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Category Archives: Uncategorized
The evolution of hyperactivity, impulsivity and cognitive diversity
This paper focuses on the past and current effects of the impulsivity trait associated with ADHD, specifically the hyperactive/impulse subtype of ADHD, also referred to as ADHD-HI. One of the main questions in the class discussion was what is the … Continue reading
Predator-Driven Trait Diversification in a Dragonfly Genus: Covariation in Behavioral and Morphological Antipredator Defense
The impact of predation on phenotypic diversity is a topic that has only been studied recently. Prey use predator-specific correlated sets of morphological and behavioral traits to deter predators, and depending on the selection regime, these traits can be differently … Continue reading
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Tagged Antipredator Defense, Covariation, Dragonfly, Ecology, Odonata
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Ecological and Evolutionary Consequences of Coastal Invasions: A review
The paper “Ecological and Evolutionary consequences of Coastal Invasions,” by Edwin Grosholz presented a review of the literature regarding invasive species in estuarine and marine environments. He begins with an introduction of how these environments are among the most invaded … Continue reading
Coral reefs promote the evolution of morphological diversity and ecological novelty in labrid fishes.
S.A. Price, R. Holzman, T.J. Near, and P.C. Wainwright. Ecology Letters 2011 14: 462-469 Those of us studying biology are familiar with the concept that coral reefs support biodiversity. The authors of this paper nicely demonstrate this concept and give … Continue reading
Reproductive performance of alternative male phenotypes of growth hormone transgenic Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar)
The ever-increasing human population places increasing stress on global food resources. In response to this, an idea to improve fish farming has come about to create transgenic salmon that would have an increased growth rate. Researchers have been able to … Continue reading
Serotonin and aggressive behavior in rodents and nonhuman primates: Predisposition and plasticity
The authors in this review analyze research involving aggressive behavior in rodents (mice and rats), nonhuman primates (Old World Monkeys and Chimpanzees) and humans and attempt to categorize the aggression as either adaptive to evolution or pathological. They divide adaptive … Continue reading
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Tagged 5-HIAA, 5-HT, Aggression, allele, knockout mice, MOA-A, polymorphism, primates
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Metabolic evolution of energy-conserving pathways for succinate production in Escherichia coli
This biochemistry paper was definitely a grueling one, but I am glad we worked our way through it and brought up some interesting questions. One of the questions that was brought up was, how do we gauge the level of … Continue reading
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Breakdown of the brown trout evolutionary history due to hybridization between native and cultivated fish
As previously discussed, fishing tends to exploit certain size and age classes in populations, leaving managers with the problem of maintaining healthy populations. Last week we discussed how somatic growth rate and population levels of harvest will evolve in directions … Continue reading
Life-History Evolution When Lestes Damselflies Invaded Vernal Ponds
While copious research has been conducted on the evolution of morphological characters, the macroevolution of life-history traits along environmental gradients is a relatively unknown field of study. Life-History Theory posits that the timing and duration of important events in an … Continue reading
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Tagged Damselflies, Ecology, Environmental Gradient, Life Histories, Odonata
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Sustaining Fisheries Yields Over Evolutionary Time Scales
Fisheries want to exploit the largest fish, usually enforcing minimum size limits, which creates a truncated size and age distributing that lack larger and older fish. This form of management tends to ignore the potential for evolutionary change in harvestable … Continue reading