Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
Latest Breaking News
General Discussion
The DU Lounge
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
The DU Lounge
Related: Culture Forums, Support ForumsAfter Menopause, Killer Whale Moms Become Pod Leaders
When their reproductive years are done, females take on new roles as wise survival guidesBy Ben Mirin
As one of only a handful of animals on the planet to live many years after menopause, killer whales have just provided new insight into the benefits of this seemingly strange reproductive strategy. Females that are past their child-bearing years go on to become group leaders with valuable survival skills, scientists report today in the journal Current Biology.
Theoretically, menopause should not exist. If the purpose of survival is reproduction, then there is no reason for an animal to stay alive when it can no longer have offspring. For killer whales, females stop reproducing at around 50 years old, which is also the age when most male killer whales are nearing the ends of their lives. Typically, though, post-menopausal females still have another 40 years to go.
Scientists from the University of Exeter, the University of York and the Center for Whale Research examined 35 years worth of observational data from an endangered population of southern resident killer whales in the Pacific Northwest. They poured over decades' worth of photographs capturing whales on the move and noticed a pattern: Post-menopausal females, the oldest in the group, typically swam at the front and directed their pods movements in a variety of scenarios. To explain this behavior, the team focused their dataset to years when killer whales primary food supply, salmon, was critically low.
"One way post-reproductive females may boost the survival of their kin is through the transfer of ecological knowledge, says Lauren Brent of the University of Exeter. The value gained from the wisdom of elders can help explain why female killer whales and humans continue to live long after they have stopped reproducing."
snip
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/after-menopause-killer-whale-moms-become-pod-leaders-180954480/
---------------------------------------------
Wow!
InfoView thread info, including edit history
TrashPut this thread in your Trash Can (My DU » Trash Can)
BookmarkAdd this thread to your Bookmarks (My DU » Bookmarks)
3 replies, 315 views
ShareGet links to this post and/or share on social media
AlertAlert this post for a rule violation
PowersThere are no powers you can use on this post
EditCannot edit other people's posts
ReplyReply to this post
EditCannot edit other people's posts
Rec (6)
ReplyReply to this post
3 replies
= new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight:
NoneDon't highlight anything
5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
After Menopause, Killer Whale Moms Become Pod Leaders (Original Post)
catbyte
Oct 2019
OP
Coventina
(27,172 posts)1. Amazing! Thanks for posting!!
alwaysinasnit
(5,072 posts)2. K&R Excellent posting.
IcyPeas
(21,904 posts)3. only 3 mammals go through menopause: orcas, pilot whales and humans!!!
Only three known mammals experience the menopause - orcas, short-finned pilot whales and we humans. Even our closest ape cousins, chimpanzees, do not go through it. Their fertility peters out with age and, in the wild, they seldom live beyond childbearing years.
I came across a similar article in the BBC magazine a couple years ago and I found it very interesting. (and kudos to scientists who research these amazing creatures)
https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-37025092