMay 15, 2018
  • The Future of Virtual and Augmented Reality and Immersive Storytelling
    The Future of Virtual and Augmented Reality and Immersive StorytellingJune 6, 2017

More »

Upcoming Events

There are no upcoming events scheduled. Please check back later.
Event Archive »
Video Archive »

Join Email List

SearchReSearch

  • SearchResearch Challenge (3/22/23):  What do you call the sediment that blocks a river from flowing to the sea?
    SearchResearch Challenge (3/22/23): What do you call the sediment that blocks a river from flowing to the sea?March 22, 2023
  • Answer: What do these everyday symbols mean?
    Answer: What do these everyday symbols mean?March 15, 2023
  • SearchResearch Challenge (3/8/23): What do these everyday symbols mean?
    SearchResearch Challenge (3/8/23): What do these everyday symbols mean?March 8, 2023
  • PSA:  Read Clive Thompson’s article about how he does research
    PSA: Read Clive Thompson’s article about how he does researchMarch 3, 2023

More »

University of Maryland logo
Robert W. Deutsch Foundation logo
Google logo
Barrie School
Library of Congress logo
State of Maryland logo
National Archives logo
National Geographic Society logo
National Park Service logo
Newseum logo
Sesame Workshop logo
Smithsonian logo
WAMU
© 2023 The Future of Information Alliance, University of Maryland | Privacy Policy | Web Accessibility