by Whiting | Jun 8, 2018 | Anti-predator behaviour, Behaviour, Bluetongue lizard, Bluetongue skink, Colour, Communication, Deimatic display
An enduring question among fans of blue-tongue lizards is why the blue tongue? Why have such an outrageously coloured tongue, given that the vast majority of lizards have a regular old pink tongue? Blueys (bluetongue skinks) are something of an Australian icon. They...
by Whiting | Dec 2, 2017 | Animal signals, Behaviour, China field work, Colour, Communication, Crocodile lizard, Dispatches from the field
It’s been a very busy year, which explains why I am only now writing this blog post from my trip to China earlier this year (May-June). I had the amazing opportunity of seeing one of the world’s most endangered lizards—the crocodile lizard (Shinisaurus crocodilurus),...
by Whiting | Sep 23, 2017 | Animal signals, Behaviour, Colour, Communication, Frog
Imagine being a frog during the chaos of the breeding season and navigating the gathering crowds around the pond. How do you know who might be a suitable mate let alone whether they are male or female? One solution is colour. If one sex, typically males, is able to...
by Fonti Kar | Sep 6, 2017 | Animal signals, Cognition, Communication, Water skink project
Note: this blog post is republished from Fonti’s web site Dominant individuals tend to have greater monopoly over food and mates and therefore have more offspring compared to subordinate individuals. Are these successes attributed to greater cognitive ability?...
by Whiting | Jun 22, 2015 | Animal signals, Colour, Communication, Publications, Science news
Interested in colour signals and wondering about the best approaches to researching colour and what you should be reporting? Two recent papers from members of the lab and fellow researchers at Macquarie and elsewhere should help! In the first paper, Kemp et al....
by Whiting | Nov 10, 2013 | Animal signals, China field work, Communication
Read our latest lab post on CNN iReporter to see video of a Chinese toad-headed agama taking charge of a researcher (name withheld). Note that there are two videos. The better video is the second one, behind the first one (click arrow/number). Here is a photo of said...
