Sex Allocation

The National Evolutionary Synthesis Center is holding a contest - $750 towards attending SciOnline 2010 for two bloggers who write exceptional evolutionary blog posts in 2009. Living in Hawaii, it's tough to afford the round trip to North Carolina all by me onesies, so here's my attempt at getting the funds! UPDATE: I WON! Thanks, NESCent!! See you all at SciOnline 2010! When Good Genes Go Bad We tend to think of evolution as a directional process, whether its from simplicity to complexity or 'less fit' to 'more fit.' Even the classic images of evolution, like the evolution of man, reveal our…
tags: researchblogging.org, dichromatism, mating system, plumage color, sex allocation, eclectus parrots, Eclectus roratus, ornithology, birds, avian, parrots Elektra, my female Solomon Islands eclectus parrot, Eclectus roratus solomonensis. This is the smallest and most distinctively marked of all the subspecies of eclectus parrots. Image: GrrlScientist 4 July 2008 [larger view]. Some of you might recall the recent story about scientists learning to identify plumage coloration from fossilized feathers. This might seem a sort of esoteric pursuit meant to entertain scientists with access…