physilology

technical editor of science (the discipline, not the publication) and former long-form blogger for scientific american (wonderful gig, but life got busy). here there be links, photos, and short descriptions of sciencey things that I like.

Posted 8 months ago
Photo credit: Brian Peer
A gynandromorph cardinal: one half male, the other half female
Reader Brian Peer sends us a photo of a “gynandromorph” cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis). A gynandromorph, as the name implies, is an animal that is part male and part female, with the sex-specific parts usually demarcated cleanly. […] This, by the way, is a very graphic demonstration of the differences between males and females, with the brighter color of the male almost certainly reflecting sexual selection (with bright colors presumably advantageous in males because they attract females, but disadvantageous in females because they attract predators).

Read more on Jerry Coyne’s blog Why Evolution Is True to find out how this happens.
- science
- biology
- northern cardinal
- genetics
- birds
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  Yes, the males would also attract predators, but I think it’s less important because they’re not forced to be stationary...
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