Science Now “Pumas Leave Table Scraps” This is an interesting story because it suggests that Pumas maintain strong ecological interaction strengths with not just their prey but also all these commensal species. This finding makes it a lot harder to discount top predators as simply consumers whose only role is in depleting prey populations: for Read More
A Minor Post, Commensalism, Community Ecology, Predation, WebNature “The bonobo genome compared with the chimpanzee and human genomes” Nature News “‘Hippie chimp’ genome sequenced” ScienceNow “Bonobos Join Chimps as Closest Human Relatives“
A Minor Post, Articles, Human Evolution, Human Uniqueness, Phylogenetics, Primates, Primatology, WebSocial Bat “Why vampire bats are a good experimental model of cooperation: natural, cognitive, and controllable” I particularly like Gerry’s two-dimensional space representing different systems on the basis of their complexity and natural-ness!
A Minor Post, Cooperation, WebThe Huffington Post David Sloan Wilson blog “Richard Dawkins, Edward O. Wilson, and the Consensus of the Many” This is a very clear articulation of the history of multilevel selection. If only all biologists (in particular those who do not work in areas investigating altruistic behavior) could be compelled to read this; a lot of Read More
A Minor Post, Cooperation, Human Evolution, Human Uniqueness, Superorganisms, WebDarwinian Conservatism “Darwinian Natural Right in E. O. Wilson’s New Book” One of the most interesting issues raised by this post has to do with “evolutionary ethics” and that question of whether there is a natural morality. I would caution against confusing this issue with the “naturalistic fallacy”, which to me has to do with Read More
A Minor Post, Cooperation, Ethics, Social Norms, WebScientific American Blogs “On selfish genes and human behaviour“
A Minor Post, Evolution, Genetics, Natural Selection, WebUnion of Concerned Scientists Cooler Smarter This is a much more simple footprint calculator than the ones I use in my classes, but it might be useful for people who want a quick snapshot of the carbon impacts of their behavioral choices.
A Minor Post, Activism, Ecological Footprinting, Sustainable Energy, WebScientific American Blogs “The Art of Eavesdropping: Nature’s Silent Sniffers, Watchers and Listeners”
A Minor Post, Behavior, Behavioral Ecology, Canids, WebScientific American Images of the Week “Guns in Ancient Egypt and Nubia?“
A Minor Post, Cultural Evolution, Memetic Fitness, WebBBC News “Big rise in North Pacific plastic waste” Two unsurprising findings here: The amount of plastic garbage in the ocean has dramatically increased over the past 40 years; and Some organisms are going to utilize this new resource to their advantage.
A Minor Post, Adaptation, Marine Ecosystems, Pollution, Web