Blue Planet 2 has done the impossible. It has bested the original. Almost every sequence is more astonishing than anything which preceded it in Blue Planet 1.
In one sequence it introduces a fish found north of Japan, which, if it grows big enough, undergoes a transformation from female to male gender.
Not all the Kobudai fish undergo this transformation, but some of the larger fish do. They mention some of the "enzymes" in the fish allow for conversion of female hormones to male hormones, and I think I know just which enzymes these are.
In humans, of course, the most famous example is 5 alpha reductase deficiency, in which an enzyme responsible for converting testosterone into dihydrotestosterone fails to allow for adequate amounts of DHT to form and it is the DHT which, in fetal life, stimulates the developing fetal penis and scrotum. Not enough DHT and your penis comes out looking like a clitoris and your scrotum like labia.
But when the testes begin pumping out industrial doses of testosterone at puberty, it all washes past the bottle neck at the 5 alpha reductase step and you make enough DHT to "masculinize," and you go the route of the male Kobudai fish. Presto, new male. (Well, mostly.)
Blue Planet mentions there are other fish in the wrasses group which do something similar, starting off as females and transforming into males.
They do not comment about whether the fish develop psychological problems with their identity, whether they feel like male fish trapped in a female body, or how these fish feel about this transformation. The individual fish they show seemed quite comfortable in his new role and in fact, vanquished the older former "bull" fish and assumed command of the harem.
Of course, anyone reading about all this will wonder what it would be like to live life first as one sex then the other. This is not something I've spent much time thinking about. In fact, call me staid, call me uptight, but it is not something I much want to think about.
Being born male is such a blessing, not just because it confers social, hierarchical advantages in most human societies, but because, from a sheerly sensual point of view, it's way better. For starters, you get to have sex with women.
I know, male homosexuals may not see this as much of an advantage, but some of us do.
But just knowing about these strange fish is sort of mind expanding.
The idea of women entering the professions, the workplace, transforming into dominant organisms is something we've had to think about and now we know other species seem to allow for such a life course.
Reading about Queen Victoria, one sees another oblique version of this, as she transforms from a libidinous adolescent into a devastatingly effective alpha dog.
She retains her gender identity through all this, but she does follow the Kobudai model of dominance.
Just saying.
In one sequence it introduces a fish found north of Japan, which, if it grows big enough, undergoes a transformation from female to male gender.
Not all the Kobudai fish undergo this transformation, but some of the larger fish do. They mention some of the "enzymes" in the fish allow for conversion of female hormones to male hormones, and I think I know just which enzymes these are.
In humans, of course, the most famous example is 5 alpha reductase deficiency, in which an enzyme responsible for converting testosterone into dihydrotestosterone fails to allow for adequate amounts of DHT to form and it is the DHT which, in fetal life, stimulates the developing fetal penis and scrotum. Not enough DHT and your penis comes out looking like a clitoris and your scrotum like labia.
But when the testes begin pumping out industrial doses of testosterone at puberty, it all washes past the bottle neck at the 5 alpha reductase step and you make enough DHT to "masculinize," and you go the route of the male Kobudai fish. Presto, new male. (Well, mostly.)
Blue Planet mentions there are other fish in the wrasses group which do something similar, starting off as females and transforming into males.
They do not comment about whether the fish develop psychological problems with their identity, whether they feel like male fish trapped in a female body, or how these fish feel about this transformation. The individual fish they show seemed quite comfortable in his new role and in fact, vanquished the older former "bull" fish and assumed command of the harem.
Of course, anyone reading about all this will wonder what it would be like to live life first as one sex then the other. This is not something I've spent much time thinking about. In fact, call me staid, call me uptight, but it is not something I much want to think about.
Being born male is such a blessing, not just because it confers social, hierarchical advantages in most human societies, but because, from a sheerly sensual point of view, it's way better. For starters, you get to have sex with women.
I know, male homosexuals may not see this as much of an advantage, but some of us do.
But just knowing about these strange fish is sort of mind expanding.
The idea of women entering the professions, the workplace, transforming into dominant organisms is something we've had to think about and now we know other species seem to allow for such a life course.
Reading about Queen Victoria, one sees another oblique version of this, as she transforms from a libidinous adolescent into a devastatingly effective alpha dog.
She retains her gender identity through all this, but she does follow the Kobudai model of dominance.
Just saying.
Phantom,
ReplyDeleteI agree, it would be impossible to overstate the beauty of these awe inspiring shows. We're incredibly lucky to not only live at a time when there is the technology to film the deepest depths of the ocean, but also to own TV's that can do such footage justice.
I found the "transgender" fish intriguing as well, but I was even more blown away by the little fish that dug into the ocean floor, like a backyard dog, looking for clams and then returning to it's lair with the clam to smash it open. Incredibly it always chose the same sharp surface to toss it against. As Attenborough said, "a fish that uses tools!"...Wow!!
Maud
Ms. Maud,
ReplyDeleteYes, that fish was so astonishing I found myself not believing what I was seeing. It was only when they did super slow motion I could see it was actually whacking the shell open.
We have seen seagulls do much the same, dropping clams on the sea wall to break them open, of course. Birds never get credit for their intelligence.
Phantom