Climate Change Alters Seals' Sexual Selection

Some animals stand to gain from warming climates, say researchers who have looked at the effect of changing rainfall on mating and sexual selection in grey seals in Scotland.

Sean Twiss, at Durham University, UK, and his colleagues studied the grey seals that mate at the North Rona colony in Scotland.

They found that the reduction in freshwater pools in dry years forced females to wander away from their usual breeding spots, and the watchful eye of their dominant male.

This allowed a greater number of previously unsuccessful males to copulate with them, and decreased the dominant males' access to females. The result is an increase in genetic diversity in these populations of grey seals.