NEWS

Researchers have long believed that almost no wild animals — boobies included — live to old age, simply because parasites, predators or the elements get them first. As male boobies age, the researchers found, their sperm suffers the same kinds of degeneration that human sperm does. At the same time, they change in more visible ways — including a fading of the distinctive blueness of their feet. Female boobies — no fools — generally give these seniors a pass, opting instead to mate with the boys who retain their blue hue.

The study, published in Journal Evolutionary Biology, was highlighted  in  Times, ScienecDaily, Muy Interesante, El Mundo, RTVE

Abstaining Boobies Get "Sexier"
Male blue-footed boobies that take a yearlong sex sabbatical get a brighter shade of blue in their feet the following year, which makes them more attractive to females, a new study says.

The study, published in The Royal Society's Biology Letters, was highlighted  in National Geographic and Times.

You can see a National Geographic video here

The blue-footed booby lays blue eggs.
Our study published in  Naturwissenschaften reveals that the more intense this blue colour, the more evenly parents share the responsibility of incubating. This suggests that egg colour is linked to the "reproductive quality" of the parent birds. This study is highlighted in BBC News

Spot on Gulls' Beaks Can Indicate Poisons
Gulls exposed to oil pollution are found to have smaller red spots on their bills than their healthy counterparts, thanks to lower levels of a key enzyme in their blood.  Our paper published in Biology Letters  is highlighted in Discovery News and BBC News

 Families on the spot: role of sexual signals on paren-offsping conflict.
Sexual signals have been largely ignored in the context of intra-familial behavior and negotiations. Our results demonstrate that the red spot of adult birds is a signal that simultaneously affects both the sexual and the parent-offspring conflict.  Our paper published in Proceedings of Royal Society B  is highlighted in spektrumdirekt

Female birds sacrifice health to create more colourful eggs
Our paper published in Behavioural Ecology and Sociobiology is highlighted in Nature News. In this paper we show that blue eggs are costly to females in terms of antioxidant defenses.