Photo credit: Mr.TinDC licensed under CC BY-ND 2.0
by Daniel Fink, MD, Chair, The Quiet Coalition
This report from the UK’s Daily Mail notes that traffic noise makes female crickets less picky when it comes time to choose a mate.
Usually female crickets choose mates with higher quality mating calls, but if the ambient noise levels are high, they can’t tell the difference between better or worse mating calls. If the quality of the mating call is indeed correlated with the quality of the genetic material, over time this might lead to a less fit cricket population.
It’s been decades since I’ve been to a singles bar, but I wonder: Is this why they make the music so loud in the singles bars, to give average guys a better chance?
I look forward to seeing that study reported soon!
