In the late Devonian period, roughly 365 million years ago, fish-like creatures started venturing from shallow waters onto land. Among the various adaptations associated with the switch to land life was…
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Articles on Evolutionary biology
Displaying 141 - 154 of 154 articles
The negative impacts of cigarettes on both smokers and those around them are widely known. While some effects are cosmetic (wrinkling, yellowing of the skin), others, such as cancer, can be fatal. But…
In a study published today in the Royal Society’s journal Biology Letters, my colleagues and I ask if there is any validity in judgements of sexual faithfulness made from the faces of unfamiliar men and…
A group of red colobus monkeys in Uganda have been found to care less about grooming and more about sex after eating leaves…
For taxonomists, days often start – and sometimes end – with the question: what’s that? Whether you’re an entomologist, staring at a new species of riffle bug from a rainforest stream, or a paleontologist…
Why are some animals blue and others red? Explaining the diversity of colours in nature is a central issue in evolutionary biology. And part of the answer may lie in the most obvious place: the eye. In…
Just when did our human ancestors come down from the trees to become permanent ground-dwelling apes? Did the evolution of our upright posture and two-footed (bipedal) locomotion mark the end of a life…
The eye is perhaps one of the best examples of Darwinian evolution. Incremental steps driven by natural selection have led to the evolution of this complex organ from its origin as a simple light-sensitive…
A study published in PNAS this week has confirmed that human blood types were present in one of our ancient primate ancestors. The ABO blood groups Beloved by genetics teachers the world over, the ABO…
Here’s some good news: having more sexual partners makes females more fertile. A recent study on Trinidadian guppies has shown that females who mate with multiple males produce more grand-offspring than…
Does it seem strange that we will enthusiastically kiss an attractive person’s mouth, with tongues intertwining and saliva going everywhere, but that we might wrinkle our nose up at the idea of using that…
When it comes to selecting a mate, females are traditionally thought of as the choosy sex; males, meanwhile, aren’t thought to be particularly picky. This makes sense for many species – the sex that invests…
Ancient land-crawling animals may have used the complex bone structures in their skin to process carbon dioxide, deterring…
Sound and its use in communication have shaped the ecology, evolution, behaviour, and ultimately the success of many animal species. But are animals the only lifeforms to communicate with sound? Do plants…
Top contributors
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Honorary Associate Professor, UNSW Sydney
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Strategic Professor in Palaeontology, Flinders University
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Mark Elgar is a Friend of The Conversation.
Professor of Evolutionary Biology, The University of Melbourne
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Postdoctoral Researcher , The University of Melbourne
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PhD Researcher, Nature and Function of Human Nonverbal Vocalisations, University of Sussex
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Adjunct Research Associate, Monash University
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Associate Professor, The University of Queensland
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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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Senior Lecturer, Centre for Behaviour and Evolution, Newcastle University
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Lecturer, Macquarie University
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Sexual health researcher, The University of Melbourne
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Research fellow, University of Sydney
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Postdoctoral Researcher of Evolutionary Biology, University of Pennsylvania
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Senior lecturer, School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, University of Bristol
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Research Associate Professor in Evolutionary Biology, The University of Western Australia
