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Some of the media reports on our recently published paper in Behavioral Ecology, which experimentally demonstrated that the carotenoid-based frill of frillneck lizards is used to signal fighting ability. Nature News – Frill Color Linked with Fighting Abilities for Australia’s Iconic Lizard PhysOrg – Researchers find lizards’ frilled neck is more than just for show Reptile Channel – The Brighter the Frilled Lizard’s Frill, the More Likely it Wins a Battle  Photo by Bori Cser
First wild Gouldian finch babies for this year’s breeding season! Hopefully the first of many for this season…  Photo by Sarah Pryke Birdlife – Best Photos Announced  Gouldian Guardians – by Adrian Martins Our large-scale nest-box project for Gouldian finches (with photo featuring new PhD student Cat Young) got an honorable mention in the Conservation Category of the Australian Birdlife Photo competition. Thanks to Adrian Martins for taking some great photos! ZIYOLOGY, Discovery Channel – Is it possible to develop fear in the womb?
Pet Projects – Cornell Lab of Ornithology  Photo by Sarah Pryke Here is an article published this week in the Cornell Lab of Ornithology by Hugh Powell about our work with wild Gouldian finches. Gouldian breeding soars thanks to artificial nests – Science Network  Photo by Sarah Pryke Here is an article published this week on the Science Network by Geoff Vivian about our recently published work on how nest-boxes have increased endangered populations of the Gouldian finch. Photo by Sarah Pryke Some of the media reports on our recently published paper in Biology Letters, which experimentally demonstrated visual lateralization in mate choice. Gouldian finches appear to only use their right eye in selecting mates; when their right eye is covered (with a patch), birds are no longer able to reliably choose mates. Right eye required for finding Mrs. Right – Science News One-eyed wooing – The Guardian Beauty is in one eye of the . . . → Read More: Beauty is in the (right) eye of the beholder  Photo by Sarah Pryke A field assistant is needed to help Catherine with a project investigating aggression in crimson finches. Field work will be conducted in the East Kimberley region of Western Australia from January to April 2013 (specific dates may vary). This is the wet season in the tropics and temperatures may reach 40oC with very high humidity. Volunteers will be involved with catching and banding birds, locating and monitoring nests, behavioural observations, re-sighting colour bands, habitat assessment and data entry.  Photo by Enrique Cruz Several volunteers are needed to help Maddy with her PhD research on the tawny dragon lizard Ctenophorus decresii, a small agamid lizard. Male dragons found in the Flinders Ranges are seen in four different colour forms. She is investigating if colour types differ in ways additional to their colour and how such diversity is maintained within a population. The work involves catching the lizards, performing behavioural trials, estimating territory size and assessing physiological differences.
Some of the media reports on our recently published paper in Proceedings of the Royal Society (Biological Sciences), which showed that female parrot finches can and do adjust the sex of their offspring to adaptively match them to the expected quality of the rearing environment. Finches will not only fly free but make music at the Gallery of Modern Art – Courier Mail
From Here to Ear, by French artist Celeste Boursier-Mougenot, is an art installation using 60 Gouldian, zebra and crimson finches in the Gallery of Modern Art in Brisbane. Mate mismatches causes stress – Nature A few of the media reports on our recently published paper in Proceedings of the Royal Society (Biological Sciences) that shows the huge stress responses of females that are constrained to breeding with incompatible (genetically dud males).  Photo by Sarah Pryke
On the Gouldian front it is a pretty quiet time of the year in the Kimberley, but a project on a new study species in the area has just started…. the frillneck lizard! Feathers fly in finch war – The Kimberley Echo
An article in the Kimberley Echo on the work by Honours student, Dhanya Pearce, who used stuffed Gouldian and long-tailed finches to look at aggression between the species over competition for nest sites. It seems that zebra finches are not only a model system for biologists – but are also an inspiration for artists. Recently Céleste Boursier-Mougenot presented a major new commission at The Barbican (London) to highlight how the rhythms of daily life can produce sound in unexpected ways. Gouldian finch females maximise mating opportunities – Science Network
Here is an article published this week on the Science Network by Geoff Vivian about our recently published work on the mating tactics of the Gouldian finch. |
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