Using 3D-printed 91裸聊视频渟ex dolls91裸聊视频� a Carleton University researcher has answered a question biologists had been asking for years 91裸聊视频� what do northern map turtles find attractive in a female.
Biologist Gregory Bulte says he91裸聊视频檚 been studying the mating habits of the northern map turtle for about 15 years, but the turtles are skittish and hard to observe because they mate on the bottom of lakes.
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He says the females can grow to twice the length of males and he wondered whether males might be attracted to larger females.
Bulte says he and his colleagues printed two 3D printed 91裸聊视频渟ex dolls91裸聊视频� of female turtles, identical in every aspect except size, and placed them a metre apart on the lake bed, with cameras rigged up to record how wild males reacted.
As predicted, Bulte says the males attempted to mate with the large model more often than the smaller one.
He says that by selecting larger females, males would increase the fitness of their offspring because larger females produce larger hatchlings and he plans to continue his research using the models.
91裸聊视频淔or these turtles it would be very difficult to have somebody just sitting there taking notes underwater without scaring them away,91裸聊视频� he said Wednesday.
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Bulte said the models could also allow scientists to look at other traits involved in the turtles91裸聊视频� mating behaviour.
91裸聊视频淲e could look at colour 91裸聊视频� the markings, we could do that across seasons to see if it changes,91裸聊视频� he said.
The northern map turtle is listed as a species at risk in Canada and is found in lakes and rivers in the corridor between Montreal and Windsor, Ont., Bulte said.
Bulte also said he91裸聊视频檚 going to need some help going through the data he has collected.
91裸聊视频淣ow I91裸聊视频檓 just hoping to find a really good student that is willing to watch a lot of turtle videos,91裸聊视频� he said.
The Canadian Press
