Ivory Towers: Deadlier than the male 'The presence of females in
high densities . . . adversely affects a male's health and
reproductive success.' Those conclusions, from recent research
on voles and sticklebacks respectively, reflect a growing
tendency to wonder whether females are really good for males. In
Femme Fatale - the Case of the Threespine Stickleback, by
Michelle de Fraipont, Gerard J Fitzgerald and Helga Guderley,
(Ethology, vol 91, 1992), they begin by pointing out that
courting can be hazardous for a male praying mantis or certain
species of spider. They also mention that virgin female
fruitflies live considerably longer than non-virgins. But these
remarks pale into insignificance when compared with the sexual
harassment suffered by male sticklebacks. 'In addition to
courting females,' they write, 'male threespine sticklebacks
must guard their nests from attacks on the eggs by female
cannibals.' They noticed that when sticklebacks were courting,
the males had no trouble in accepting another chap