Tag Archives: sexual selection

Can birdsong signal immune gene quality?

Posted on February 25, 2018 by hageyt

This post is by MSU postdoc Joel Slade.  “BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!” – I wake up to the dreaded sound of my alarm clock at 3:45 am in my cabin. Even though it’s mid-April at the Queen’s University Biological Station in Elgin … Continue reading →

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Evolution of Reliable Signals

Posted on July 16, 2016 by hageyt

This Evolution 101 post is by MSU grad student Thassyo Pinto The ownership of goods such as luxury cars, expensive boats and conspicuous consumption, and showing it off to others, transmits a signal informing that owner is capable of bearing expenses. … Continue reading →

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Male battles split species apart

Posted on April 18, 2016 by hageyt

This post is by MSU postdoc Jason Keagy How do species form? Stated more precisely, how does one species become two? This turns out to be an immensely difficult question to answer, because 1) species are not always distinct entities (species … Continue reading →

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BEACON Researchers at Work: Are Electric Fish Magic?

Posted on October 12, 2015 by Danielle Whittaker

This week’s BEACON Researchers at Work blog post is by postdoc Will Pitchers from the Gallant Lab at MSU. The fishes in our lab — African freshwater fish called Mormyrids — seem pretty magical when one first hears about them; … Continue reading →

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BEACON Researchers at Work: Female vision-related genes are more plastic in Bicyclus anynana

Posted on October 5, 2015 by Danielle Whittaker

This week’s BEACON Researchers at Work blog post is by University of California at Irvine graduate student Aide Macias-Muñoz. My interest in biology began when I was very young with my fascination in living things. My exposure to diverse plants … Continue reading →

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Evolution 101: Beauty is in the Genes of the Beholder

Posted on January 6, 2014 by Danielle Whittaker

This Evolution 101 post is by MSU graduate student Anselmo Pontes. What do you think when you see a woman painfully balancing on sky-high heels? How about when you overhear the lame pick up lines guys come up with to … Continue reading →

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Big horns trump smooth pickup lines every time

Posted on July 30, 2012 by Danielle Whittaker

From our latest press release: Elk and rhinoceros beetles aren’t diabetic, but to grow big horns and attract mates it appears that the males are insulin-dependent. Ian Dworkin, Michigan State University zoologist, was part of a team that for the … Continue reading →

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BEACON Researchers at Work: Portrait of a Damsel

Posted on September 5, 2011 by Danielle Whittaker

This week’s BEACON Researchers at Work post is by MSU postdoc Idelle Cooper. If damselflies were painters, they would surely be watercolorists, and probably impressionists, too. As soon as the morning sun strikes the vegetation along the riverbank, the damselflies … Continue reading →

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BEACON Researchers at Work: Tropical crickets hitchhike their way to rapid evolution

Posted on April 4, 2011 by Danielle Whittaker

This week we are introducing a new feature on the BEACON Blog: BEACON Researchers at Work! Please enjoy the first post from Michigan State University postdoc Robin Tinghitella. What would happen if all the lions suddenly lost their manes, or … Continue reading →

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