/newsroom/taxonomy/term/11000/all en /newsroom/channels/news/how-does-one-species-become-many-353924 <p>Evolutionary biologists have long suspected that the diversification of a single species into multiple descendent species – that is, an “adaptive radiation” – is the result of each species adapting to a different environment. Yet formal tests of this hypothesis have been elusive owing to the difficulty of firmly establishing the relationship between species traits and evolutionary “fitness” for a group of related species that recently diverged from a common ancestral species.</p> Thu, 04 Jan 2024 15:16:32 +0000 claire.loewen@mcgill.ca 307568 at /newsroom /newsroom/channels/news/what-skin-piercings-can-teach-us-about-environmental-change-353240 <p>In <a href="https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2023.1174">a new study</a> from ƻ����Ժ, researchers bring science into an unexpected setting: a tattoo parlor. In this first characterization of the human piercing microbiome, the uniquely human cultural practice of piercing serves as a model system to help us better understand how biological communities (re)assemble after catastrophic environmental disturbances.</p> Mon, 04 Dec 2023 17:21:30 +0000 claire.loewen@mcgill.ca 307509 at /newsroom /newsroom/channels/news/new-understanding-reptile-colouration-344812 <p>Snakes and mice don’t look alike. But much of what we know about skin colouration and patterning in vertebrates generally, including in snakes, is based on lab mice. However, there are limits to what mice can tell us about other vertebrates because they don’t share all of the same types of colour-producing cells, known as chromatophores. For example, snakes have a type of chromatophore called iridophores that can generate iridescent colours by reflecting light.</p> Tue, 10 Jan 2023 17:56:14 +0000 katherine.gombay@mcgill.ca 288611 at /newsroom /newsroom/rowan-barrett Fri, 19 Aug 2022 21:08:19 +0000 lawrence.chiang@mail.mcgill.ca 288318 at /newsroom /newsroom/channels/news/secret-lives-darwins-finches-reveal-daily-commutes-equivalent-30-soccer-fields-339840 <p>Using radio transmitters, scientists have gained new insights into the behaviour of medium ground finches in the Galapagos Islands. A study led by ƻ����Ժ researchers reveals daily movement patterns covering an area equivalent to the size of 30 soccer fields.</p> Wed, 08 Jun 2022 16:27:58 +0000 shirley.cardenas@mcgill.ca 288186 at /newsroom /newsroom/channels/news/which-animals-will-survive-climate-change-331031 <p>Climate change is exacerbating problems like habitat loss and temperatures swings that have already pushed many animal species to the brink. But can scientists predict which animals will be able to adapt and survive? Using genome sequencing, <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/mec.15879">researchers from ƻ����Ժ</a> show that some fish, like the threespine stickleback, can adapt very rapidly to extreme seasonal changes. Their findings could help scientists forecast the evolutionary future of these populations.</p> Thu, 13 May 2021 14:02:33 +0000 shirley.cardenas@mcgill.ca 265125 at /newsroom /newsroom/channels/news/study-invasive-predators-watch-prey-297577 <p> Wed, 05 Jun 2019 19:09:01 +0000 cynthia.lee@mcgill.ca 166887 at /newsroom /newsroom/channels/news/evolution-illustrated-293922 <p>What do you get when you put together several tons of steel plates, hundreds of mice, a few evolutionary and molecular biologists and a tiny Nebraska town near the South Dakota border?</p> <p>Would you believe one of the most complete pictures ever of vertebrate evolution?</p> Fri, 01 Feb 2019 15:47:54 +0000 cynthia.lee@mcgill.ca 138214 at /newsroom