New study published in Ecology Letters quantifies the effects of intensive agriculture on large-scale biodiversity
Posted 25 Jun 2012 / 0Ecology Letters “Intensive agriculture erodes β-diversity at large scales“
A Minor Post, Biodiversity LossOnce again David Sloan Wilson defends himself using facts
Posted 25 Jun 2012 / 0This View of Life “Pugilistic Science“
A Minor PostOnce again Jerry Coyne goes ad hominem to defend evolutionary orthodoxy
Posted 25 Jun 2012 / 0Why Evolution is True “David Sloan Wilson loses it again” This is the guy who is the Past President of the Society for the Study of Evolution, and he just cannot seem to keep his comments focused on science. There are some really great ideas discussed here, particularly about the nature of selfish genes and the Read More
A Minor Post, Group Selection, Kin Selection, Natural Selection, WebBird study suggests that multilevel selection theory is necessary to understand population dynamics
Posted 25 Jun 2012 / 0PLoS One “Multilevel Selection and Neighbourhood Effects from Individual to Metapopulation in a Wild Passerine” I am about to dive into a close reading of this paper, but it suggests that perhaps the reason we do not record multilevel selection pressures is in part because we do not go looking for them.
A Minor Post, Birds, Multilevel Selection, Population GrowthIs sexual practice coevolving with our cultural technologies?
Posted 25 Jun 2012 / 0The Chronicle of Higher Education “Sex 2.0“
A Minor Post, Cultural Evolution, Sex and ReproductionMost people (at least in Spain) recognize the value of ecosystem services, but their valuation varies
Posted 25 Jun 2012 / 0PLoS One “Uncovering Ecosystem Service Bundles through Social Preferences“
A Minor Post, Ecosystem ServicesCould differential symbiosis be a mechanism by which genetically-variable hosts speciate?
Posted 25 Jun 2012 / 0PLoS One “Symbiotic Associations in the Phenotypically-Diverse Brown Alga Saccharina japonica“
A Minor Post, Mutualism, SpeciationWould you like a few red-listed species with that shrimp cocktail sir?
Posted 25 Jun 2012 / 0PLoS ONE “Management Implications of the Biodiversity and Socio-Economic Impacts of Shrimp Trawler By-Catch in Bahía de Kino, Sonora, México” Anyone who cares about marine conservation and believes that they can ethically eat seafood is somewhat delusional. Further evidence that there is no such thing as industrial-scale “safe catch”.
A Minor Post, Biodiversity Loss, Marine Ecosystems, Resource Consumption, Sustainable HarvestingNew assessment of scientific reasoning skills suggests that students need better inquiry-based education
Posted 24 Jun 2012 / 0Science Insider “U.S. Students Know What, But Not Why“
A Minor Post, Ecology Education, Evolution Education, Higher Education, TeachingApparently you need to know something about rare granite erosion to understand the evolution of multicellularity
Posted 24 Jun 2012 / 0Science Now “You Owe Your Life to Rock“
A Minor Post, Fossil Data, Geology