The ruff's three types have coexisted for millions of years. The original genome produces what's called an "independent" male, making up 80 percent to 95 percent of the male population.

David Lank, a biologist at Simon Fraser University, holds a ruff. Plumage is everything in the bird world, and for a certain type of male ruff, scientists have found that genes are responsible for ...

The ruff has one of the weirdest sexual systems in the world – all thanks to a large piece of chromosome that was flipped over 3.8 million years ago. A type of wading sandpiper, ruffs are named ...

Male phenotypes in the ruff. (Left) Independent ruff males interacting at a lek. (Right) A Satellite ruff male with pale ornamental feathers at a lek. Photos courtesy of Tom Schandy. Ruff males ...

A single gene that regulates testosterone levels in a "crazy" species of shore bird controls the development of three wildly different types of males, an international study involving researchers ...

Since 1984, I have studied the ruff, Philomachus pugnax, a sandpiper species which presents particular challenges for behavioral, population and evolutionary biologists because it has a stable genetic ...

Studies of a distinctive wading bird have identified a genetic quirk which gives rise to three types of male bird within the same species, according to researchers. Scientists at the University of ...

image: Independent male ruff at lek with colourful ruff and head tuft. view more . Credit: Ola Jennersten. ... Three different types of ruff males occur at the leks of this species.

The ruff is a magnificent example. This small wader from the wetlands of northern Europe and Asia has not one but three types of male, differing in appearance and reproductive strategy.

Get Instant Summarized Text (GIST) A gene producing the enzyme HSD17B2 regulates testosterone levels in ruffs, a bird species with three distinct male morphs.

A single gene that regulates testosterone levels in a 'crazy' species of shore bird controls the development of three wildly different types of males, a new study has found. Ruffs have long ...