Parthenogenesis Discovered in California Condors

November 9, 2021 8:26 AM

Parthenogenesis Discovered in California Condors

"two of the California condor females produced young without a male partner, a phenomenon called parthenogenesis.

The asexually produced offspring were especially surprising to scientists because both female birds were housed with males that sired other offspring with them before and after the unfertilized yet viable eggs were produced (one in 2001 and one in 2009). "

posted by kathrynm (19 comments total)

It says that the female birds "were housed with males that sired other offspring with them before and after the unfertilized eggs were produced". Are we....sure that this was parthenogenesis, as opposed to "mating happened when we weren't looking"?
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 8:36 AM on November 9, 2021 [1 favorite]

I commented elsewhere that if condors can do it, I bet that most or all ZW birds can do it if only occasionally. And it's a heck of a backup plan that might explain why they are so good at spreading to remote islands; if a single female is blown there by a storm, she can produce her own mate and then further females.
posted by tavella at 8:38 AM on November 9, 2021 [2 favorites]

And yes, they did a full genetic workup, so they are in fact certain the chicks were not related to any males. The fact they still occasionally switched to this method even with available males was particularly interesting to the scientists.
posted by tavella at 8:40 AM on November 9, 2021 [13 favorites]

For those who don't want to get into the weeds of the ZW determination system:

The ovum (not the sperm) donates the "deciding" chromosome. Females are ZW, Males are ZZ.

The Z chromosome is larger (like the X in mammals), and in parthenogenesis, the offspring inherits two copies of the mother's Z chromosome, making it a ZZ male. WW female offspring are theoretically possible, but typically non-viable.
posted by explosion at 8:47 AM on November 9, 2021 [6 favorites]

GOOD FOR HER
posted by Lawn Beaver at 8:49 AM on November 9, 2021 [44 favorites]

This was such a cool headline and an amazing phenomenon, but this part further down made me wonder whether this would actually be a population-sustaining phenomenon or more of a non-starter:

Both of the parthenotes were relatively small and died before becoming sexually mature, at 1.9 and 7.9 years old. Condors can live into their 50s.

Reading more about it in The Smithsonian Magazine: SB260 only lived for two years before dying in 2003 in the wild, likely from malnourishment. SB517 was unusually small and remained in captivity until he died of a foot infection at nearly eight years old in 2017, reports Wired. "They certainly weren’t, shall we say, shining specimens of the condor," Demian Chapman, a biologist at the Mote Marine Laboratory and Aquarium, tells the Atlantic.
posted by rogerroger at 9:32 AM on November 9, 2021 [2 favorites]

To me, it's not so much that this is population-sustaining, but that I had no idea this strategy was available to animals as enormous as condors - I've always thought of parthenogenesis as like, a snake or lizard thing. I can't imagine the scientists involved are going to dust their hands off and petition for the removal of the condor from endangered species lists based on this finding.

It's just super metal and cool.
posted by Lawn Beaver at 9:43 AM on November 9, 2021 [4 favorites]

Vinny Thomas did an interpretation of this strong, female condor who doesn't need a man to repopulate, sister
posted by biddeford at 10:49 AM on November 9, 2021 [1 favorite]

life, uh...finds a way
posted by dismas at 11:07 AM on November 9, 2021 [11 favorites]

Big black nemesis
Parthenogenesis
No one move a muscle as the dead come home
posted by Harvey Kilobit at 11:41 AM on November 9, 2021 [14 favorites]

Ah, you beat me to the Shriekback reference. Darn it!
posted by Naberius at 1:49 PM on November 9, 2021 [5 favorites]

I was horrified to learn there are not many popular songs that use that word!
We should change that.
Any six-syllable phrase with the right accent can easily substitute.
e.g. "the doggone girl is mine" -> "parthenogenesis"
posted by credulous at 1:59 PM on November 9, 2021 [2 favorites]

Praise be to Magic, Zombie, Superman, California Condor, Jesus.
posted by Ickster at 2:30 PM on November 9, 2021

Would really be cool if the historical basis for the Mary Magdalene figure in religions was inspired by a legitimate human example of parthenogenesis in history.
posted by GoblinHoney at 5:00 PM on November 9, 2021 [2 favorites]

Higgledy piggledy
Mary of Magdala
Said to the Dolorous
Mother of God:

"Parthenogenesis
Ought to be left to the
Simple amoeba or
Gasteropod."

--James Merrill
posted by Jubal Kessler at 7:19 PM on November 9, 2021 [2 favorites]

In culture: bohemian, arty;
Economically, powerfully hearty;
And with wife knowing wife,
Amongst the bird life,
California knows how to party
posted by Fiasco da Gama at 7:49 PM on November 9, 2021

Seems apt that the Jesus bird should be Californian.
posted by rongorongo at 9:38 PM on November 9, 2021

Would really be cool if the historical basis for the Mary Magdalene figure in religions was inspired by a legitimate human example of people just minding their own business over who a lady fucks
posted by FatherDagon at 2:11 PM on November 11, 2021

In the early cherry season, all of the.dark cherries I saw, were doubled genetically, as if they had been sprayed with gibberellic acid at blooming. I saw a lot of other postinvg about doubled fruit this spring. It would not surprise me if this is caused by agricultural pollution, but then, remarked about in this way. Scavengers are hit the hardest by pollution of all sorts.
posted by Oyéah at 7:06 PM on November 11, 2021