Fieldwork in the UK or abroad?
The British Ecological Society are surveying undergraduates about how fieldwork influences course choice. Please complete it here http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/BJYBCB6
A different type of exam…
A lecturer at UCLA allows students to use game theory for their game theory exam i.e. no restrictions, the option to use any resources (including the internet and other students) to work towards the best answer http://www.popsci.com/science/article/2013-04/why-i-let-my-students-cheat-their-game-theory-exam (thank you Tom Ezard!)
Field assistant in Panama in June/July (thank you Rob Gandola!)
Volunteer field assistant positions (2) available to assist with graduate research on Bolitoglossa salamanders in central Panama. The project runs from June 1st- July 31st and is focused on the natural history and conservation of Bolitoglossa salamanders. Work will be conducted in the cloud forest during the day and at night. The field site is hilly and conditions are expected to be wet. Researchers will likely encounter spiders, scorpions, and snakes including venomous species.
These positions are part of the RIO Program at La MICA Biological Station, which allows students and recent graduates to visit the tropics and gain valuable research experience. Volunteers are required to pay their own airfare and a $125/week fee to cover lodging and food, (this may be lowered if pending funding is secured).
Qualifications for volunteers:
Must be willing to work at any hour and in adverse weather conditions, follow directions, and carefully collect data in a group or independently. Previous field experience is helpful, but not required; although an ability to learn new techniques quickly will be essential. A working knowledge of Spanish is helpful but not necessary.
To apply:
Submit the following to Leslie Brinkman at brinkman87@live.missouristate.edu:
·Your resume or CV
·A paragraph or two outlining why you would like to participate in this experience and why you are the best person for the position
·The dates during June and July for which you will be available (best if you can stay for 2 or more consecutive weeks)
Review of applications will begin on 06 May 2013 and continue until positions are filled.”
TV documentary on honey badgers (again, thank you Rob Gandola!)
“Want to be part of the team making a TV documentary for the BBC on Honey Badgers?
We have places in June and July for you to join our research team working with the wildlife filmmakers.
Contact Carol for more information:
http://www.researchcam.com/contactus.html
OR
Email directly carol@researchcam.com“
How did feather evolve?
A TED Ed by Carl Zimmer http://ed.ted.com/lessons/how-did-feathers-evolve-carl-zimmer
Facial features and fitness (I have decided to focus on this topic in this edition)
Symmetry/facial features in men’s faces seems to be very topical at the moment
Scott et al. have reviewed the literature about facial signals providing a signal of heritable immunocompetence http://beheco.oxfordjournals.org/content/24/3/579.abstract.html?etoc
There are lots of invited commentaries underneath
Another paper just published in Biology Letters relates facial morphology to fitness and rank of WW2 Finnish soldiers http://rsbl.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/9/4/20130049.abstract.html?cpetoc
Facial symmetry has been found to be associated with attractiveness and physical fitness (not evolutionary fitness) in women http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs12110-004-1018-4
However, those of you who took BIOL2001 this semester will know that the evidence for symmetry providing fitness cues is variable. In studies looking at this the degree of fluctuation in symmetry (fluctuating asymmetry as it is called) are measured.
This is particularly interesting because a 2005 Nature paper suggested that Jamaican teenagers with symmetrical bodies were good at dancing but one of the authors (the infamous Robert Trivers) has worked hard to get the paper retracted. You can read about this story here http://www.nature.com/news/symmetry-study-deemed-a-fraud-1.12932
And the 2005 article here http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v438/n7071/full/nature04344.html
The most interesting thing of all, is that increasingly human behaviour is being studied from a behavioural ecology, rather than a psychological, perspective. Perhaps we are driven by our selfish genes or are we complicated beings with enhanced sentience?
Posted By : Judith Lock