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
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
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
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