Revisiting Brosnan and de Waal 2003

In a paper published in Nature in 2003, Sarah Brosnan and Frans de Waal provided what was, arguably, the first evidence for inequity avoidance in a non-human animal. Brosnan and de Waal found that brown capuchin monkeys, refused to participate in trials if they observed conspecifics receiving a more attractive award for performing the same …

Revisiting Agrawal et al. 1999

In a paper published in Nature in 1999, Anurag Agrawal, Christian Laforsch and Ralph Tollrian showed that when Daphnia and and wild radish were exposed, non-lethall to their respective they produced offspring that were better defended than those from unattacked organisms. This study was one of the first to find strong evidence, in both plants …

Revisiting Harrison et al. 1988

In a paper published in The American Naturalist in 1988, Susan Harrison, Dennis Murphy and Paul Ehrlich demonstrate the existence of a metapopulation of the Bay checkerspot butterfly, a rare species whose larvae feed on plants that grow on patches of serpentine soil. Using a combination of field surveys, simulation modelling and historical information, Harrison …

Revisiting Hobbie 1996

In a paper published in Ecological Monographs in 1996, Sarah Hobbie reported the results of her laboratory experiments on the effect of increased temperature and species composition on litter decomposition in the Alaskan Tundra. Hobbie found that increased temperature led to "increased rates of soil and litter respiration, litter decomposition, litter nitrogen release, and soil …

Revisiting Jackson et al. 2001

In a paper published in Science in 2001, Jeremy Jackson, Michael Kirby, Wolfgang Berger, Karen Bjorndal, Louis Botsford, Bruce Bourque, Roger Bradbury, Richard Cooke, Jon Erlandson, James Estes, Terence Hughes, Susan Kidwell, Carina Lange, Hunter Lenihan, John Pandolfi, Charles Peterson, Robert Steneck, Mia Tegner and Robert Warner showed, using paleoecological, archeological and historical data, that …

Revisiting Moran 1996

In a paper published in PNAS in 1996, Nancy Moran showed that endosymbiotic bacterial lineages showed faster rates of evolution of 16S rDNA and increased rate of fixation of deleterious mutations, compared to free-living lineages. These results, Moran concluded, were evidence for the Muller's ratchet phenomenon in combination with mutational bias. Twenty-three years after the …

Revisiting Frank 1995

In a paper published in Nature in 1995, Steven Frank proposed a simple model to show how "mutual policing" can suppress competition and ensure "fairness" in reproduction, in the evolution of cooperative groups. Twenty-two tears after the paper was published. I asked Steven Frank about his motivation to do the work presented in this paper, …