Blog Response to Nov. 19


 One type of male-male competition is sperm to sperm competition. An example of this is displayed in dragonflies. Male dragonflies use their own genitalia to physically remove the sperm of another male from the female they're trying to mate with. Once they do that, they will then mate with the female using their own sperm.

A second type of male-male competition is combat competition. Male deer grow antlers mainly during breeding seasons. These antlers are used when fighting another male for mating rights with a female. Not only do these fights have a substantial consequences, but growing the antlers in the first place requires a lot of energy. 


These two forms of male to male competition are similar in that the overall goal for them is to survive and reproduce offspring with the female they choose. The difference is that with sperm to sperm, they may have already got the female they wanted. Whereas with combat competition, neither male has rights to that female yet.

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