The price of reproduction – from the male perspective

A new study published in Evolution Letters demonstrates that males incur greater costs from investing in pre-copulatory reproductive traits, like courtship behaviour, than in post-copulatory traits, like sperm production. Lead author Meng-Han Chung tells us more. “Why do animals age?” is a long-standing question in life-history, and theories suggest that it is about energy allocation. …

The evolution of ageing in superorganisms

By Jan Kreider, Ido Pen and Boris Kramer This week our article on the evolution of ageing in social insects has been published in Evolution Letters. Using a simulation model, we explored evolutionary causes for the large divergence of queen and worker lifespans that is commonly found in eusocial organisms. The castes of eusocial organisms exhibit extreme …

Competition drives flower colour evolution in a biodiversity hotspot

The findings of a new study published in Evolution Letters help explain the coexistence of many closely related flowering plant species, in one of the most diverse temperate ecosystems in the world. Lead author Dr Alex Skeels tells us more. Flowers are some of the most beautiful and fascinating structures in nature and most people …