Songbirds may have 'borrowed' DNA to fuel migration

A common songbird may have acquired genes from fellow migrating birds in order to travel greater distances, according to a University of British Columbia study published this week in the journal Evolution.

Fifth endemic NZ songbird family identified

New Zealand's unique biodiversity has been strengthened with the identification of a new endemic songbird family—the family Mohouidae—which includes the endangered Yellowhead, the Whitehead and the Brown Creeper.

Genomic analysis solves the turtle mystery

The turtle has always been considered somewhat odd in evolutionary terms. In addition to lacking the hole in the skull—the temporal fenestra—that is characteristic of the egg-laying amniotes, the structure of its shell ...

Living fossils? Actually, sturgeon are evolutionary speedsters

Efforts to restore sturgeon in the Great Lakes region have received a lot of attention in recent years, and many of the news stories note that the prehistoric-looking fish are "living fossils" virtually unchanged for millions ...

Environmental change triggers rapid evolution

A University of Leeds-led study, published in the journal Ecology Letters, overturns the common assumption that evolution only occurs gradually over hundreds or thousands of years.

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