Bonobos famously indulge in copious copulatory play, often settling disputes with various nonreproductive sexual configurations.
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Scientists might edit "somatic" cells (nonreproductive cell types like skin or liver cells) or "germline" cells (eggs or sperm).
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Most agreed that it had to have some sort of evolutionary benefit to make up for the presumed costs of nonreproductive sexual behavior.
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But they are expanding rapidly (some handle nonreproductive health issues too), and now women in most states can use one or more of them.
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The problem is this: if natural selection favors those organisms which are best at reproducing, then how do castes of nonreproductive insects ever evolve?
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The number of weeks was based on an understanding back then of what it would take for the body to heal and for the major reproductive organs to return to a nonreproductive state, said Schulte.
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If, as Virginia Woolf posited, "a woman must have … a room of her own" — and, one is tempted to add, a womb of her own — to be able to create, then why are we so fearful of what nonsexual, nonreproductive passions could emerge from female solitude?
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As a result, the species participates in cooperative brood care and division between reproductive and nonreproductive groups.
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Metestrus may be followed by anestrus, a nonreproductive period characterized by quiescence or involution of the reproductive tract.
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Ploidy levels are different between these two groups; Phytophthora species have diploid (paired) chromosomes in the vegetative (growing, nonreproductive) stage of life, whereas fungi are almost always haploid in this stage. Biochemical pathways also differ, notably the highly conserved lysine synthesis path.
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Reproductively active adult males had significantly (p < 0.05) larger home ranges than adult males with unenlarged testes. In black greasewood (Sarcobatus vermiculatus) habitat, however, there were no significant differences between male and female home ranges or between home ranges of reproductive and nonreproductive adult males.
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Queens multiply mate, and colonies are facultatively polygynous. Nonreproductive workers of the colony 'police', that is, selectively destroy worker-laid eggs, but don't attack reproductive workers. Relatedness incentives are the most likely ultimate cause of the evolutionary maintenance of worker–egg policing in A. echinatior.
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One lineage results in ants that become the workers of the colony. These are the ants responsible for the nonreproductive tasks of the colony. The other lineage produces reproductive female ants. After mating with the male ants at the aggregation site, the queen flies away to establish a new colony.
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V. orientalis is a type of social wasp. Individuals live collectively in colonies with one queen and thousands of workers. Social wasps are unusual in their practice of altruism in which nonreproductive individuals work for the benefit of the colony. This occurs because all individuals in a colony are closely related.
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The leathery rays are up to thick. The fruit body remains closed until shortly before spore discharge; dehiscence (fruit body opening) is caused by the pressure exerted by swollen paraphyses—sterile (i.e., nonreproductive) cells that are interspersed between the ascospores. Dehiscence is accompanied by the release of clouds of spores, resembling smoke.
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Lichens grow in a wide range of shapes and forms (morphologies). The shape of a lichen is usually determined by the organization of the fungal filaments. The nonreproductive tissues, or vegetative body parts, are called the thallus. Lichens are grouped by thallus type, since the thallus is usually the most visually prominent part of the lichen.
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However, unrelated coyotes may join forces for companionship, or to bring down prey too large to attack singly. Such "nonfamily" packs are only temporary, and may consist of bachelor males, nonreproductive females and subadult young. Families are formed in midwinter, when females enter estrus. Pair bonding can occur 2–3 months before actual copulation takes place.
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Once she has chosen a site, she sheds her wings and begins to reproduce, creating a new colony. She produces "worker ants" for 1–20 years until her death. Some queens have been known to live up to 30 years in the wild. In P. barbatus, reproductive and nonreproductive tasks are divided into a caste system, as discussed above.
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Upon arriving at her new nest site, the queen loses her wings and builds a nest in the soil. The entrance into the nest is then sealed off to lay her eggs in safety. With this, the colony is born. Over the course of the following six to eight weeks, the primary brood of nonreproductive worker ants emerges and begins to forage and build the colony.
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Both reproductive and nonreproductive effects in aquatic reptiles and amphibians have been reported. Crocodiles, many turtle species and some lizards lack sex- distinct chromosomes until after fertilization during organogenesis, depending on temperature. Embryonic exposure in turtles to various PCBs causes a sex reversal. Across the United States and Canada disorders such as decreased hatching success, feminization, skin lesions, and other developmental abnormalities have been reported.
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Similar to most beehives, an M. beecheii colony has one fertile queen and numerous nonreproductive female worker bees. The queen that is fertile and lays eggs is known as the physogastric queen. However, in M. beecheii excess queens are produced, most of which are destined to remain virgins. These excess queens are almost always killed by workers before they are able to lay eggs.
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Within nonreproductive P. barbatus worker ants, five major tasks are performed: foraging, maintenance of the nest, defense, midden work, and convening. Roles are not constant and chemical interactions determine when certain ants engage in certain activities. As such, these tasks are relatively fluid and cannot be understood as separate processes. The transition in behavior on behalf of one group triggers behavioral transitions in other groups of worker ants.
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Some individuals are specialized for reproductive function, while other ants are responsible for nonreproductive roles such as defense, caring for the brood, and foraging for food. The system of division of labor naturally arises in conjunction with the formation of the group, rather than as a secondary adaptation; otherwise solitary queen harvest ants placed in forced association had division of labor arise in groups that lack an evolutionary history of such social arrangements.
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Scientists perceive homosexual behavior in animals to different degrees. The motivations for and implications of these behaviors have yet to be fully understood. According to Bruce Bagemihl, the animal kingdom engages in homosexual behavior "with much greater sexual diversity – including homosexual, bisexual and nonreproductive sex – than the scientific community and society at large have previously been willing to accept." Bagemihl adds, however, that this is "necessarily an account of human interpretations of these phenomena".
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Dorsal view of a nonreproductive female Diacamma australe worker, lacking anterior thoracic gemmae (buds). Within gamergate colonies, all workers are born reproductively viable and are thus potential gamergates. Prior to differentiation as a gamergate, a dominant worker must physically inhibit its sisters. For example, in the case of Diacamma australe, the first female to become reproductively active will clip off the thoracic gemmae of her sisters, thus greatly reducing their sexual attractiveness.
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The young emerge from their birth den at three to four weeks of age, by which time they have a full coat of fur and are already beginning to be weaned. The young are initially cautious, but begin to exhibit the full range of nonreproductive adult behavior within about four weeks of emerging from the burrow. Subadults initially remain with their birth colony, but typically leave at two years of age, becoming fully sexually mature the following year.
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Mare reproductive loss syndrome (MRLS) is a syndrome consisting of equine abortions and three related nonreproductive syndromes which occur in horses of all breeds, sexes, and ages. MRLS was first observed in the U.S. state of Kentucky in a three-week period around May 5, 2001, when about 20% to 30% of Kentucky's pregnant mares suffered abortions. A primary infectious cause was rapidly ruled out, and the search began for a candidate toxin. No abortifacient toxins were identified.
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Males begin hibernating first, while females that have reproduced start later. During periods of hibernation, the animals average 13 separate bouts of torpor, which are broken up by periods of arousal lasting 1.2 days on average. These interruptions tend to coincide with warmer periods. Males end their hibernation period in mid-June, while reproductive females return to full activity in July and August; nonreproductive females and immature echidnas may not end hibernation until two months later.
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Ooceraea biroi, the clonal raider ant, is a queenless clonal ant in the genus Ooceraea (recently transferred from the genus Cerapachys). Native to the Asian mainland, this species has become invasive on tropical and subtropical islands throughout the world. Unlike most ants, which have reproductive queens and mostly nonreproductive workers, all individuals in a O. biroi colony reproduce clonally via thelytokous parthenogenesis. Like most dorylines, O. biroi are obligate myrmecophages and raid nests of other ant species to feed on the brood.
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Instead newly produced pheromones or signaling chemicals ensure that workers remain nonreproductive. Although it is unknown to what degree these chemicals act as pheromones or as signals, support for the signaling hypothesis can be found in the loss of reproductive inhibition of workers as the gamergate grows older and her fecundity diminishes. Mechanisms of gamergate replacement vary among monogynous and polygynous species. When a gamergate dies, it is usually replaced by a formerly submissive worker who proceeds to mate and begins ovarian activity.
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Tahrs are polygynous, and males are subject to stiff competition for access to females. Young reproductive males roam and mate opportunistically (when larger males are not present), while more mature males (more than four years old) will engage in ritualistic behavior and fighting to secure mates. During mating season, reproductive males lose much of their fat reserves, while females and nonreproductive males do not, indicating a substantial cost to these behaviors. Factors that contribute to which males dominate include size, weight, and testosterone levels.
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West-Eberhard has studied many species of social wasps such as Polistes fuscatus, Polistes canadensis, and Polistes erythrocephalus. Through her studies she has investigated why wasps evolved from being casteless and nestsharing casteless to becoming highly specialized eusocial species using comparative studies of tropical wasps (Hymenoptera). She has argued that origins of nonreproductive females in social wasps involves mutualism rather than only kin selection or parental manipulation. Her work upon social insects has played an important role in the development of her ideas upon phenotypic plasticity.
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Small males may sneak in to mate while the larger males are busy fighting. In the Merothripidae and in the Aeolothripidae, males are again polymorphic with large and small forms, and probably also compete for mates, so the strategy may well be ancestral among the Thysanoptera. Many thrips form galls on plants when feeding or laying their eggs. Some of the gall-forming Phlaeothripidae, such as genera Kladothrips and Oncothrips, form eusocial groups similar to ant colonies, with reproductive queens and nonreproductive soldier castes.
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MRLS was initially characterized by four syndromes: (1) EFLs, (2) LFLs and the nonreproductive syndromes, (3) unilateral uveitis, (4) pericarditis, and later (5) Actinobacillus encephalitis. MRLS was observed in mares of all breeds and ages. Early and late fetal losses were observed within the first and last trimesters of pregnancy, respectively. For EFLs, clinical signs from the sick mares included pus-like discharge from the vulva and fetal membranes protruding from the vulva, as the fetuses were located in either the vagina or vulva.
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Planctomycetes are a phylum of aquatic bacteria and are found in samples of brackish, and marine and fresh water. They reproduce by budding. In structure, the organisms of this group are ovoid and have a holdfast, at the tip of a thin cylindrical extension from the cell body called the stalk, at the nonreproductive end that helps them to attach to each other during budding. Cavalier-Smith has postulated that the Planctomycetes are within the clade Planctobacteria in the larger clade Gracilicutes, but this is not generally accepted.
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The accusations led to a sensational libel trial, which Billing eventually won; Philip Hoare reports that Billing argued that "as a medical term, 'clitoris' would only be known to the 'initiated', and was incapable of corrupting moral minds".Philip Hoare, 1998. Oscar Wilde's Last Stand: Decadence, Conspiracy, and the Most Outrageous Trial of the Century Jodie Medd argues in regard to "The Cult of the Clitoris" that "the female nonreproductive but desiring body [...] simultaneously demands and refuses interpretative attention, inciting scandal through its very resistance to representation."Lesbian Scandal and the Culture of Modernism by Jodie Medd.
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Elacatinus species usually maintain social monogamy, a system in which heterosexual pairs remain closely associated during both reproductive and nonreproductive periods. Males and females of Elacatinus forage together, occupying a single cleaning station and servicing client fish in pairs. Such behavior observed in Elacatinus is attributed to low costs and high benefits for both sexes that result from being paired with a single, large partner. Males benefit from forming monogamous pairs with large females since they tend to have higher fecundity, while females are able to gain more resources by cleaning under the protection of a larger male.
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If nonreproductive males are mixed with spawning adults, the females allocate their energy towards large-scale migration and growth and participate in skip spawning. The mature and spawning adult fish have only been observed in the last quarter of the year in certain locations including Madeira, the Canaries, and the northwest coast of Africa. The gonadosomatic index is higher for the same body length in the black scabbardfish located around Madeira as opposed to off mainland Portugal or to the west of the British Isles. This occurrence may be due to the areas lacking intrinsic and extrinsic factors that condition the maturity process in these areas.
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Example of DNA profiling in order to determine the father of a child (Ch). Child's DNA sample should contain a mixture of different size DNA bands of both parents. In this case person #1 is likely the father The DNA of an individual is the same in every somatic (nonreproductive) cell. Sexual reproduction brings the DNA of both parents together to create a unique combination of genetic material in a new cell, so the genetic material of an individual is derived from the genetic material of each parent in equal amounts; this genetic material is known as the nuclear genome of the individual, because it is found in the nucleus.
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In a 2005 article, E. O. Wilson argued that kin selection could no longer be thought of as underlying the evolution of extreme sociality, for two reasons. First, he suggested, the argument that haplodiploid inheritance (as in the Hymenoptera) creates a strong selection pressure towards nonreproductive castes is mathematically flawed. Second, eusociality no longer seems to be confined to the hymenopterans; increasing numbers of highly social taxa have been found in the years since Wilson's foundational text Sociobiology: A New Synthesis was published in 1975. These including a variety of insect species, as well as two rodent species (the naked mole-rat and the Damaraland mole rat).
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Eusocial queens have large bodies, are nest foundresses, monopolize nest oviposition, and raise brood with the help of less or non- reproductive female workers. These workers are daughters of the queen, have small bodies, help raise younger nest brood primarily produced by the queen. Workers are capable of laying gyne or male eggs and occasionally do so, limited by the queen's physical control. A queen can direct the evolution and maintenance of nonreproductive castes of offspring through parental manipulation with the use of pheromones or assertion of behavioral dominance. Queens can establish dominance by striking workers with her head, blocking workers’ travel through nest passageways, and coaxing workers more deeply into the nest.
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However, a feeding trial found that Karner blue butterfly fed 1st year wild lupine had one of the lowest survival rates observed and significantly longer larval durations than larvae fed older wild lupine that did not flower, was flowering, had recently flowered, or was grown in shade and was in seed. In addition, on sites in Wisconsin and Minnesota, the number of 1st flight oviposition sites on nonreproductive and reproductive wild lupine was similar. Many other factors may influence the quality of wild lupine (Lupinus perennis) as a Karner blue butterfly food resource. At Indiana Dunes National Park, wild lupine with Karner blue butterfly feeding damage had significantly larger leaves and longer and thicker stems than plants without feeding damage.
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The motivations for and implications of these behaviors have yet to be fully understood, since most species have yet to be fully studied. According to Bagemihl, "the animal kingdom [does] it with much greater sexual diversity—including homosexual, bisexual and nonreproductive sex—than the scientific community and society at large have previously been willing to accept". A review paper by N. W. Bailey and Marlene Zuk looking into studies of same-sex sexual behaviour in animals challenges the view that such behaviour lowers reproductive success, citing several hypotheses about how same-sex sexual behavior might be adaptive; these hypotheses vary greatly among different species. Bailey and Zuk also suggest future research needs to look into evolutionary consequences of same-sex sexual behaviour, rather than only looking into origins of such behaviour.
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