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This paper examines how students make progress toward three-dimensional (3D) understanding of the patterns of evolution. Specifically, it proposes a learning progression that explains how scientific practices, crosscutting concepts, and disciplinary core ideas come together in naming and grouping, length of change over time, and the role of common ancestry in evolutionary relatedness. To develop this learning progression, we created a 3D plant evolution curriculum for urban middle school students and over two implementation cycles we measured student understanding before, during, and after use of the curriculum. We used an iterative design, grounded in evidence of student learning over time to develop and revise our learning progression framework, assessments, and curriculum. The learning progression developed through this process is a template for conceptual learning through scientific practice, the type of 3D learning advocated by the Next Generation Science Standards. This paper describes the interplay between scientific practice learning and conceptual learning and the implications of this research for curriculum and assessment design. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The authors identify applications of science education theories among articles within the issue of the magazine. They tackle the theories of transformation and identity, as well as theory-like constructs and perspectives on learning progression associated with evolution education, dialectic between science activity and understanding, and validity. They look into assessment as a construct that has changed over time relating to reforms associated with the Next Generation Science Standards.

Evolutionary theories of senescence predict that a high allocation to reproduction during early life should have long-term deleterious consequences on future reproduction or survival because individuals have to face an energy allocation trade-off between reproductive effort and the maintenance of body condition. Using a high-quality dataset from 1,721 red ruffed lemurs (RRL, Varecia rubra) and 3,637 black and white ruffed lemurs (BWRM, V. variegata) living in captivity, we tested the existence of a trade-off between reproductive effort and late-life survival after accounting for possible confounding effects of natal environmental conditions. We report clear evidence of actuarial senescence (i.e., the decline of annual survival with increasing age) in both sexes and for both species of ruffed lemurs. RRL had a lower baseline mortality and senesced faster than BWRL, resulting in similar distributions of longevities for both species. No between-sex difference was observed in any species. Lastly, a higher reproductive effort was positively associated with an increase of survival late in life, and thereby an increased longevity. These findings indicate that individual quality rather than trade-off drives the association between reproductive success and survival pattern among individual lemurs of both species in the protected environment provided by zoos. Lemurs are among the world's highest conservation priorities and better understanding factors influencing their longevity and actuarial senescence patterns should improve their conservation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Key points Sodium channels are critical for supporting fast action potentials in neurons; even mutations which cause small changes in sodium channel activity can have devastating consequences for the function of the nervous system., Alternative splicing also changes the activity of sodium channels, and while it is highly conserved, it is not known whether the functional role of this splicing is also conserved., Our data reveal that splicing has a highly conserved impact on the availability of sodium channels during trains of rapid stimulations, and suggest that in one mammalian channel, Nav1.1 encoded by SCN1A, the increased availability of one splice variant is detrimental., A model reproducing the effects of splicing on channel behaviour suggests that the voltage sensor in the first domain is a rate limiting step for release of the inactivation domain, and highlights the functional specialization of channel domains., Abstract Voltage-gated sodium channels are critical for neuronal activity, and highly intolerant to variation. Even mutations that cause subtle changes in the activity these channels are sufficient to cause devastating inherited neurological diseases, such as epilepsy and pain. However, these channels do vary in healthy tissue. Alternative splicing modifies sodium channels, but the functional relevance and adaptive significance of this splicing remain poorly understood. Here we use a conserved alternate exon encoding part of the first domain of sodium channels to compare how splicing modifies different channels, and to ask whether the functional consequences of this splicing have been preserved in different genes. Although the splicing event is highly conserved, one splice variant has been selectively removed from Nav1.1 in multiple mammalian species, suggesting that the functional variation in Nav1.1 is less well tolerated. We show for three human channels (Nav1.1, Nav1.2 and Nav1.7) that splicing modifies the return from inactivated to deactivated states, and the differences between splice variants are occluded by antiepileptic drugs that bind to and stabilize inactivated states. A model based on structural data can replicate these changes, and indicates that splicing may exploit a distinct role of the first domain to change channel availability, and that the first domain of all three sodium channels plays a role in determining the rate at which the inactivation domain dissociates. Taken together, our data suggest that the stability of inactivated states is under tight evolutionary control, but that in Nav1.1 faster recovery from inactivation is associated with negative selection in mammals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Evaluations of human impacts on Earth's ecosystems often ignore evolutionary changes in response to altered selective regimes. Freshwater habitats for Snake River fall Chinook salmon (SRFCS), a threatened species in the US, have been dramatically changed by hydropower development and other watershed modifications. Associated biological changes include a shift in juvenile life history: Historically essentially 100% of juveniles migrated to sea as subyearlings, but a substantial fraction have migrated as yearlings in recent years. In contemplating future management actions for this species should major Snake River dams ever be removed (as many have proposed), it will be important to understand whether evolution is at least partially responsible for this life-history change. We hypothesized that if this trait is genetically based, parents who migrated to sea as subyearlings should produce faster-growing offspring that would be more likely to reach a size threshold to migrate to sea in their first year. We tested this with phenotypic data for over 2,600 juvenile SRFCS that were genetically matched to parents of hatchery and natural origin. Three lines of evidence supported our hypothesis: (i) the animal model estimated substantial heritability for juvenile growth rate for three consecutive cohorts; (ii) linear modeling showed an association between juvenile life history of parents and offspring growth rate; and (iii) faster-growing juveniles migrated at greater speeds, as expected if they were more likely to be heading to sea. Surprisingly, we also found that parents reared a full year in a hatchery produced the fastest growing offspring of all-apparently an example of cross-generational plasticity associated with artificial propagation. We suggest that SRFCS is an example of a potentially large class of species that can be considered to be 'anthro-evolutionary'-signifying those whose evolutionary trajectories have been profoundly shaped by altered selective regimes in human-dominated landscapes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Evolutionary change has been demonstrated to occur rapidly in human-modified systems, yet understanding how multiple components of global change interact to affect adaptive evolution remains a critical knowledge gap. Climate change is predicted to impose directional selection on traits to reduce thermal stress, but the strength of directional selection may be mediated by changes in the thermal environment driven by land use. We examined how regional climatic conditions and land use interact to affect genetically based color polymorphism in the eastern red-backed salamander ( Plethodon cinereus). P. cinereus is a woodland salamander with two primary discrete color morphs (striped, unstriped) that have been associated with macroclimatic conditions. Striped individuals are most common in colder regions, but morph frequencies can be variable within climate zones. We used path analysis to analyze morph frequencies among 238,591 individual salamanders across 1,170 sites in North America. Frequency of striped individuals was positively related to forest cover in populations occurring in warmer regions (>7°C annually), a relationship that was weak to nonexistent in populations located in colder regions (≤7°C annually). Our results suggest that directional selection imposed by climate warming at a regional scale may be amplified by forest loss and suppressed by forest persistence, with a mediating effect of land use that varies geographically. Our work highlights how the complex interaction of selection pressures imposed by different components of global change may lead to divergent evolutionary trajectories among populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives In 2008, an immature hominin defined as the holotype of the new species Australopithecus sediba was discovered at the 1.9 million year old Malapa site in South Africa. The specimen (MH1) includes substantial post-cranial skeletal material, and provides a unique opportunity to assess its skeletal maturation. Methods Skeletal maturity indicators observed on the proximal and distal humerus, proximal ulna, distal radius, third metacarpal, ilium and ischium, proximal femur and calcaneus were used to assess the maturity of each bone in comparison to references for modern humans and for wild chimpanzees ( Pan troglodytes). Results In comparison to humans the skeletal maturational ages for Au. sediba correspond to between 12.0 years and 15.0 years with a mean (SD) age of 13.1 (1.1) years. In comparison to the maturational pattern of chimpanzees the Au. sediba indicators suggest a skeletal maturational age of 9-11 years. Based on either of these skeletal maturity estimates and the body length at death of MH1, an adult height of 150-156 cm is predicted. Discussion We conclude that the skeletal remains of MH1 are consistent with an ape-like pattern of maturity when dental age estimates are also taken into consideration. This maturity schedule in australopiths is consistent with ape-like estimates of age at death for the Nariokotome Homo erectus remains (KMN-WT 15000), which are of similar postcranial immaturity to MH1. The findings suggest that humans may have distinctive and delayed post-cranial schedules from australopiths and H. erectus, implicating a recent evolution of somatic and possibly life history strategies in human evolution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This concluding chapter discusses the main challenges currently facing institutional research at small- and medium-sized colleges and describes how the field may evolve. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The assumption of the equilibrium state of gravel surfaces in flume experiments under feeding or recirculating conditions is generally justified by three equilibrium criteria based on sediment transport, slopes, and bed features. When these parameters become stable, an experiment is expected to reach equilibrium. This equilibrium state, however, is based on a one-dimensional model, the Exner equation, which may not truly reflect the equilibrium state of the system considering the complex flow and sediment processes. In this paper, the evolutionary process of a gravel surface is investigated based on a large-scale recirculating flume experiment. The performances of the three equilibrium criteria are evaluated first, and then the evolution of the bed morphology is studied. The key findings include the following: (1) the sediment transport rate, slopes of water and bed surfaces, and one-dimensional morphological features reach equilibrium roughly simultaneously; (2) two-dimensional morphology continually evolves after these characteristics reach equilibrium, which is confirmed by the characteristics of the sediment transport process; and (3) the results from a numerical simulation suggest that a much longer time is required to reach an equilibrium state. Our results suggest that sufficient experimental time is required to investigate the equilibrium morphological characteristics of gravel surfaces, which is much longer than the equilibrium time reflected by the one-dimensional equilibrium criteria. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The concept of terroir is often included in legal descriptions of Geographical Indicators (GIs). GIs are intellectual property that recognizes a food, beverage, or artisan product as holding distinct properties based on geographic origin. GIs are used to indicate these distinctions while deterring the sale of products carrying similar labels without having the GI determined qualities. Climate change and its effects on aspects of terroir such as rainfall, water availability, soil quality, and temperature is already having an effect on some production aspects crucial to what brings distinctiveness to GI products based on terroir. These factors raise questions as to how conceptions of terroir and the formalized rules underpinning the distinctiveness of GIs are evolving in the face of climatological changes. This paper discusses how climate change may influence how terroir is encoded in legally recognized GIs and how this will influence international regulation, recognition, and trade flows in GI-protected food and beverages. It discusses the relationship between GIs, credence attributes and the legal recognition of terroir. It then explores three options for products with GIs based on terroir that are experiencing climate change: product quality change, definitional change, or re-interpreting the boundaries of terroir relevant to the GI distinction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT Since the late 1970s, the field of evolutionary biology has undergone empirical and theoretical developments that have threaten the pillars of evolutionary theory. Some evolutionary biologists have recently argued that evolutionary biology is not experiencing a paradigm shift, but an expansion of the modern synthesis. Philosophers of biology focusing on scientific practices seem to agree with this pluralistic interpretation and have argued that evolutionary theory should rather be seen as an organized network of multiple problem agendas with diverse disciplinary contributors. In this paper, I apply a computational analysis to study the dynamics and conceptual structure of one of the main emerging problem agendas in evolutionary biology: evolvability. I have used CiteSpace, an application for visualizing and analyzing trends and patterns in scientific literature that applies cocitation analysis to identify scientific specialities. I analyze the main clusters of the evolvability cocitation network with the aim to identify the main research lines and the interdisciplinary relationships that structure this research front. I then compare these results with the existing classifications of evolvability concepts, and identify four main conceptual tensions within the definitions of evolvability. Finally, I argue that there is a lot of usefulness in the inconsistency in which the term evolvability is used in biological research. I claim that evolvability research has set up 'trading zones' in biology that make possible interdisciplinary exchanges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is increasing recognition among conservation scientists that long-term conservation outcomes could be improved through better integration of evolutionary theory into management practices. Despite concerns that the importance of key concepts emerging from evolutionary theory (i.e., evolutionary principles and processes) are not being recognized by managers, there has been little effort to determine the level of integration of evolutionary theory into conservation policy and practice. We assessed conservation policy at 3 scales (international, national, and provincial) on 3 continents to quantify the degree to which key evolutionary concepts, such as genetic diversity and gene flow, are being incorporated into conservation practice. We also evaluated the availability of clear guidance within the applied evolutionary biology literature as to how managers can change their management practices to achieve better conservation outcomes. Despite widespread recognition of the importance of maintaining genetic diversity, conservation policies provide little guidance about how this can be achieved in practice and other relevant evolutionary concepts, such as inbreeding depression, are mentioned rarely. In some cases the poor integration of evolutionary concepts into management reflects a lack of decision-support tools in the literature. Where these tools are available, such as risk-assessment frameworks, they are not being adopted by conservation policy makers, suggesting that the availability of a strong evidence base is not the only barrier to evolutionarily enlightened management. We believe there is a clear need for more engagement by evolutionary biologists with policy makers to develop practical guidelines that will help managers make changes to conservation practice. There is also an urgent need for more research to better understand the barriers to and opportunities for incorporating evolutionary theory into conservation practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Is organicism inherently Christian-friendly, and for that matter, is mechanism inherently religion nonfriendly? They have tended to be, but the story is much more complicated. The long history of the intertwined metaphors of nature taken as an organism, versus that of nature as a machine, reveals that both metaphors have flourished in the endeavors of philosophers, scientists, and persons of faith alike. Different kinds of Christians have been receptive to both organicist and mechanistic models, just as various kinds of nonreligious scientists have been receptive to both holistic and machine metaphors. Although, it is true, organicism has been generally more attractive to persons of faith than mechanism (and vice versa), an overview of the rich and varied history of allegiances to these metaphors-religious and nonreligious alike-shows that debate is much more interesting and complex. A brief inspection of conversation surrounding recent scientific discoveries shows that this debate between metaphors is still very much alive today. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent studies of Victorian Literature and Science, valuable insights into the history and discursive constitutions of geology, palaeontology, and evolution have often shone a sidelight on the figure of the dinosaur. Few, though, have engaged head-on with the dinosaur itself as a conceptual category. In discussing why, this article aims to provide the reader with a reading list by which they may themselves begin to explore the Victorian dinosaur-as well as a possible justification for so doing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives The birth process has been studied extensively in many human societies, yet little is known about this essential life history event in other primates. Here, we provide the most detailed account of behaviors surrounding birth for any wild nonhuman primate to date. Materials and Methods Over a recent ∼10-year period, we directly observed 15 diurnal births (13 live births and 2 stillbirths) among geladas ( Theropithecus gelada) at Guassa, Ethiopia. During each birth, we recorded the occurrence (or absence) of 16 periparturitional events, chosen for their potential to provide comparative evolutionary insights into the factors that shaped birth behaviors in humans and other primates. Results We found that several events (e.g., adopting standing crouched positions, delivering infants headfirst) occurred during all births, while other events (e.g., aiding the infant from the birth canal, licking infants following delivery, placentophagy) occurred during, or immediately after, most births. Moreover, multiparas ( n = 9) were more likely than primiparas ( n = 6) to (a) give birth later in the day, (b) isolate themselves from nearby conspecifics while giving birth, (c) aid the infant from the birth canal, and (d) consume the placenta. Discussion Our results suggest that prior maternal experience may contribute to greater competence or efficiency during the birth process. Moreover, face presentations (in which infants are born with their neck extended and their face appearing first, facing the mother) appear to be the norm for geladas. Lastly, malpresentations (in which infants are born in the occiput anterior position more typical of human infants) may be associated with increased mortality in this species. We compare the birth process in geladas to those in other primates (including humans) and discuss several key implications of our study for advancing understanding of obstetrics and the mechanism of labor in humans and nonhuman primates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT The general dynamic model of oceanic island biogeography ( GDM) has added a new dimension to theoretical island biogeography in recognizing that geological processes are key drivers of the evolutionary processes of diversification and extinction within remote islands. It provides a dynamic and essentially non-equilibrium framework generating novel predictions for emergent diversity properties of oceanic islands and archipelagos. Its publication in 2008 coincided with, and spurred on, renewed attention to the dynamics of remote islands. We review progress, both in testing the GDM's predictions and in developing and enhancing ecological-evolutionary understanding of oceanic island systems through the lens of the GDM. In particular, we focus on four main themes: ( i) macroecological tests using a space-for-time rationale; ( ii) extensions of theory to islands following different patterns of ontogeny; ( iii) the implications of GDM dynamics for lineage diversification and trait evolution; and ( iv) the potential for downscaling GDM dynamics to local-scale ecological patterns and processes within islands. We also consider the implications of the GDM for understanding patterns of non-native species diversity. We demonstrate the vitality of the field of island biogeography by identifying a range of potentially productive lines for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Question What are the main drivers of vegetation change within coastal dune and machair habitats and are these amenable to action to protect biodiversity at a local and national scale? Location Coastal areas of Scotland. Methods A national-scale, quadrat-based re-visitation survey was used to assess where changes were occurring in terms of species richness and composition. Regression trees and linear mixed modelling were used to identify the main drivers of change between 1976 and 2010. Results There were losses of habitat to erosion (4.7% of previously visited quadrats) and development (2.3%). Species richness changes were largely positive where sand dune and machair habitats remain part of an agricultural management system in the Inner and southern part of the Outer Hebrides. Richness losses were driven by acidic deposition and reduced grazing. Compositional changes were less related to agricultural changes, climate change and pollutant deposition than species richness changes. Conclusions Reintroduction of grazing to coastal areas appears to be a policy that would have positive effects on biodiversity, as would continued efforts to reduce atmospheric deposition and coastal planning that allowed for realignment as sediment supply decreases and sea level rise continues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Evolutionary coupling (EC) is defined as the implicit relationship between 2 or more software artifacts that are frequently changed together. Changing software is widely reported to be defect-prone. In this study, we investigate the effect of EC on the defect proneness of large industrial software systems and explain why the effects vary. We analysed 2 large industrial systems: a legacy financial system and a modern telecommunications system. We collected historical data for 7 years from 5 different software repositories containing 176 thousand files. We applied correlation and regression analysis to explore the relationship between EC and software defects, and we analysed defect types, size, and process metrics to explain different effects of EC on defects through correlation. Our results indicate that there is generally a positive correlation between EC and defects, but the correlation strength varies. Evolutionary coupling is less likely to have a relationship to software defects for parts of the software with fewer files and where fewer developers contributed. Evolutionary coupling measures showed higher correlation with some types of defects (based on root causes) such as code implementation and acceptance criteria. Although EC measures may be useful to explain defects, the explanatory power of such measures depends on defect types, size, and process metrics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Evolutionary theory is central to biology, and scientifically accurate evolution instruction is promoted within national and state standards documents. Previous literature has identified students' epistemological beliefs as potential predictors of evolution acceptance. The present work seeks to explore more directly how student views of evolution are related to their epistemological beliefs. We hypothesize that evolution acceptance may be related to students' epistemological beliefs and that this relationship may vary depending on students' relationship to the field of biology, either as an experienced major, a new major, or a non-major. Specifically, this manuscript investigates how college students' evolution acceptance may be connected to Perry developmental levels for three distinct groups of students: upper-level majors, first-year majors, and non-majors. A sequential explanatory mixed methods approach entailing quantitative surveys followed by individual interviews was employed. In total, 395 college-level biology students from three classes were surveyed, and 44 students were interviewed. Descriptive quantitative trends were identified, and evolution acceptance varied predictably by both Perry level and Class. Qualitative analysis explained these quantitative findings in terms of participants' identification with science, views of authority, views of the compatibility of evolution and religion, and appreciation for the tentative nature of science with respect to evolution. Potential implications for science educators at the college level are discussed. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 54: 493-519, 2017 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The carbon emissions from land use and land cover change ( ELUC) are an important anthropogenic component of the global carbon budget. Yet these emissions have a large uncertainty. Uncertainty in historical land use and land cover change (LULCC) maps and their implementation in global vegetation models is one of the key sources of the spread of ELUC calculated by global vegetation models. In this study, we used the Organizing Carbon and Hydrology in Dynamic Ecosystems terrestrial biosphere model to investigate how the different transition rules to define the priority of conversion from natural vegetation to agricultural land affect the historical reconstruction of plant functional types (PFTs) and ELUC. First, we reconstructed 10 sets of historical PFT maps using different transition rules and two methods. Then, we calculated ELUC from these 10 different historical PFT maps and an additional published PFT reconstruction, using the difference between two sets of simulations (with and without LULCC). The total area of forest loss is highly correlated with the total simulated ELUC ( R2 = 0.83, P < 0.001) across the reconstructed PFT maps, which indicates that the choice of transition rules is a critical (and often overlooked) decision affecting the simulated ELUC. In addition to the choice of a transition rule, the initial land cover map and the reconstruction method for the reconstruction of historical PFT maps have an important impact on the resultant estimates of ELUC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article poses a challenge to contemporary theories in psychology that portray empathy as a negative force in the moral life. Instead, drawing on alternative psychological and philosophical literature, especially Martha Nussbaum, I argue that empathy is related to the virtue of compassion and therefore crucial for moral action. Evidence for evolutionary anthropological accounts of compassion in early hominins provides additional arguments for its positive value in deep human history. I discuss this work alongside Thomistic notions of practical wisdom, compassion, misericordia, and the importance of reason in the moral life. The tension between 'bottom up' accounts of empathy and that according to a theological interpretation of 'infused' virtues also needs to be addressed. From a secular perspective, infused virtue is a projection of the ideal moral life, but from a theological perspective, it is a way of understanding how human capacities through the action of grace can reach beyond what seem to be the limits of psychological moral identity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Alvin Plantinga's evolutionary argument against naturalism states that evolution cannot produce warranted beliefs. In contrast, according to Plantinga, Christian theism provides (I) properly functioning cognitive faculties in (II) an appropriate cognitive environment, in accordance with (III) a design plan aimed at producing true beliefs. But does theism fulfill criteria I-III? Judging from the Bible, God employs deceit in his relations with humanity, rendering our cognitive functions unreliable (I). Moreover, there is no reason to suppose that God's purpose would be to produce true beliefs in humans (III). Finally, from the theistic/religious perspective, it is impossible to tell whether observations have natural or supernatural causes, which undermines an appropriate cognitive environment (II). Reliable identification of deceit or miracles could alleviate these problems, but the theistic community has failed to resolve this issue. Dismissal of parts of the Bible, or attempts to find alternative interpretations, would collapse into skepticism or deism. Thus, Plantinga's problem of epistemic warrant backfires on theism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A large number of gene-environment interaction studies provide evidence that some people are more likely to be negatively affected by adverse experiences as a function of specific genetic variants. However, such "risk" variants are surprisingly frequent in the population. Evolutionary analysis suggests that genetic variants associated with increased risk for maladaptive development under adverse environmental conditions are maintained in the population because they are also associated with advantages in response to different contextual conditions. These advantages may include (a) coexisting genetic resilience pertaining to other adverse influences, (b) a general genetic susceptibility to both low and high environmental quality, and (c) a coexisting propensity to benefit disproportionately from positive and supportive exposures, as reflected in the recent framework of vantage sensitivity. After introducing the basic properties of vantage sensitivity and highlighting conceptual similarities and differences with diathesis-stress and differential susceptibility patterns of gene-environment interaction, selected and recent empirical evidence for the notion of vantage sensitivity as a function of genetic differences is reviewed. The unique contribution that the new perspective of vantage sensitivity may make to our understanding of social inequality will be discussed after suggesting neurocognitive and molecular mechanisms hypothesized to underlie the propensity to benefit disproportionately from benevolent experiences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The fundamental scientific concept of evolution occurring by natural selection is home to many deeply held alternative conceptions and considered difficult to teach. Science teachers' subject matter knowledge (SMK) and the pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) component of knowledge of students' conceptions (KOSC) can be valuable resources for helping students learn difficult science concepts such as natural selection. However, little research exists that explores the relationship between science teachers' SMK and their KOSC on evolution by natural selection. This study explores the relationship between SMK and KOSC through the participation of four biology teachers at a single high school and thus deepens our understanding of the teacher knowledge base. Main data sources are teacher interviews in which each teacher answered SMK-type questions and predicted what their students' most common alternative conceptions were by using the Conceptual Inventory of Natural Selection (CINS). Other data sources include student responses on the CINS and classroom observations. Findings revealed relative independence between SMK and KOSC, although there is likely a minimum threshold of SMK to recognize student alternative conceptions. However, our work also revealed ways in which teachers were not leveraging their KOSC and suggest potential avenues for future inquiry. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 54: 219-246, 2017 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined age differences in young people's understanding of evolution theory in secondary school. A second aim of this study was to propose a new coding scheme that more accurately described students' conceptual understanding about evolutionary theory. We argue that coding schemes adopted in previous research may have overestimated students' grasp of evolutionary concepts. A total of 106 students aged 12, 14, and 16 took part in individual interviews investigating their understanding of evolution. Using the new coding scheme, we found that while 16-year olds were more likely than 12-year olds to endorse scientific concepts when answering a question about finches, their understanding of natural selection, however, did not generalize to the other four questions. Furthermore, students began to incorporate relevant terminology (e.g., adapt, evolve, etc.) and structure their explanations using relevant language at around age 14. Students often used relevant terminology without having a more advanced understanding of evolutionary theory. Instead, they used the relevant terms in a colloquial rather than a scientific sense. Implications of the current findings for teaching and theory are discussed. © 2016 The Authors. Journal of Research in Science Teaching published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of National Association for Research in Science Teaching. J Res Sci Teach 54: 247-273, 2017 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives To determine ancient population influences on ancient and current Balearic populations and to reconstruct their mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) gene pool evolution. Methods We analyzed 239 individuals belonging to five archaeological populations from Majorca and Minorca, four dating to the transition between the Bronze Age and the Iron Age, and one Late Roman Majorcan population. Six additional individuals from Santa Teresa di Gallura from the Nuragic period were characterized and added to the existing samples from that culture to make comparisons with Talaiotic populations. Results We characterized the haplogroups of 138 individuals and obtained 69 sequences from mtDNA hypervariable region I. In the intra-island study, the apparent differences in social and funerary rites between two contiguous Majorcan necropolises were correlated with genetic characteristics. Also, the likely occurrence of consanguinity in a population with a very particular burial pattern was supported by genetic data. Despite the uniqueness of each necropolis, the global comparison of the five necropolises revealed no significant differences between them, or between ancient and modern populations from the islands. Ancient Balearics showed a similar mtDNA gene pool to Ancient Catalans, had a Near Eastern component, and showed continuity with European populations since at least the Bronze Age. Conclusion We characterized five Balearic necropolises in the context of their geographic and cultural characteristics. The similarity between ancient Balearic and ancient Catalan gene pools reinforces their known historic interactions, while the lack of a consistent genetic continuity with Ancient Sardinians suggests that Talaiotic and Nuragic cultures arose in differentiated populations. Am. J. Hum. Biol. 29:e22883, 2017. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: To study the effect of hemispherotomy on electrical status epilepticus in sleep (ESES) and language development.Method: Children with a confirmed diagnosis of ESES prior to surgery and a minimum of 24 months of developmental follow-up data were compared with age-matched controls without ESES. Language quotients (LQs) were calculated before and after surgery.Results: Eleven patients (five females, six males) and 21 controls (11 females, 10 males) were included. Before surgery a significantly higher number of children in the study group (n=9) demonstrated severe developmental delay compared with children in the control group (n=13; p=0.015). In the study group ESES remitted immediately after surgery in 10 children, and a significant catch-up in LQs was observed in this group (preoperative mean 40.0 [standard deviation (SD) 22.2, interquartile range (IQR) 30.0-62.0]; postoperative mean 73.0 [SD 33.5, IQR 41.0-97.0]; p=0.037). There was no significant difference compared with controls at last follow-up after surgery (study group: five with severe impairment; control group: eight with severe impairment [p=0.971]). Overall, a favourable developmental outcome was associated with freedom from seizures (seizure-free group: median preoperative LQ 61.5, median postoperative LQ 78.0 [p=0.017]; seizure group: median preoperative LQ 35.5, median postoperative LQ 56.5 [p=0.273]) and antiepileptic drug withdrawal (off medication: median preoperative LQ 49.5, median postoperative LQ 78.0 [p=0.011]; on medication: median preoperative LQ 78.0, median postoperative LQ 83.5 [p=0.889]).Interpretation: Children with ESES showed significantly lower preoperative language abilities than children without ESES. In cases with remission of ESES after surgery, marked improvement in LQs was noticed. This improvement cannot be fully explained by seizure-freedom alone as seizure-free children without preoperative ESES showed less improvement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We introduce phylodyn, an r package for phylodynamic analysis based on gene genealogies. The package's main functionality is Bayesian nonparametric estimation of effective population size fluctuations over time. Our implementation includes several Markov chain Monte Carlo-based methods and an integrated nested Laplace approximation-based approach for phylodynamic inference that have been developed in recent years. Genealogical data describe the timed ancestral relationships of individuals sampled from a population of interest. Here, individuals are assumed to be sampled at the same point in time (isochronous sampling) or at different points in time (heterochronous sampling); in addition, sampling events can be modelled with preferential sampling, which means that the intensity of sampling events is allowed to depend on the effective population size trajectory. We assume the coalescent and the sequentially Markov coalescent processes as generative models of genealogies. We include several coalescent simulation functions that are useful for testing our phylodynamics methods via simulation studies. We compare the performance and outputs of various methods implemented in phylodyn and outline their strengths and weaknesses. r package phylodyn is available at . [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Biologists and psychologists are re-thinking the long-standing premise of genes as the primary cause of development, a view widely embraced in 20th-century biology. This shift in thinking is based in large part on: (1) the growing appreciation of the complex, distributed regulatory dynamics of gene expression; and (2) the growing appreciation of the probabilistic, contingent, and situated nature of development. We now appreciate that what actually unfolds during individual development represents only one of many possibilities. This expanded focus on the developmental process, often referred to as a developmental systems approach, has far-reaching implications for developmental and evolutionary theory, including new ways of thinking about the consequences of activity and experience, the emergence of novel properties or traits, the nature and extent of heredity, and the origins of phenotypic variability. WIREs Cogn Sci 2017, 8:e1422. doi: 10.1002/wcs.1422 For further resources related to this article, please visit the . [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper analyses how the control of material flows needed by living systems determines evolutionary patterns. A simplification of Miller's living systems theory, distinguishing only three functional units, (i) production systems, (ii) storage, and (iii) controller structures, is used to investigate the importance of these units on various evolutionary stages. In the internal evolution of biological systems, storage is crucial to control the availability of intermediate products of autocatalytic cycles. This is the base for continuous production and maintenance of controller structures (brains). In the external, technical evolution storage enables building external production systems and controller structures (like computers). In the dyadic coevolution of living systems, control of material flows and/or storage enable power positions in interaction patterns ranging from competition for scarce resources, via market relations, to egalitarian cooperation. Such power positions open access to different markets and exclusive evolutionary options. Economic theory widely ignores that. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Meta-analysis is the gold standard for synthesis in ecology and evolution. Together with estimating overall effect magnitudes, meta-analyses estimate differences between effect sizes via heterogeneity statistics. It is widely hypothesized that heterogeneity will be present in ecological/evolutionary meta-analyses due to the system-specific nature of biological phenomena. Despite driving recommended best practices, the generality of heterogeneity in ecological data has never been systematically reviewed. We reviewed 700 studies, finding 325 that used formal meta-analysis, of which total heterogeneity was reported in fewer than 40%. We used second-order meta-analysis to collate heterogeneity statistics from 86 studies. Our analysis revealed that the median and mean heterogeneity, expressed as I2, are 84.67% and 91.69%, respectively. These estimates are well above 'high' heterogeneity (i.e., 75%), based on widely adopted benchmarks. We encourage reporting heterogeneity in the forms of I2 and the estimated variance components (e.g., τ2) as standard practice. These statistics provide vital insights in to the degree to which effect sizes vary, and provide the statistical support for the exploration of predictors of effect-size magnitude. Along with standard meta-regression techniques that fit moderator variables, multi-level models now allow partitioning of heterogeneity among correlated (e.g., phylogenetic) structures that exist within data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Empirical studies show that lineages typically exhibit long periods of evolutionary stasis and that relative levels of within-species trait covariance often correlate with the extent of between-species trait divergence. These observations have been interpreted by some as evidence of genetic constraints persisting for long periods of time. However, an alternative explanation is that both intra- and interspecific variation are shaped by the features of the adaptive landscape (e.g., stabilizing selection). Employing a genus of insects that are diverse with respect to a suite of secondary sex traits, we related data describing nonlinear phenotypic (sexual) selection to intraspecific trait covariances and macroevolutionary divergence. We found support for two key predictions (1) that intraspecific trait covariation would be aligned with stabilizing selection and (2) that there would be restricted macroevolutionary divergence in the direction of stabilizing selection. The observed alignment of all three matrices offers a point of caution in interpreting standing variability as metrics of evolutionary constraint. Our results also illustrate the power of sexual selection for determining variation observed at both short and long timescales and account for the apparently slow evolution of some secondary sex characters in this lineage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The individual animal is currently a major focus of behavioural research and an increasing number of studies raise the question of how between-individual behavioural consistency and behavioural plasticity interact. Applying the reaction norm concept on groups, our study addresses both of these aspects in one framework and within an animal's natural social environment. Risk-taking behaviour in 1-year-old perch Perca fluviatilis was assayed in aquarium experiments before and after the fish were subjected to the presence or absence of a piscivorous predator for 3 weeks. To analyse the inter-individual behavioural variation across the repeated measurements, we dissected the behavioural change across the predator treatment into individual constant and plastic components using hierarchical mixed-effects models. During the predator treatment, juvenile perch increased in boldness and decreased in vigilance, the magnitude of these behavioural changes was influenced by group composition. However, the behavioural changes were not influenced by the presence of a predator, indicating the difficulties in generating realistic long-term predation pressure in the laboratory. Individuals differed in the relative increase in boldness across the predator treatment and, thus, varied in the shape of their reaction norms. In accordance, the best linear unbiased predictors, extracted from the random effects of separate linear mixed-effects models for the data before and after the predator treatment were only weakly correlated. Hence, between-individual variation seems to change under laboratory conditions and therewith not necessarily represents the initially present 'natural' variation, giving important implications for the conduction and interpretation of behavioural experiments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study reports the development of a brief, quantitative, web-based, psychometrically sound measure-the Generalized Acceptance of EvolutioN Evaluation (GAENE, pronounced 'gene') in a format that is useful in large and small groups, in research, and in classroom settings. The measure was designed to measure only evolution acceptance-not related knowledge or religious beliefs. Item development was based on extensive student interviews and pretesting followed by multiple rounds of qualitative review and quantitative validity testing based on expert review (Lawshe, 1975) and multiple rounds of item revision, then by reliability testing of over 600 high school (HS) and post-secondary (PS) students (Study 1, GAENE 1.0). Data analysis strongly supported the reliability and validity of GAENE 1.0, principal components analysis supported a two-factor solution. All the negatively worded items (and only those items) loaded on the second factor. Rasch analysis also suggested the need for items that would be endorsed at the lower end of the person-item scale. The negatively worded items were, therefore, reworded as positives, additional items were generated to attract wider endorsement, two additional rounds of qualitative and quantitative expert validation were conducted, and reliability testing was repeated with over 600 HS and PS students (Study 2, GAENE 2.0). Both reliability and validity indices of GAENE 2.0 were strong (Lawshe content validity index = 0.72; Cronbach's alphaHS = 0.940; Cronbach's alphaPS = 0.948; Cronbach's alphacombined = 0.945). Principal components analysis suggests that GAENE 2.0 measures a single factor. Together with Rasch analysis results, these data provide substantial initial evidence to support the validity and psychometric integrity of the GAENE as a measure of the degree to which high school and college students accept the theory of evolution. The rigorous development process can also serve as a model for others interested in measure development. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 53: 1289-1315, 2016 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, we explore how two different prompt types within an online computer-based inquiry learning environment enhance 392 7th grade students' explanations of evolution with three teachers. In the elaborating prompt condition, students are prompted to write explanations that support the accepted theory of evolution. In the competing prompt condition, students are prompted to write explanations that differentiate two views of evolution associated with Darwin and Lamarck. Data sources included a pretest and posttest, an embedded item, observations, logged teacher guidance, and teacher interviews. Findings show similar pretest to posttest gains in students' understanding of evolution for both conditions, but this pattern was not uniform across all three teachers. For one teacher, students who received competing theory prompts produced significantly higher gains than those who received elaborating theory prompts. A closer look at embedded student work reveals a higher degree of teacher participation (i.e., grading and guidance) than for the other teachers. Our findings illustrate how helping students distinguish between competing scientific claims can support learning in an inquiry unit, but may require a higher degree of teacher participation and reinforcement. We discuss the implications of these findings for enhancing students' scientific explanations. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 53: 1341-1363, 2016 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses whether the difference of known content between ideas of creatures and ideas of non-actuals can be restricted to divine awareness of the decision to create or not. It asserts how God's actual willing of a creature must put something into it that cognitively differentiates it, something that amounts to a meaningful distinction between its own act of existence and its virtual presence in God's power.

There are many inputs during development that influence an organism's fit to current or upcoming environments. These include genetic effects, transgenerational epigenetic influences, environmental cues and developmental noise, which are rarely investigated in the same formal framework. We study an analytically tractable evolutionary model, in which cues are integrated to determine mature phenotypes in fluctuating environments. Environmental cues received during development and by the mother as an adult act as detection-based (individually observed) cues. The mother's phenotype and a quantitative genetic effect act as selection-based cues (they correlate with environmental states after selection). We specify when such cues are complementary and tend to be used together, and when using the most informative cue will predominate. Thus, we extend recent analyses of the evolutionary implications of subsets of these effects by providing a general diagnosis of the conditions under which detection and selection-based influences on development are likely to evolve and coexist. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Though the Romantic era is often imagined as the 'age of revolution,' recent criticism in the field has seen renewed interest in Romanticism's relationship to evolution, including the resurgence of such topics as organicism, vitalism, natural history, and natural philosophy, as well as other salient themes from the physical and life sciences. This essay offers a contextual introduction for a cluster of articles around the topic of evolution as a concept for literary theory and criticism in Romantic studies, articles that focus critical attention on complex evolutionary ideas like contingency, chance, species transformation, monstrosity, extinction, and the inhuman. The aim of Romantic Evolutions is to reimagine prevailing notions of evolution by tracing their modern origins to literary, cultural, and scientific discourses of the transitional period 1775-1859, a time that witnessed the genesis of the modern idea of 'literature' alongside of the emergence of specialized disciplines, such as geology, biology, physiology, chemistry, psychology, and anthropology. Instead of searching through 18th- and early 19th-century science for 'forerunners' to the Darwinian revolution, the essays in the volume focus attention on the important contributions of Romantic poets, philosophers, and scientists who have too often been overlooked by the empirical sciences. And yet, by shifting the central focus away from Darwin and his theory of natural selection, contributors also revisit his relationship to Romanticism with fresh eyes. Taken together, the volume seeks to provoke a reevaluation of our current understanding of the Romantic conception of evolution, one that will open new critical perspectives and orientations for scholars within and beyond the field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The following article investigates the unique epistemic changes in conceptions and representations of chance and causality that begin with the poetry and thought of Samuel Taylor Coleridge and William Wordsworth (and first-generation British Romanticism) and that are elaborated and expressed ultimately in Charles Darwin's theories of organic variation and evolution through natural selection. I argue that both Coleridge's The Rime of the Ancyent Marinere (1798) and Wordsworth's The Prelude (1805) rely on a shift from describing chance as an ontological concern to chance as a discursive matter. Drawing on Darwin's statistical projects from the 1850s and selections from his correspondence in which he begins to articulate his developmental theory of organic variability, I then reveal that Darwin too makes a similar intellectual leap from characterizing chance as event to theorizing chance as idea. As I propose, chance - as an epistemological or discursive matter - radically reconfigures both literary and scientific representations of causality produced during this period. The essay thus concludes by suggesting that the idea of chance infiltrates Romantic and Victorian depictions of the natural world so thoroughly that these representations are impossible without a reorganization of the clauses and stipulations of causality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This essay considers how extinction functions as a concept within romantic studies and as an inhuman dynamic inscribed in the concept of Romanticism itself. Beginning with an essay on Paul de Man and moving to analyses of Wordsworth and Clare alongside contemporary work by Dipesh Chakrabarty, it argues for the necessity of rethinking evolution and life in the context of the Anthropocene. How would romantic thought change once one thinks of lives that are not reducibly human? And what would be the status of such poetry? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the evolutionary pre-history of the modern museum, the eclectic collections of the Romantic period tend to fall somewhere in between the early modern curiosity cabinet, the encyclopaedic enlightenment museum and the orderly public institutions of the later 19th century. This essay explores the place of the Romantic museum in that narrative and the usefulness of evolution as a metaphor for museum history, specifically in relation to questions of orderliness and the visual in the popular reception of museums in the period and in Darwin's engagement of those topics in On the Origin of Species (1859). A variety of late 18th-century and early 19th-century examples, and an eclectic cast of characters, are foregrounded: from the Duchess of Portland and her copious collections, to Rackstrow's museum of morbid curiosities, Sir Ashton Lever's Holophusikon (devoted largely to natural history) and the surgeon John Hunter's anatomical specimens. In these cases and others, the associative and imaginative capacities of the viewer are called upon to 'make sense' of the latent (dis)orderliness of things. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This response to the series of articles on the theme of 'Romanticism and Evolution' considers the collective significance of the essays gathered here. It considers the representation of slowness, the idea of the imagination, and the relation between the living and the non-living to think about how romantic writing helped to create the conditions of possibility out of which evolutionary theory emerged, and also how it might question the very idea of development commonly associated with evolution. The response thus highlights overlapping concerns and significant differences in the collected essays while pointing the way for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This essay argues that the poetry of Percy Shelley may have contributed to Charles Darwin's ability to conceptualize forces of change in the natural world. The work of Shelley occupies a key position in the development of pre-Darwinian thought about change and transformation. His early interest in Lockean empiricism and his knowledge of the natural sciences have long been recognized by scholars working on romanticism and science. Less explored are the ways in which the poetry of Shelley has a bearing on the intellectual challenge Darwin faced in interpreting signs of change in the natural world. Shelley's poetry offers an account of how such change reveals itself: an account based not on a priori concepts of divine language, but on material evidence of the power of natural phenomena to convey information. In this way, poetry and science come into relation with each other. Like most young men of his time, Darwin would have been aware of Shelley's controversial reputation. What survives of the correspondence between the young Darwin and his friend the aspiring poet Henry Matthew, who was his contemporary at Cambridge, indicates that the two men had intense debates about Shelley's work, and about his notoriety as a materialist and atheist. Though no details are given, the correspondence does indicate that both of them read the poet's work and had conversations about it. Shelley's use of an evolving poetic/mythological vocabulary, putting pressure on the conventional meanings of words (a kind of linguistic change) to enable the reader to conceive of global processes of change, strongly advanced Romantic-era thinking in this regard. Shelley's enthusiasm for the materialist philosophy of Lucretius provided him with good authority for the belief that the natural world was inhabited by forces that would powerfully impinge upon the minds of humans. His mature poetics remained open to the idea that observing the operations of these natural forces, traceable in the geological record, would reveal signs of terrestrial change and prepare the awakened mind for a future transformed world. Darwin (for all his well-known anxiety about challenging Christian beliefs) would have had in Shelley's poetry a productive model for conceptualizing the processes of nature, combining in such works as 'Mont Blanc' and Prometheus Unbound changes in the referentiality of linguistic signs with observed changes in the forms of nature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT The present study applies an evolutionary resilience framework to complex socioecological systems in the coastal regions in Europe with a particular focus on lagoons. Despite their variations, lagoons share common challenges in achieving effective and sustainable ways of governing and managing economic, social, and environmental uncertainties. Our aim is to demonstrate that building resilience involves planning not only for recovery from shocks but also for cultivating preparedness and seeking potential transformative opportunities that emerge from change. The framework consists of 4 dimensions: persistence, adaptability, transformability, and preparedness. To illustrate how this 4-dimensional framework can be applied to the specific context of lagoons, we draw on examples of good and poor practices from the 10 lagoons studied as part of the ARCH project. Integr Environ Assess Manag 2016;12:711-718. © 2016 SETAC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A review of recent progress in understanding the dynamics, internal structure and palaeoenvironmental potential of ice wedges and sand wedges is presented, based on literature published between 2008 and 2015. Ice wedges constitute the most ice-rich and widespread periglacial landform in permafrost lowlands. Thus, progress in understanding the processes associated with them, using a large variety of direct and indirect field and remote sensing methods, is important, particularly in a changing climate with increased potential for ice-wedge degradation. Ice-wedge polygons have been found to control microclimate, hydrology and greenhouse gas fluxes from permafrost. New technologies have allowed the identification of more fossil polygons, increasing their role in reconstructing periglacial conditions. Study of ice-wedge casts, sand wedges and ice wedges has improved palaeoenvironmental reconstruction, particularly from the last glacial period and the Holocene, of changes to these landforms in both present and former permafrost areas. Polygons on Mars have recently attracted considerable attention, primarily due to increased remote sensing capabilities and even on-site investigations, which identify ice in these landforms. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article examines the new concepts of evolution and symbiosis. It cites the importance of the symbiosis between bacteria and eukaryote in providing additional knowledge on the interaction between higher organisms and microbiota. Also highlighted are the role of the intrinsically disordered proteins on the liquid-liquid phase transitions and the efficient strategies adopted by microbes to cope with the environmental changes as the earth suffered several catastrophic events like glaciation.

Domestication has been of major interest to biologists for centuries, whether for creating new plants and animal types or more formally exploring the principles of evolution. Such studies have long used combinations of phenotypic and genetic evidence. Recently, the advent of a large number of genomes and genomic tools across a wide array of domesticated plant and animal species has reinvigorated the study of domestication. These genomic data, which can be easily generated for nearly any species, often provide great insight with or without a reference genome. The comparison of genome wide data from domestic and wild species has ignited a wave of insight into human, plant, and animal history with a new range of questions becoming accessible. With this in mind, this issue of Evolutionary Applications includes eleven papers covering a wide range of perspectives and methodologies relevant to understanding genomic variation under domestication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]