Ugh, mating season. So much pressure to deposit your sperms in the fittest female's genital opening, amirite?!?!? Are you a dude-fish having no luck with the fly honeys in your area? Well, it might be because you're focusing too much on the ladies, and not enough on nipping erotically at the gennies of your bros. Science.
Researchers observing the mating habits of Atlantic mollies have noticed that female fish tend to "mate copy," or choose mates that they've observed getting freaky with other fish. Even other male fish:
While the females found a colourful male more attractive than a drab counterpart when swimming side by side, they reacted better to "less attractive" males once they had observed them nipping either males or females.
"We were quite surprised to find out that observed homosexual interactions had the same influence on females' preferences as heterosexual interactions," explained Dr Bierbach.
"The implications are that sexual activity per se is a trait used by females to evaluate males' quality and that our results could also be true in other species."
The scientists speculate that it could be a tactic employed by smaller, subordinate - and thus less attractive males - to win more female attention.
So, um, "less attractive" male humans could potentially lure female mates by flirting with each other in public? Quick, somebody tell the pick-up artists.