Structural and functional trade-offs are integral to the evolution of the mammalian skull and its development. This paper examines the potential for enlargement of the masticatory musculature to limit the size of the ...

Most studies on sexual selection focus on male characteristics such as male song in songbirds. Yet female vocalizations in songbirds are growing in interest among behavioural and evolutionary biologists because these ...

Even though grouping behaviour has been actively studied for over a century, the relative importance of the numerous proposed fitness benefits of grouping remain unclear. We use a digital model of evolving prey under ...

Many prey species exhibit defensive traits to decrease their chances of predation. Conspicuous eye-spots, concentric rings of contrasting colours, are one type of defensive trait that some species exhibit to deter predators. ...

A primary task of auditory systems is the localization of sound sources in space. Sound source localization in azimuth is usually based on temporal or intensity differences of sounds between the bilaterally arranged ears. ...

A new, fully dated total-evidence phylogeny of baleen whales (Mysticeti) shows that evolutionary phases correlate strongly with Caenozoic modernization of the oceans and climates, implying a major role for bottom-up physical ...

In modern societies, cultural change seems ceaseless. The flux of fashion is especially obvious for popular music. While much has been written about the origin and evolution of pop, most claims about its history are anecdotal ...

Discrete colour morphs associated with alternative mating tactics are assumed to be ecologically equivalent. Yet suites of behaviours linked with reproduction can also favour habitat segregation and exploitation of different ...

Parent off spring conflict (POC) theory provides an interesting premise for understanding social dynamics in facultatively social species. In free-ranging dogs, mothers increase conflict over extended parental care with ...

Butterfly eyespots are known to function in predator deflection and predator intimidation, but it is still unclear what factors cause eyespots to serve one function over the other. Both functions have been demonstrated in ...