Developmental shifts in stage-specific gene expression can provide a ready mechanism of phenotypic change by altering the rate or timing of ontogenetic events. We found that the high-altitude Tibetan antelope (Panthelops hodgsonii) has evolved an adaptive increase in blood-O2 affinity by truncating the ancestral ontoge

Long-distance migration can be seen throughout the animal kingdom and can have large impacts on population dynamics and species distributions. The act of migration itself also affects the evolution of a species, as evolutionary forces select for certain characteristics in animals conducting long-distance migration. Monarch butterflies are best known for their annual migration from Canada and the northern United States to central Mexico, but some populations of monarchs have lost the ability to migrate.

The century-old idea that stripes make zebras cryptic to large carnivores has never been examined systematically. We evaluated this hypothesis by passing digital images of zebras through species-specific spatial and colour filters to simulate their appearance for the visual systems of zebras’ primary predators and zebras themselves. We also measured stripe widths and luminance contrast to estimate the maximum distances from which lions, spotted hyaenas, and zebras can resolve stripes.

Long-distance migration can lower parasite prevalence if strenuous journeys remove infected animals from wild populations. We examined wild monarch butterflies (Danaus plexippus) to investigate the potential costs of the protozoan Ophryocystis elektroscirrha on migratory success. We collected monarchs from two wintering sites in central Mexico to compare infection status with hydrogen isotope (δ2H) measurements as an indicator of latitude of origin at the start of fall migration.

We still do not know 60-70% of the living insect species in India and almost all of these yet unnamed species probably occur only in our Protected Areas now. 'No permits to survey in' or 'unrestricted access to these areas given to qualified specialist scientists' means no knowledge about three quarters of our subcontinent's biota.