Researchers wanted to understand what happens when chameleons – animals that display dynamic colour change – find themselves in an environment without their natural predators.
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Articles on Evolution
Displaying 81 - 100 of 894 articles
Live birth has evolved independently more than 150 times. The underlying biophysical processes all look quite similar, but new research shows they use completely different genetic tools.
The first sabre-toothed cat-like predator was not much larger than a bobcat, but it had long teeth and a strong jaw to cut through thick skin.
Birds will shriek and dive at each other over food, territory or mates, but only a small number of species sport actual weapons. The reason: Flying matters more for their survival than fighting.
Macaque tooth wear was identical to our ancestors, throwing into question the long held belief that tool use caused the markings on hominin tooth fossils.
New research sheds light on why predators don’t evolve to become so aggressive that they eat all their prey – and then go extinct themselves.
We’ll probably be less aggressive and more agreeable, but have smaller brains – a bit like a Golden Retriever, we’ll be friendly, but maybe not that interesting or bright.
How we’re linking together genetic material from thousands of people - modern and ancient - to trace our ancestors and the history of our evolution.
Hard and strong, or bendy and flexible? A cartilaginous skeleton provides advantages in the ocean, but wouldn’t stand up to life on land.
Research has revealed how earless moths manage to avoid bat attacks - by evolving sophisticated acoustic tricks.
Two newly discovered species of quokka-sized kangaroos, which lived 18 million years ago in the Queensland rainforest, show evolution in the act of giving kangaroos a taste for leaves.
You have a finely honed sense of privacy in the physical world. But the sights and sounds you encounter online don’t help you detect risks and can even lull you into a false sense of security.
In 1872, Charles Darwin published a book on expressions and emotions that modern science is only beginning to catch up with.
Assuming that natural selection shapes all animal and plant traits is a false impression. Natural selection is a mindless process.
To a group of hungry killer whales, a longline fishing boat looks like an all-you-can-eat buffet.
The lack of large numbers of fossils makes it hard to study sexual dimorphism in dinosaurs. But a new statistical approach offers insight into this question and others across science.
As climate change worsens, their findings highlight the importance of conserving natural river flows to enable freshwater species to respond and adapt.
How did penguins end up with so few bones – and become lightning-fast swimmers?
Darwin thought female animals were non-strategic and uniform, making similar decisions.
Sponges are ancient marine animals and have already shown robustness against stresses from climate change. New research now shows they can also tolerate low-oxygen conditions.
Top contributors
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John Long is a Friend of The Conversation.Strategic Professor in Palaeontology, Flinders University
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Scientia Professor of Evolutionary Ecology; Academic Lead of UNSW's Grand Challenges Program, UNSW Sydney
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Honorary Associate Professor, UNSW Sydney
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Professor in Evolutionary Biology (jointly appointed with South Australian Museum), Flinders University
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Senior Lecturer in Paleontology and Evolutionary Biology, Life Sciences at the University of Bath, University of Bath
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Professor of Evolutionary Palaeobiology at the Milner Centre for Evolution, University of Bath
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Senior Researcher in Vertebrate Palaeontology, University of the Witwatersrand
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Mark Elgar is a Friend of The Conversation.
Professor of Evolutionary Biology, The University of Melbourne
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Jenny Graves is a Friend of The Conversation.
Distinguished Professor of Genetics and Vice Chancellor's Fellow, La Trobe University
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Adjunct Research Associate, Monash University
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Associate Professor, Monash University
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Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Evolutionary Ecology, Griffith University
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Professor of Earth System Science, UCL
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Research Associate in Evolutionary Biology, University of Adelaide
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Alice Clement is a Friend of The Conversation.
Research Associate in the College of Science and Engineering, Flinders University
