Biodiversity > What's This? Reproduction

For many animals, the first step in reproduction is attracting a mate. Sometimes it is a matter of outdoing your rivals.

The Hercules beetle tackles its rivals head on! When competing for females, these enormous beetles rush each other like jousting knights. When they crash together, one lifts the other in the air using its long, horn-like pincers. The victor holds the captive in the air for several seconds, then drives him to the ground. This is quite a sight, since male beetles are about six inches (15 cm) long!

Male bowerbirds attract females by decorating elaborate nests or "bowers" with shiny or colored objects. Ornaments range from flowers, feathers and cicada wings to bits of plastic.

Each species has a different style: The satin bowerbird favors blue objects, while the great bowerbird prefers white and green. Some species even catch colorful beetles to adorn their bowers. The competition can be fierce – male bowerbirds often steal from other bowers to improve their own!

Many birds flaunt their colorful bodies or sing songs to impress a mate.

Blue-footed boobies go one step further – by dancing with their brilliant blue feet! Once a male catches a female's attention, he flashes his colorful feet with a high-stepping strut. After all, acrobatic moves and blue feet are signs of good health. If the female is interested, the two may spread their wings, touch beaks, and even dance together.

Most flowering plants need the help of insect pollinators in order to reproduce. And many lure insects with sweet-smelling flowers. But the titan arum has a style all its own. The flower of this large tropical plant smells like rotting meat. Why? To attract flies and beetles that typically eat decaying animal flesh.

When the titan arum blooms, it releases the stench from the towering spike in the center of the plant. Insects gather inside the crinkly, purplish cone until the smell fades. They pick up pollen on their way out, then move on to fertilize the next titan arum plant.

Most people know corals for their spectacular reefs, the hard skeleton that supports a coral colony. But corals begin their lives as tiny larvae floating in water. The problem is, larger animals devour coral larvae. So how do they survive?

Adult corals, like the staghorn coral pictured here, release billions of eggs and sperm at a time. And they do this on the same night, sensing the full Moon. When egg and sperm cells unite, they become larvae, and there are so many that predators can't eat them all.

Some animals lay thousands or even billions of eggs at a time to give their offspring the best chance for survival. At the other extreme, a female brown kiwi produces a single, enormous egg.

This flightless New Zealand bird is smaller than a hen, but her egg weighs as much as six jumbo chicken eggs. While the egg grows inside the mother kiwi, she eats triple her usual amount of food. The egg grows so large, it barely fits in her body. When her chick hatches, it is almost ready to live on its own.