Forget the Kama Sutra. When it comes to inventive sex acts, just look to the sea. There we find the elaborate mating rituals of armored lobsters; giant right whales engaging in a lively threesome whilst holding their breath; full moon sex parties of groupers and daily mating blitzes by blueheaded wrasse. Deep-sea squid perform inverted 69s, while hermaphrodite sea slugs link up in giant sex loops. From doubly endowed sharks to the maze-like vaginas of some whales, Sex in the Sea is a journey unlike any other to explore the staggering ways life begets life beneath the waves.
Beyond a deliciously voyeuristic excursion, Sex in the Sea uniquely connects the timeless topic of sex with the timely issue of sustainable oceans. Through overfishing, climate change, and ocean pollution we are disrupting the creative procreation that drives the wild abundance of life in the ocean. With wit and scientific rigor, Hardt introduces us to the researchers and innovators who study the wet and wild sex lives of ocean life and offer solutions that promote rather than prevent, successful sex in the sea. Part science, part erotica, Sex in the Sea discusses how we can shift from a prophylactic to a more propagative force for life in the ocean.
......(更多)
Dr. Marah J. Hardt is the founder of OceanInk and Media Director for the non-profit Future of Fish. A coral reef ecologist by training, she is a former research fellow at Blue Ocean Institute. Her articles have appeared in academic and popular media, including Scientific American, The American Prospect, Yale e360, and Scuba Diver Magazine. Dr. Hardt lives in Boulder, CO.
......(更多)
......(更多)
海龟是另一种具有回老家繁育习性的物种。在多数物种当中,雄性和雌性大部分时间生活在遥远的采食场,然后回到钟爱的繁育场所待几个星期,然后每年穿越大洋盆地又一次回到老家,整个旅程令人钦佩。幼龟的嗅觉特别发达,让它们对自己出生时巢穴中的沙子的特定气味印象深刻。就像一个在巧克力工厂旁边长大的人,从几千米外就能闻着味道回家。
雌性要经过几个月才能从觅食地回到出生的沙滩,完成这么远的穿越并且要为之后产出的几百枚卵储备足够的能量,就要求雌性事先要为繁殖做好准备,是用不着几年也要几个月。大多数隔几年在这个特定季节繁殖一次。当她们得到了充分的休息和恢复后,雌性激素刺激她们进入排卵期,雌海龟会勇敢地出发,再次回到出生的地方。
......(更多)