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Monthly Archives: September 2011
Making German Evolution: Translation and Tragedy
Lynn Nyhart addresses the history of science by analyzing the portrayal of Ernst Haeckel, a well known German biologist. Haeckel is the author of the biogenetic law, but sometimes better remembered for promoting European fascism, some believe his views and … Continue reading
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Bright Ocean Waters
Early bioluminescent systems were unlikely to be able to be intense enough to produce visible light; therefore the question is posed on why these primitive light systems were selected for. Observed functions of bioluminescence include defense mechanisms (such as smokescreening … Continue reading
The big question…
During our discussions last week, the same question kept coming back to me, and I thought it might be a good blog question to start a discussion on here, as it is somewhat of a charged question. (And I am … Continue reading
“Intrasexual competition facilitates the evolution of alternative mating strategies in a color polymorphic fish (Poecilia parae)”
“Intrasexual competition facilitates the evolution of alternative mating strategies in a color polymorphic fish (Poecilia parae).” Jorge L. Hurtado-Gonzales and Albert C. Uy. BMC Evolutionary Biology, 2010, 10:391. One of the most interesting things I found about the study done … Continue reading
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Tagged color, mate choice, P. parae, polymorphism, sexual selection
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The Bacterial Species Challenge
As if the taxonomic classification of eukaryotic organisms wasn’t difficult enough, the immense diversity in the kingdoms Bacteria and Archaea makes classification of these single-celled organisms immensely tricky and amorphous. Multicellular organisms like most eukaryotes can be classified based on … Continue reading
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“Extreme Color Variation within Populations of the Common Gartersnake, Thamnophis sirtalis, in Central North America, with Implications for Subspecies Status”
The researchers in the article, “Extreme Color Variation within Populations of the Common Gartersnake, Thamnophis sirtalis, in Central North America, with Implications for Subspecies Status,” describe the color frequency among the common garter snake in 9 different sampling sites. The … Continue reading
“Evolutionary Game Theory as a Framework for Studying Biological Invasions”
“Evolutionary Game Theory as a Framework for Studying Biological Invasions” Pintor, L.M., Brown, J.S. and Vincent T.L. 2011. American Naturalist We started our discussion of the paper “Evolutionary Game Theory as a Framework for Studying Biological Invasions” with a quick … Continue reading
Darwin’s Originality
It is always interesting to me to return to, and discuss, the original ideas that Darwin proposed over 200 years ago. Every time I reread about the process by which he developed his theory of evolution by means of natural … Continue reading
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Alexander von Humboldt and the General Physics of the Earth
How is it possible for someone to study science for the better part of two decades and to only now hear of Alexander von Humboldt upon entering graduate school? Stephen T. Jackson’s short biography offered me a first glimpse of … Continue reading
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Tagged Alexander von Humboldt, biogeography, Stephen T. Jackson
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On the Origin of Photosynthesis
It is simple to understand why photosynthesis was necessary to evolve and why it was favorable to both plants and other organisms that used sunlight to generate its own food source; water is abundant so using it as an electron … Continue reading