The science of Father's Day

Discovery News brings its viewers Best Dads in the Animal Kingdom.

In honor of Father's Day, Trace taking some time to salute the greatest dads in the animal kingdom.

Megan Gannon of LiveScience mentions another winning animal dad in Darwin's Frogs Are in Steep Decline

Some of nature's most fascinating fathers may be at risk of extinction.

Male Darwin's frogs swallow their offspring in the tadpole stage, incubate their young in their vocal sacs, and eventually spit out fully developed froglets. Along with seahorses, the frogs are thought to be the only known living vertebrates in which dads take on baby-carrying duties with special sacs that make them look pregnant.

But new research shows that these unique creatures may be vanishing as their habitats in Chile's temperate forests are destroyed.

Finally, this is a holiday for humans, as Tia Ghose of LiveScience notes in 6 Ways Dads Win at Parenting.

From paper towel commercials to PTA meetings, let's face it: Moms are assumed to be the default parents.

But that is an increasingly outdated notion that doesn't reflect reality. Fathers are becoming more and more engaged with their children's lives; American dads today spend nearly 7.5 hours a week with their children, triple the 2.5 hours a week they spent with their offspring in 1965, according to a 2011 Pew Research Report. And nearly half of those dads wish they could spend even more time with the kids.

That may be a particularly good thing. Fathers tend to differ from mothers in their parenting styles, and though it's not a competition, there are several things that dads do better. From roughhousing to side-by-side activities, here are six arenas in which dads excel.

LiveScience has more in The Science of Fatherhood: Why Dads Matter, Dad Deserves More Credit ... Good and Bad (Op-Ed) and The Science of Dad: Engaged Fathers Help Kids Flourish.

Happy reading and Happy Father's Day!