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Research on quality signal development typically focuses on signals with production costs; less is known about signals that lack production costs (conventional signals). Here, I test the condition dependence and heritability of the facial patterns that function as a conventional signal of quality in Polistes dominulus wasps. Two aspects of facial patterns are compared: (1) amount of black pigment (no signal value) and (2) disruption in the black pigment's distribution (quality signal). When colonies received the same diet, they produced offspring with similar facial patterns and both traits were heritable. However, experimental diet manipulation substantially influenced quality signal development. Wasps fed unlimited caterpillars developed more disrupted facial patterns than wasps fed a restricted diet. Further, signal heritability was obscured following the diet treatment. In contrast, the nonsignaling trait was not influenced by the diet treatment and remained heritable. Overall, the quality signal in P. dominulus is condition dependent and heritable, but its heritability may be obscured by environmental variance. The nonsignaling aspect of wasp facial patterns is not condition dependent and is more consistently heritable across environments. Therefore, the information a signal conveys may be influenced by its developmental properties rather than its honesty-ensuring cost or the pigments that constitute it. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents a study which tested social contract theory in an effort to measure reproductive skew in 24 cofoundress associations of paper wasps, Polistes bellicosus. What was used to test the social contracts theory of the wasps; Problems encountered with measuring skew; Details on the social contracts models used in this study; Results of this study.

We describe new ESS models of density regulation driven by genic selection to explain the cyclical dynamics of a social system that exhibits a rock-paper-scissors (RPS) set of three alternative strategies. We tracked changes in morph frequency and fitness of Lacerta vivipara and found conspicuous RPS cycles. Morphs of Uta and Lacerta exhibited parallel survival-performance trade-offs. Frequency cycles in both species of lizards are driven by genic selection. In Lacerta, frequency of each allele in adult cohorts had significant impacts on juvenile recruitment, similar to mutualistic, altruistic, and antagonistic relations of RPS alleles in Uta. We constructed evolutionarily stable strategy (ESS) models in which adults impact juvenile recruitment as a function of self versus nonself color recognition. ESS models suggest that the rapid 4-year RPS cycles exhibited by Lacerta are not possible unless three factors are present: behaviors evolve that discriminate self versus nonself morphs at higher rates than random, self- versus non-self-recognition contributes to density regulation, and context-dependent mate choice evolves in females, which choose sire genotypes to enhance progeny survival. We suggest genic selection coupled to density regulation is widespread and thus fundamental to theories of social system evolution as well as theories of population regulation in diverse animal taxa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The production schedules of males and reproductive females by the foundress queens and the ratios of parental investment in males and reproductive females (investment sex ratios) of successful colonies are compared for several temperate and subtropical paper wasps. The production schedules are classified into three types: males and reproductive females are produced simultaneously (simultaneous production), males are produced before reproductive females (protandrous production), and reproductive females are produced before males (protogynous production). The investment sex ratios for various species vary from about parity to a strong predominance of females. But significant combinations of the production-schedule type and the magnitude of the investment ratio are found. In four species with simultaneous production, the investment ratios are about 1:1. In five species with protandrous production, the ratio is more than 4:1, except for one species, for which the investment ratio seems to be underestimated. In three species with protogynous production, the female bias is moderate in two species and strong in one. The possible causes leading to these results are discussed. This study shows the error of using a single explanation for the investment sex ratios of annual paper wasps and the importance of a close examination of the social system of each species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The last century has seen enormous environmental degradation: many populations are in drastic decline, and their ecosystems have been vastly altered. There is an urgent need to understand the causes of the decline, how the species interact with other components of the environment, and how ecosystem integrity is determined. A brief review of marine systems emphasizes the importance of natural sciences to understanding the systems and finding solutions. These environmental crises coincide with the virtual banishment of natural sciences in academe, which eliminate the opportunity for both young scientists and the general public to learn the fundamentals that help us predict population levels and the responses by complex systems to environmental variation. Science and management demands that complex systems be simplified, but the art of appropriate simplification depends on a basic understanding of the important natural history. It seems unlikely that meaningful conservation and restoration can be accomplished unless we recover the tradition of supporting research in and the teaching of natural history. We must reinstate natural science courses in all our academic institutions to insure that students experience nature first-hand and are instructed in the fundamentals of the natural sciences.

A major bottleneck in the time required to publish a scientific or scholarly paper is the speed with which reviews by peers are returned to journals. Peer review is a reciprocal altruistic system in which each individual may perform every task--editors, reviewers, and authors--at different times. Journals have no way to coerce reviewers to return their critiques faster. To greatly shorten the time to publication, all actors in this altruistic network should abide by the Golden Rule of Reviewing: review for others as you would have others review for you. Say yes to reviewing whenever your duties and schedule allow; provide a thorough, fair, and constructive critique of the work; and do it at your first opportunity regardless of the deadline. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents an announcement regarding various research papers published in the February 2004 issue of the journal "American Naturalist." the journal is taking this course for three reasons, scientific publishing is changing rapidly, electronic publishing is taking larger role, the advent of electronic publishing is radically changing its way in which scientific way can be communicated. There are advantages to the publishing articles electronically because such papers will be freely available to anyone on the Internet.

The article presents information about several awards presented by the American Society of Naturalists. The President's award of the American Society of Naturalists is given to the best paper that appeared in the journal "American Naturalist" in the preceding calendar year. The Edward Osborne Wilson Naturalist Award was established in 1997 on the occasion of Professor Wilson's retirement in recognition of his lifetime of outstanding contributions in the areas of ecology and evolutionary biology, including the study of social insects, biodiversity, and biophilia. The Sewall Wright Award, which recognizes a senior-level active researcher for significant and continuing contributions to the objectives of the American Society of Naturalists, was awarded in 2005 to Robert E. Ricklefs. The Young Investigators' Prizes recognize outstanding and promising work by investigators who received their doctorates in the three years preceding the application deadline or are in their final year of graduate school. The prizes include presentation of a research paper at the annual meeting of the American Society of Naturalists, reimbursement for travel to the annual meeting, and a $500 honorarium.

Although there has been much experimental work on floral traits that are under selection from mutualists and antagonists, selection by abiotic environmental factors on flowers has been largely ignored. Here we test whether pollen susceptibility to rain damage could have played a role in the evolution of the reproductive architecture of Davidia involucrata, an endemic in the mountains of western China. Flowers in this tree species lack a perianth and are arranged in capitula surrounded by large (up to 10 cm) bracts that at anthesis turn from green to white, losing their photosynthetic capability. Flowers are nectarless, and pollen grains are presented on the recurved anther walls for 5-7 days. Flower visitors, and likely pollinators, were mainly pollen-collecting bees from the genera Apis, Xylocopa, Halictus, and Lasioglossum. Capitula with natural or white paper bracts attracted significantly more bees per hour than capitula that had their bracts removed or replaced by green paper. Experimental immersion of pollen grains in water resulted in rapid loss of viability, and capitula with bracts lost less pollen to rain than did capitula that had their bracts removed, suggesting that the bracts protect the pollen from rain damage as well as attracting pollinators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article comments on the study "Detecting population differences in quantitative characters as opposed to gene frequencies" by R. C. Lewontin in the 1984 issue and on the study " Population differences in quantitative characters as opposed to gene frequencies" by A. R. Rogers in the 1986 issue. Topics include Lewontin and Rogers stated to differ in what their formulas imply about testing quantitative characters versus gene frequencies, and the omission of a calculation of the variances.

The article offers information on several reports presented during the American Society of Naturalists (ASN) Executive Council Meeting held in Snowbird, Utah on June 21-25, 2013. ASN president Dolph Schluter reported on a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the University of Chicago Press (UCP) and ASN. Treasurer Catherine Graham's report that ASN is making profit. Secretary's report focused on election of president and vice president of ASN.

The article discusses papers published in the issue, including one by Shemske on Charles Darwin's views on speciation, one by Pfennig and Pfennig on Darwin's concept of adaptive divergence and how it affects species coexistence, and one by Presgraves on Darwin's discussion of hybrid sterility.

The article provides updates on the American Society of Naturalists (ASN). Stevan Arnold was elected president and will serve from 2011 to 2015. He will consequently be joined by Hopi Hoekstra as his vice president from 2011 to 2013. Kate Boersma is stepping down as the ASN graduate student representative, however, the appointment for her successor is unclear.

Predation risk has long been known to exert a strong influence on behavior, but no study to date has determined whether predators influence offspring antipredator behavior via maternal effects. Here, we provide a unique example of a transgenerational maternal effect in antipredator behavior that takes the form of a "warning" about predators that female fall field crickets Gryllus pennsylvanicus transmit to their offspring. Specifically, the offspring of gravid crickets exposed to a wolf spider Hogna helluo exhibit greater antipredator immobility in response to Hogna chemical cues than do offspring of nonexposed females. These "forewarned" crickets exhibit greater survival in the presence of Hogna than do those not forewarned. Accordingly, gravid crickets from areas with significant Hogna populations produce offspring that are more responsive to Hogna cues than do those from nearby Hogna-free areas. Such transgenerational maternal effects may be more common than currently realized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article announces two awards given by the American Society of Naturalists to scientists including the Sewall Wright Award to biologist Dolph Schluter and the E. O. Wilson Award to ecologist Trevor Price.

The article reports on the activities that happened in 2006 for the American Society of Naturalists. The executive meeting held June 23, 2006 emphasized on the success of the three-editor system and electronic papers of the society's publication. The business meeting of the society focused on the presentation of the anti-wedge document to the Joint Council, which establishes medium-term and long-term goals to defend and promote the teaching of evolutionary biology. The next meeting of the joint committee pointed on the support of the Joint Council to the anti-wedge document.

The article presents information about the report presented by Judith Bronstein, who succeeded Timothy Wootton as American Society of Naturalists (ASN) secretary in January 2004. Subsequent activities were focused on conducting the annual election. Voting instructions were sent out electronically, and paper ballots were mailed on April 16, 2004. On the deadline, May 20, 2004, 255 electronic ballots and eight mail ballots were counted. The other major secretarial activity consisted of updating the ASN web site, which had fallen significantly out of date.

This article presents information about awards distribution. The Young Investigators' Prizes recognize outstanding and promising work by investigators who received their doctorates in the three years preceding the application deadline or who are in their final year of graduate school. The prizes include presentation of a research paper at the annual meeting of the American Society of Naturalists, reimbursement for travel to the annual meeting, and a $500 honorarium. The prize committee requests applications for the 2006 prizes from anyone supporting the objectives of the Society. Suggested names and addresses of people who should be encouraged to apply are also welcome. In recognition of the lifetime of outstanding contributions of professor E.O. Wilson in the areas of ecology and evolutionary biology, this award was established in the year of Professor Wilson's retirement from Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts. Individuals whose research and writing illuminate principles of evolutionary biology and an enhanced aesthetic appreciation of natural history will merit special consideration.

The article announces that Richard Lenski has received the 2012 Sewall Wright Award from the American Society of Naturalists.

This article reports that the 2005 Sewall Wright Award has been given to Robert E. Ricklefs, Curators' professor of Biology at University of Missouri, Saint Louis, Missouri. Ricklefs's early comparative analyses of growth and development in both precocial and altricial birds are now the classic studies of those subjects. His continuing series of papers on the life histories of birds in relation to their demography has led to several generalizations about their evolution at broad geographic scales. Ricklefs has also been at the forefront of putting history back into community ecology ever since his widely quoted 1987 paper in Science. He used comparisons among regions to demonstrate remarkable examples in which communities have failed to converge, thus showing that community structure cannot be entirely attributed to local processes such as competition. He is also the author of two highly regarded ecology textbooks, "Ecology," which is now in its fourth edition, and "The Economy of Nature," now in its fifth edition.

The article presents the report of the American Society of Naturalists (ASN)Secretary in 2009. It mentions that the society will conduct its annual election for its new set of officers such as president, vice-president, and secretary on March 12, 2009. It states that recording the committee membership, updating the ASN's website, and updating the ASN Officer's handbook are the major task of the secretary of the society. It notes that Robert Ricklefs has been elected as president, David Reznick as vice-president, and Daniel Bolnick as secretary in 2010. It also presents the minutes of the ASN executive committee meeting in Moscow, Idaho from June 19-16, 2009.

We assessed genetic factors on progeny dispersal due to sire color morph genotypes in a field pedigree and lab crosses, and we measured maternal effects by studying both natural and experimentally induced egg size variation. Progeny were released into nature upon hatching, but we recorded dispersal distance at maturity, which reflects effective dispersal after viability selection has run its course. Progeny dispersal was significantly affected by sire genotype. Progeny from orange sires dispersed the farthest. Progeny from blue sires dispersed intermediate distances. Progeny from yellow sires were the most philopatric. Sire genotype effects interacted with egg size. In particular, enlarged progeny from orange sires dispersed farther, while enlarged progeny from yellow sires were more philopatric. Progeny from blue sires were unaffected by egg size manipulations. Egg manipulations and natural variation generally had concordant effects indicative of causation. However, asymmetry of gigantization and miniaturization on progeny dispersal from some sire genotypes suggest the involvement of maternal factors besides egg size. Results of laboratory crosses with progeny released into nature confirmed key sire genotype effects and identified additional maternal effects that modulated dispersal as a function of progeny gender. We discuss the adaptive implications of progeny dispersal in the context of male (rock-paper-scissors) and female strategies (r- and K-density cycle) that are associated with color morphs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent theory suggests that much of the wide variation in individual behavior that exists within cooperative animal societies can be explained by variation in the future direct component of fitness, or the probability of inheritance. Here we develop two models to explore the effect of variation in future fitness on social aggression. The models predict that rates of aggression will be highest toward the front of the queue to inherit and will be higher in larger, more productive groups. A third prediction is that, in seasonal animals, aggression will increase as the time available to inherit the breeding position runs out. We tested these predictions using a model social species, the paper wasp Polistes dominulus. We found that rates of both aggressive ‘displays’ (aimed at individuals of lower rank) and aggressive ‘tests’ (aimed at individuals of higher rank) decreased down the hierarchy, as predicted by our models. The only other significant factor affecting aggression rates was date, with more aggression observed later in the season, also as predicted. Variation in future fitness due to inheritance rank is the hidden factor accounting for much of the variation in aggressiveness among apparently equivalent individuals in this species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A model of species interactions based on their use of shared resources was proposed in 1972 by Robert MacArthur and later expanded in an article (1980) and a book (1982) by David Tilman. This ‘resource-ratio theory’ has been used to make a number of testable predictions about competition and community patterns. We reviewed 1,333 papers that cite Tilman's two publications to determine whether predictions of the resource-ratio theory have been adequately tested and to summarize their general conclusions. Most of the citations do not directly test the theory: only 26 studies provide well-designed tests of one or more predictions, resulting in 42 individual tests of predictions. Most of these tests were conducted in the laboratory or experimental microcosms and used primary producers in freshwater systems. Overall, the predictions of the resource-ratio theory were supported 75% of the time. One of the primary predictions of the model, that species dominance varies with the ratio of resource availabilities, was supported by 13 of 16 tests, but most other predictions have been insufficiently tested. We suggest that more experimental work in a variety of natural systems is seriously needed, especially studies designed to test predictions related to resource supply and consumption rates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article announces several awards given to investigators in 2013, which include the Sewall Wright award for Jeanne Altmann, Edward O. Wilson Naturalist Award for Douglas Emlen, and Jasper Loftus-Hills Young Investigator Awards for Robin Hopkins, Ann Carla Staver, and Ian J. Wang.

An obituary for naturalist George C. Williams is presented.

The article announces several awards including the 2012 Sewall Wright Award to Richard Lenski, the 2012 Edward Osborne Wilson Naturalist Award to Keith A. Crandall, and the 2012 Jasper J. Loftus-Hills Young Investigator Awards to Rowan Barrett, Liam J. Revell, Jennifer C. Perry, and Matthew R. Walsh.

The article announces that zoologist Robert T. Paine received the Honorary Lifetime Membership Award from the American Society of Naturalists.

The article presents the gratefulness of the three editors for the efforts of editor Jonathan Losos and great leadership in contributing to the development of "The American Naturalist" journal in 2002. These editors also emphasize that they will continue the periodical's "conceptual unification of the biological sciences" through publication of quality papers. They are welcoming suggestions on how the journal can maintain its prime presence.

The article discusses the importance of the availability of data for the environmental research. The purpose of gathering data is to know the accurate information about the endangered animal population trends and the synthetic use of DNA sequence through error checking method and meta-analysis. The author emphasized the role of public archives like GenBank to keep the scientific information last to the extent the students and individuals could use it in the future. In addition, data-archiving policy is made to protect the abilities of the researchers to use the data that they have collected after the publication.

Bergmann's rule states that individuals of a species/clade at higher altitudes or latitudes will be larger than those at lower ones. A systemic review of the known literature on inter- and intraspecific variation in insect size along latitudinal or altitudinal clines was done to see how often such clines appeared and whether they reflected classwide, species-specific, or experimentally biased tendencies. Nearly even numbers of studies showed Bergmann clines and converse- Bergmann clines, where insects get smaller as latitude/altitude increases. In fact, the majority of studies suggested no clines at all. Small ranges may have obscured certain clines, while giant ranges may have introduced artifacts. Researchers examining interspecific patterns found clines less frequently than those examining intraspecific patterns because of variation among species within the clades, which renders interspecific studies unhelpful. Bergmann's rule does not apply to hexapods with nearly the same consistency as it does to endothermic vertebrates. The validity of Bergmann's rule for any group and range of insects is highly idiosyncratic and partially depends on the study design. I conclude that studies of Bergmann's rule should focus within species and look at widespread but contiguous populations to account for all sources of variation while minimizing error. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous studies reported that sagebrush plants near experimentally clipped neighbors experienced less herbivory than did plants near unclipped neighbors. Blocking air flow with plastic bags made this effect undetectable. However, some scientists remained skeptical about the possibility of volatile communication between plants since the existence and identity of a cue that operates in nature have never been demonstrated. We conducted an air transfer experiment that collected air from the headspace of an experimentally clipped donor plant and delivered it to the headspace of an unclipped assay plant. We found that assay plants treated with air from clipped donors were less likely to be damaged by naturally occurring herbivores in a field experiment. This simple air transfer experiment fulfills the most critical of Koch's postulates and provides more definitive evidence for volatile communication between plants. It also provides an inexpensive experimental protocol that can be used to screen plants for interplant communication in the field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The challenge hypothesis was proposed as a mechanism for vertebrates to optimize their testosterone titers by upregulating testosterone during periods of aggressive competition. Here we test key predictions of the challenge hypothesis in an independently evolved endocrine system: juvenile hormone (JH) in a social insect. We assess how social conflict influences JH titers in Polistes dominulus wasps. Aggressive conflict was produced by removing the queen from some colonies (experimental) and a low-ranked worker from other colonies (control). Queen removal produced competition among workers to fill the reproductive vacancy. Workers upregulated their JH titers in response to this social conflict; worker JH titers were higher in queenless than in queenright colonies. Furthermore, JH titers were associated with an individual's ability to dominate rivals; the worker that took over as the replacement queen had a substantially higher JH titer than did other workers. Finally, JH titers were positively associated with aggression in queenless colonies, but there was no relationship between JH and aggression in stable, queenright colonies. Overall, these results match key predictions of the challenge hypothesis and parallel much of the work on testosterone in vertebrates. Social modulation of hormone titers is not confined to a particular endocrine system but is likely to be an adaptive feature of endocrine systems across diverse taxa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents announcements published in the June 2004 issue of "The American Naturalist." Efficiencies brought about by the adoption of web-based peer review systems; Publication of the submissions and publications from readers of the magazine; Schedule for the annual meeting of the American Society of Naturalists.

The article presents the American Society of Naturalists' (ASN) update report during their annual meeting in Christchurch, New Zealand on June 16, 2007. Robert Holt, president of the organization, has cited the ability of the organization's vice president Trevor Price as the chairman of the Sewall Wright Award committee, together with Ellen Ketterson and Russ Lande. Carol Horvitz, treasurer of the organization, has reported the financial statement on the status of the investments and the tax return. The intent of the meeting is to strengthen the continuity of the institutional memory of the organization.

The article announces awards given to the naturalists in 2007 including the Edward Osborne Wilson Award to George Venable, the Sewall Wright Award to Dolph Schluter and the Young Investigator's Prizes to Andy Gardner, Maurine Neiman, Daniel Ortiz-Barrientos and Sander van Doorn.

A letter to the editor is presented in response to the article about the resource-ratio theory of ecologist David Tilman in the April 2005 issue.

Introduces articles on behavioral genetics for behavioral ecologists published in the December 2, 2002 issue of the 'The American Naturalist' journal. Completion of genome projects; Interaction between behavior genetics and behavioral ecology.

Cooperative breeders often exhibit reproductive skew, where dominant individuals reproduce more than subordinates. Two approaches derived from Hamilton's inclusive fitness model predict when subordinate behavior is favored over living solitarily. The assured fitness return (AFR) model predicts that subordinates help when they are highly likely to gain immediate indirect fitness. Transactional skew models predict dominants and subordinates ‘agree’ on a level of reproductive skew that induces subordinates to join groups. We show the AFR model to be a special case of transactional skew models that assumes no direct reproduction by subordinates. We use data from 11 populations of four wasp species (Polistes, Liostenogaster) as a test of whether transactional frameworks suffice to predict when subordinate behavior should be observed in general and the specific level of skew observed in cooperative groups. The general prediction is supported; in 10 of 11 cases, transactional models correctly predict presence or absence of cooperation. In contrast, the specific prediction is not consistent with the data. Where cooperation occurs, the model accurately predicts highly biased reproductive skew between full sisters. However, the model also predicts that distantly related or unrelated females should cooperate with low skew. This prediction fails: cooperation with high skew is the observed norm. Neither the generalized transactional model nor the special-case AFR model can explain this significant feature of wasp sociobiology. Alternative, nontransactional hypotheses such as parental manipulation and kin recognition errors are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents reports related to the American Society of Naturalists (ASN) chronicling the activities of the society. The secretary's activities this year were focused on conducting the annual election. Balloting was strictly electronic. Michele Dudash presented the 2004 Treasurer's Report. She reported that the ASN's investments, now managed by Betsy Etges of Morgan Stanley, are performing as well as can be expected given the current financial market and the size of the funds. Kari Roane of the University of Chicago Press presented the business report. Circulation of the journal "The American Naturalist" is on a downward trend and has fallen 10% this past year, reflecting the trend in other membership-based societies. Michael Whitlock presented the 2005 American Naturalist editor's report. Betsy Etges of Morgan Stanley presented an ASN financial report. The society's previous arrangement involved multiple investments and eroding finances; ASN now has a consistent and committed broker and CPA, and fees have been halved. The issue of student travel awards was revisited. Michele Dudash proposed that for 2006 and future domestic meetings, ASN will offer 10 awards of $300 each to students.

The article presents information about various announcements made with respect to the periodical "The American Naturalist." The American Society of Naturalists is pleased to announce the expansion of "The American Naturalist" editorial board with the addition of two new editors, Donald L. DeAngelis and Michael Whitlock. The 2004 winners of the Presidential Award for the best article published in "The American Naturalist" in 2003, Paul Hertz, and Barry Sinervo for their jointly authored article entitled "Behavioral Drive Versus Behavioral Inertia in Evolution: A Null Model Approach." The Sewall Wright Award, which recognizes a senior-level active researcher for significant and continuing contributions to the objectives of the American Society of Naturalists, was awarded in 2004 to Rudolf A. Raff.

Reports on the activities of the American Society of Naturalists (ASN), as of December 2002. Institution of an electronic balloting system for Society elections; Minutes of the ASN Executive Committee meeting on July 11, 2002; Plans for the periodical 'The American Naturalist'; Development of a business plan for the Society.