91av

Fussy fish fake it

By Jon Copley

17 March 2001

IT’S not just women who can fake orgasms. Female brown trout do it too, to
dupe potential partners into premature ejaculation. The trick may help females
avoid mating with undesirable males or attract more partners, biologists
suggest.

As courting pairs of brown trout prepare to spawn, both fish quiver violently
with their mouths open. Usually eggs and sperm are then released simultaneously,
to maximise the chances of fertilisation.

Sometimes, though, the female quivers without releasing her eggs. To
investigate this behaviour, Erik Petersson and Torbjörn Järvi of
Sweden’s National Board of Fisheries watched trout in an aquarium, and found…

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