Survival of the fastest

Greg Hurst, Sylvain Charlat, Emily Hornett, Nina Wedell

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

In some species, the sex ration can be biased towards daughters by the action of inherited parasites and in the case of the Hypolimnas bolina butterfly in Polynesia, the parasite is known as the Wolbachia bacteria. The male-killing bacterium is no longer a male-killer as was observed 30 years ago due to evolution. A gene that suppresses the action of the male-killer is now featured in the butterfly. The trend is different in other islands, though, as as recently as 2001, the ratio of female to male is 1:100.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)27
Number of pages1
JournalPlanet Earth
Issue numberAUTUMN
Publication statusPublished - 1 Sept 2007
Externally publishedYes

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