Australopithecus sediba was a C3 muncher (so say the teeth)
Posted 27 Jun 2012 / 0Nature “The diet of Australopithecus sediba“
A Minor Post, Homo species, Human EvolutionHigh tech ad hoc fixes face off against good old-fashioned prevention in the Baltic Sea
Posted 27 Jun 2012 / 0Nature Comment “Save the Baltic Sea“
A Minor Post, Biomes, Conservation BiologyLeaving with empty hands, should Rio+20 participants nonetheless leave with a sense of optimism?
Posted 27 Jun 2012 / 0Nature Editorial “A First Step“
A Minor Post, Conservation Biology, Public Policy, SustainabilityAntibiotic overuse: a porcine tragedy of the commons
Posted 27 Jun 2012 / 0Nature Editorial “Pig out“
A Minor Post, CooperationIdentifying the genes that gave dolphins their big brains
Posted 27 Jun 2012 / 0Science Now “Building a Bigger Dolphin Brain“
A Minor Post, Brain size, Cetaceans, Cognitive Ability, Genetics, NeuroscienceThe ecological impacts of the BP-Deepwater Horizon oil spill quantified
Posted 27 Jun 2012 / 0Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences “Degradation and resilience in Louisiana salt marshes after the BP–Deepwater Horizon oil spill” Kudos to PNAS for making this important paper open access. There is some depressing data here, as oil-slicked marshes with complete die-off of grasses were quickly eroded. But for those that were not eroded, the Read More
A Minor Post, Anthropogenic Change, Biodiversity Loss, Bogs & Wetlands, Conservation Biology, Habitat DestructionPerhaps nestedness is just an artifact of ecological opportunity (and not stability)
Posted 27 Jun 2012 / 0One of my chief interests is stability: I am curious about what allows for the persistence of genes, individuals, groups, species, and communities. This is a broad question and it may not have single, simple answer, but it is exciting to think that there may be ‘rules of stability’ in nature that might help us Read More
A Major Post, Articles, Coevolution, Ecological Modeling, Interactions, Mutualism, Mutualistic Networks, Pollination, System StabilityCondors, hunters, and the National Rifle Association
Posted 27 Jun 2012 / 0Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences “Lead poisoning and the deceptive recovery of the critically endangered California condor” Nature News “California condors face lead menace“
A Minor Post, Anthropogenic Change, Conservation Biology, ExtinctionJerry Coyne refutes the E.O. Wilson NYT piece
Posted 27 Jun 2012 / 0Why Evolution is True “Did human social behavior evolve via group selection? E. O. Wilson defends that view in the NYT” Anyone who reads my posts here has learned that I find Jerry Coyne’s general tone to be really annoying and that I am predisposed to entertain group selective explanations of human behavior. But with Read More
A Minor Post, Cooperation, Group Selection, Human Evolution, Multilevel SelectionE.O. Wilson on the biological origins of sin and virtue
Posted 27 Jun 2012 / 0The New York Times Opinionator “Evolution and Our Inner Conflict“
A Minor Post, Evolutionary Psychology, Human Evolution, Human Nature, Psychological Adaptation