Maternal influence on the development of nut‐cracking skills in the chimpanzees of the Taï forest,Côte d'Ivoire (Pan troglodytes verus)

Chimpanzees’ (Pan troglodytes) nut‐cracking behavior represents one of the most complex forms of tool‐use known among nonhuman animals. Given the close phylogenetic relationship between these apes and humans, investigating how such complex behavior develops in immatures can reveal the evolutionary roots of the cognitive processes that enabled the evolution of outstanding technological skills in our lineage. In this study, we investigated whether maternal behavior directly enhanced nut‐cracking skills in immature individuals. We analyzed the behavior of 11 immatures and their mothers (N = 8) during nut‐cracking activity, spanning over three consecutive nut‐cracking seasons in the Taï National Park, Côte d'Ivoire. We used generalized linear mixed models to (a) obtain values of maternal scaffolding (defined as provision of learning opportunities) and active nut‐sharing behavior of each mother according to the age of their offspring, and their average nut‐cracking efficiency; (b) to test whether these variables enhanced immatures’ nut‐cracking skills; and (c) to test whether immatures’ features (age, sex, and begging behavior) influenced maternal behavior as observed in our videos. Although the predicted values of maternal scaffolding and active nut‐sharing did not obviously affect immatures’ skills, they were positively influenced by the average maternal efficiency and by sharing hammers with their mothers. In addition, our observations showed that mothers were more likely to share nuts with their sons than with their daughters, and the more their offspring begged. Concurrently, male immatures were also found to beg more often than females. Our results add evidence on the ontogenetic pathway leading to the full acquisition of nut‐cracking in wild chimpanzees and on the effect that maternal behavior can have in promoting the acquisition of this complex tool‐use behavior. Moreover, our study strengthens the importance of naturalistic observations to understand complex skill acquisition. Finally, we suggest future avenues for investigating the maternal influence on learning.     

Effects of a story-based strategy to enhance pupils’ ability and motivation to read bio-technical texts

This paper reports the results of a survey of the opinions of UK school teachers on the use of living organisms in secondary school science. A total of 285 respondents completed a questionnaire circulated to all members of the Institute of Biology. It was found that the last few years have seen a variety of constraints on the use of living organisms in schools. These include the pressures of time and finance, other effects of the introduction of the National Curriculum (England and Wales), a shortage of skilled technicians and a shift in pupils' perceptions about the ethics and value of the use of animals in schools. Despite all these, most respondents strongly favoured the appropriate use of living materials as an integral part of genuine biology education.     

“Meaningful” Biochemistry at Pre-clinical Level

We examined science inquiry, technology, and content in laboratory curricula of first-semester, general biology at six randomly selected community colleges in Colorado, USA. We derived a seven-point scale to assess science inquiry. For each exercise, we recorded the technology used, the biological principle examined, and whether the lab was derived from a commercial manual or a manual generated by the institution. Results showed that lab curricula at all six schools addressed an average of less than three categories of science inquiry. The main deficiencies were in deriving problems/hypotheses, variables, methods, and extensions. Labs implementing technology addressed significantly fewer categories of inquiry than those without technology. Microscopes were the most common source of technology, but were used almost exclusively for observations of teacher-determined objects, rather than as tools to increase the number of categories of science inquiry addressed. Labs from commercial manuals allowed students to address significantly more categories of science inquiry than labs from manuals generated by the institution. We suggest that educators evaluate inquiry in their labs with an inventory such as the one derived in this paper, and attempt to address the seven categories of science inquiry several times in each lab course.     

高职药学类专业《微生物学》课程定位研究

基于药学专业的特点和教学实际,对高职药学类专业<微生物学>课程的目标、性质、功能与内容设计等方面的定位进行了探讨,为该课程教学方法的改革提供一定依据.     

微生物学数字课程的设计与应用

微生物学数字课程是以微生物学知识内容构建、借助高等教育出版社云课程平台传播的课程。作者编著的《微生物学数字课程》已由高等教育出版社出版,本文介绍了微生物学数字课程的设计与教学应用。该课程结构设计包括章节名称、作业、基本问题、小组专题讨论、课程论文、自由讨论区;资源设计包括教学录像、电子资源(教学课件、动画等)、网上自测;交互设计包括讨论、留言、疑难解答等;构建出课前教师在平台发布课程资源和学习任务—学生登录平台观看资源—课中教师进行疑难问题解答及知识总结—学生进行问题讨论、课题成果汇报—课后学生提交作业及网上自测的教学模式。教学实践结果表明,微生物数字课程对提高学生的学习兴趣、合作学习能力、信息技术素养及学习能力具有积极的作用。     

Compliance to Brazil's Forest Code will not protect biodiversity and ecosystem services

In striking contrast to heartening events in the adjacent Amazon, Brazil's Cerrado biome has seen continued deforestation over the past decade. Though approved in 2012, no study evaluated the impacts of new Brazilian Forest Code (FC) revision on biodiversity and ecosystem services. Here, we report the first assessment of the likely loss and gain in biodiversity and ecosystem services expected if the FC is properly enforced across 200 million hectares of the Cerrado. We also discuss the challenges associated to compliance with the law and present opportunities for conservation. Establishing restoration programmes in private properties with currently less native vegetation than required by the FC could create habitat for 25% more threatened species than now found in these places and could also increase water security and carbon stock in 56.6 MtC. More important, trading environmental reserve quotas coupled with the strategic expansion of protected areas on private and public land could definitely rescue the Cerrado from the brink.     

Elephants and water provision: what are the management links?

In a recent paper we demonstrated that elephant bull groups and mixed herds exhibited spatial and resource segregation across the Kruger National Park. It was found, inter alia , that both bull groups and mixed herds occurred more frequently closer to rivers than expected if they were randomly distributed, but that only bull groups occurred more frequently closer to the artificial waterholes. Although Chamaillé-Jammes et al. (2007 ) accepted these results, they disagreed with our interpretation regarding the potential effect that closure of artificial waterholes might have. Here we address some of the specific concerns expressed and provide a broader context regarding water provision and elephant management. Although water provision can influence elephant density and distribution, we argue that the effectiveness of surface-water manipulation as a management tool will depend on (1) natural surface-water availability, (2) forage quality, (3) elephant densities, (4) position of a population on its growth trajectory, and (5) management objectives. Even though elephants are water-dependent, the effectiveness of water provision as a management tool will therefore be area- and population-specific and will depend on management objectives.