Christopher X J. Jensen
Professor, Pratt Institute

Are the population dynamics of Dupont’s lark dictated by multilevel selective pressures?

Posted 25 Jun 2012 / 0

A fascinating new paper published this week in the journal PLoS One demonstrates how selection acting at least three different levels produces distinct selective pressures that shape the song behavior of male Dupont’s lark (Chersophilus duponti) in the Ebro Valley of northwestern Spain. Authored by Paola Laiolo and José Ramón Obeso and entitled “Multilevel Selection Read More

A Major Post, Articles, Behavior, Competition, Group Selection, Multilevel Selection, Population Growth

New study published in Ecology Letters quantifies the effects of intensive agriculture on large-scale biodiversity

Posted 25 Jun 2012 / 0

Ecology Letters “Intensive agriculture erodes β-diversity at large scales“

A Minor Post, Biodiversity Loss

Once again David Sloan Wilson defends himself using facts

Posted 25 Jun 2012 / 0

This View of Life “Pugilistic Science“

A Minor Post

Once again Jerry Coyne goes ad hominem to defend evolutionary orthodoxy

Posted 25 Jun 2012 / 0

Why 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, Web

Bird study suggests that multilevel selection theory is necessary to understand population dynamics

Posted 25 Jun 2012 / 0

PLoS 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 Growth

Is sexual practice coevolving with our cultural technologies?

Posted 25 Jun 2012 / 0

The Chronicle of Higher Education “Sex 2.0“

A Minor Post, Cultural Evolution, Sex and Reproduction

Most people (at least in Spain) recognize the value of ecosystem services, but their valuation varies

Posted 25 Jun 2012 / 0

PLoS One “Uncovering Ecosystem Service Bundles through Social Preferences“

A Minor Post, Ecosystem Services

Could differential symbiosis be a mechanism by which genetically-variable hosts speciate?

Posted 25 Jun 2012 / 0

PLoS One “Symbiotic Associations in the Phenotypically-Diverse Brown Alga Saccharina japonica“

A Minor Post, Mutualism, Speciation

Would you like a few red-listed species with that shrimp cocktail sir?

Posted 25 Jun 2012 / 0

PLoS 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 Harvesting

New assessment of scientific reasoning skills suggests that students need better inquiry-based education

Posted 24 Jun 2012 / 0

Science Insider “U.S. Students Know What, But Not Why“

A Minor Post, Ecology Education, Evolution Education, Higher Education, Teaching