Darwin was not a well man

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Darwin was not a well man
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The sight of a feather in a peacocks tail,
whenever I gaze at it, makes me sick!
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balderdash
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Photo Graham Stephinson
Photo Lindsay Hansch

• Headspot
• Chin
• Breast
• Wingbar

Photo Lindsay Hansch
Photo David Cook
Males of the 5 species of Petroica robin in the
Canberra region
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humbug
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• it was easy to see that she was the most
  graceful of all the dancers, for her handicap
  bags were as big as those worn by two-hundred
  pound men
• Harrison Bergeron (1961) by Kurt Vonnegut

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Long-tailed manakin (Chiroxiphia mentalis)
50
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Number of males
10
10
20
30
40
50
60
0
No. of copulations obtained in 10 years
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The paradox of the lek Selection kills the
thing it loves
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Condition-dependence and genic capture

• Will favour signals that represent underlying
  condition honestly
• Will continue to evolve via genic capture
• Can exacerbate mutational variance

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The least faithful bird
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Courtship and choice
Photo Barrie Britton
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Photo Geoffrey Dabb
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Annual fitness
Cockburn et al (2008) Proc R Soc B Special Issue
Week turned blue
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Thanks to Loeske Kruuk Mike Double Helen Osmond
The sight of a feather in a peacocks tail,
whenever I gaze at it, makes me sick!