Summary: Etterson & Shaw (2001)

Etterson & Shaw (2001) described the genetic structure of three populations of the native North American annual legume Chamaecrista fasciculata, under experimental field conditions designed to simulate a warmer, drier climate (as predicted by global climate change models) to evaluate the evolutionary potential of the species. Although they found genetic variance in numerous traits (fecundity, leaf number, leaf thickness, rate of phenological development) under selection, they noted that among-trait correlations antagonistic to the direction of selection may function to limit adaptive evolution. They predict that the rate of evolutionary response in this species is slow than the predicted rate of climate change and could have a negative impact on the species.

Summary: McMahon et al. (2012)

Supporters of animal welfare often oppose research conducted on wild animals by wildlife scientists. However, this is of concern as the biodiversity crisis requires knowledge of many animals' biology and ecology, amongst other things (e.g. behaviour). Although some studies might result in "invasive" research, this could lead to increased conservation goals for threatened populations. Supporters of animal welfare often find this level of invasion unacceptable, regardless of the proposed outcomes. McMahon et al. (2012) suggest that a resolution between these two opposing sides can be resolved. They suggest that scientists should apply Bateson's Decision Cube to research studies to highlight and efficiently demonstrate the benefits of the research. This will also allow them to engage more successfully with the public sector (including animal welfare supporters) in debates of conservation value research.

Summary: Sheth et al. (2012)

One of the major components to human cognition is the ability to behave in the most appropriate manner to constantly changing environmental pressure. Cognitive control is regulated by the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC). This has been proposed to play a role in reward-based decision making, conflict resolution between two competing responses and assessment/prediction of the difficulty of a task. Sheth et al. (2012) used functional imaging and human single-neuron recordings to show the precise mechanisms of dACC function, indicating that individual dACC neurons encode cognitive load (recent and current). They further show that prior activity modifies current dACC activity to produce a behavioural adaptation that speeds up reactions to cues previously experienced as difficult, but can slow reactions to cues with different difficulties (known as the Gratton effect). Sheth et al.'s (2012) results show that future behavioural responses can be optimized by the continuous updating of predictions of expected cognitive demand by the dACC. They further suggest that in stable conditions, efficiency is promoted by speeding up responses, but when conditions become variable or unstable, accuracy is improved through the delay of responses.

Summary: Suzuki (2012)

Antipredator alarm calls are produced by many birds and mammals in response to perceived presence of a predator. Alarm calls often vary in their acoustic structure and are dependent of the level of perceived risk and on the type of predator perceived (e.g. a snake vs. and eagle). These alarm calls are designed to elicit an appropriate escape response by conspecifics, such as looking to the sky or running up a tree. Alarm calls may also encourage individuals to join together to mob predators, but the information contained in the calls is crucial for determining the manner in which to mob. Japanese great tits Pares major minor produce distinct mobbing calls in response to jungle crows Corvus macrorhynchos ('chicka' calls) and Japanese rat snakes Elaphe climacophora ('jar' calls). Suzuki (2012) found that, in a playback experiment, adult birds responded different to the the different mobbing calls: they looked to the sky in response to a 'chicka' call, but gazed toward the ground in response to a 'jar' call. Suzuki (2012) suggests that the mobbing calls of Japanese great tits transmit referential information about the type of predator posing the risk, and also help to elicit appropriate anti-predator (predator-searching) behaviours.