Module 11: Time Magazine Who?

 Prompt: So, following up from career day, your alternative prompt is to flip Time's narrative on its head. What have you gained this year, either personally or professionally? What did over come that you didn't think you could? How has the past year changed you for the better? Essentially, for just a moment, look past the doom and search for the silver linings.

    I agree that Time is out of line with its magazine cover. I think it could be a bait thing to get a rise out of people and get them to read their content, but it could also just be their blatant ignorance. This past year has not been the easiest, but we all adapted and I think we have all done well keeping afloat. I learned how to take classes that are meant to be purely in person and learn them online, which was a very weird format for language classes and anatomy. Let me tell you, learning human body online was far from exciting or easy online, but it is definitely doable. 

    I have learned a lot more patience and learning how to deal with unique problems associated with distance education and isolation from social interactions. I had a lot of personal problems pile up on me on top of the frustrations of school, so learning to deal with all of that and the online stuff was both challenging but something that could be overcome. So, while the year was not my favorite, I would not call it a 'lost year.' A pain in the ass? Totally, but not a loss.

Female Sexual Dimorphism and Why She Look Like Dat

 So, our prompt is: The question for you to ponder is how does something like this evolve? With your knowledge of sexual selection theory, can you formulate a hypothesis that explains why female courtship might have evolved in this species? Is there anything about pipefish biology that might support your hypothesis?

    To start, pipefish are part of Syngnathinae family, which seahorses are also from, which makes seahorses and pipefish cousins. As we probably all know by now, the males of the seahorse world are the ones who carry the eggs and "birth" them when they're ready to shoot out, like a tiny baby cannon. 

(Pictured below: baby cannon engaged)

    Since we know that they're from the same family, we can dig deeper. According to the Great Google™, male pipefish are also the baby carriers. So, from this, we can assume that females are doing what males do during intersexual selection and are trying to court the males through their size, colors, and mating dance in order to get someone to carry and tend to their eggs. 

    This may likely have to do with the fact that, like the peacocks (but sex in reverse), the males might be looking for the female that displays the most color or the largest girth, as she might have greater survivability and, in turn, will pass that onto her young. The males are smaller and more drab in appearance, so they're probably ideal as carriers to protect the eggs.

    That all being said, that's probably exactly why it evolved in this species, but in the females instead of the males, since they're from that family that does things a little differently (but effectively, I guess). 

Sources: https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rspb.2018.1335

https://www.britannica.com/animal/pipefish

Module 8: Genetic Variation

     So, we want to understand why selection hasn't wiped out genetic variation. Ignoring the fact that I'm months (months) behind in responding to this prompt, let's dive in to explore it more in-depth.

    Selection is a big part of fitness and mating. Different traits may be more appealing to others for enhancement. If we didn't have that variety and everyone had the same exact traits, that could be detrimental to a species/organism. Maintaining that genetic variation within populations will improve the chances for those species/organisms and others that are likely to be impacted by gene flow. We wouldn't have all of the variety we have today without genetic variation.