Bionomics: Vernon Lyman Kellogg and the Defense of Darwinism

Bionomics was a research approach invented by British biological scientists in the late nineteenth century and adopted by the American entomologist and evolutionist Vernon Lyman Kellogg in the early twentieth century. Kellogg hoped to use bionomics, which was the controlled observation and experimentation of organisms within settings that approximated their natural environments, to overcome the percieved weaknesses in the Darwinian natural selection theory. To this end, he established abionomics laboratory at Stanford University, widely published results from his bionomic investigations, and encouraged other biological researchers to adopt bionomics. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Moral Darwinism: Ethical evidence for the descent of man

Could an ethical theory ever play a substantial evidential role in a scientific argument for an empirical hypothesis? InThe Descent of Man, Darwin includes an extended discussion of the nature of human morality, and the ethical theory which he sketches is not simply developed as an interesting ramification of his theory of evolution, but is used as a key part of his evidence for human descent from animal ancestors. Darwin must rebut the argument that, because of our moral nature, humans are essentially different in kind from other animals and so had to have had a different origin. I trace his causal story of how the moral sense could develop out of social instincts by evolutionary mechanisms of group selection, and show that the form of Utilitarianism he proposes involves a radical reduction of the standard of value to the concept of biological fitness. I argue that this causal analysis, although a weakness from a normative standpoint, is a strength when judged for its intended purpose as part of an evidential argument to confirm the hypothesis of human descent.     

Expanding the Dialogue: A Response to Bird and Godwin's "Film in the Undergraduate Anthropology Classroom"

This article is a response to S. Elizabeth Bird and Jonathan P. Godwin's article "Film in the Undergraduate Anthropology Classroom: Applying Audience Response Research in Pedagogical Practice." The intention of my response is to expand the dialogue on film use to promote cultural understanding in university classes and campus-wide. Through participant-observation and the use of surveys over a two-year period, I examine the transformation of participant viewers in various contexts, noting that by limiting our understanding of film to merely the transfer of information, we not only have a limited understanding of our viewers but also have ignored possible avenues for learning. My findings indicate that the "context" for film screening is dependent on the film, the instructor, the post-screening discussant, and the viewers, can yield dramatic results in learning, depending on the ways in which each is engaged.     

Sociobiology of biodegradation and the role of predatory protozoa in biodegrading communities

Predatory protozoa are known to enhance biodegradation by bacteria in a variety of systems including rumen. This is apparently counterintuitive since many protozoa do not themselves produce extracellular degradative enzymes and prey upon bacterial degraders. We propose a mechanism of protozoal enhancement of bacterial biodegradation based on the sociobiology of biodegradation. Since extracellular enzyme production by degraders involves a cost to the bacterial cell, cheaters that do not make the enzyme will have a selective advantage. In the presence of cheaters, degraders that physically attach to water-insoluble substrate will have a selective advantage over free-floating degraders. On the other hand, cheaters will benefit by being free floaters since they consume the solubilized products of extracellular enzymes. Predatory ciliated protozoa are more likely to consume free-floating cheaters. Thus, due to protozoan predation a control is exerted on the cheater population. We illustrate the dynamics of such a system with the help of a computer simulation model. Available data on rumen and other biodegradation systems involving protozoa are compatible with the assumptions and predictions of the model.     

Behavioral and neural Darwinism: Selectionist function and mechanism in adaptive behavior dynamics

An evolutionary theory of behavior dynamics and a theory of neuronal group selection share a common selectionist framework. The theory of behavior dynamics instantiates abstractly the idea that behavior is selected by its consequences. It implements Darwinian principles of selection, reproduction, and mutation to generate adaptive behavior in virtual organisms. The behavior generated by the theory has been shown to be quantitatively indistinguishable from that of live organisms. The theory of neuronal group selection suggests a mechanism whereby the abstract principles of the evolutionary theory may be implemented in the nervous systems of biological organisms. According to this theory, groups of neurons subserving behavior may be selected by synaptic modifications that occur when the consequences of behavior activate value systems in the brain. Together, these theories constitute a framework for a comprehensive account of adaptive behavior that extends from brain function to the behavior of whole organisms in quantitative detail.     

Some Recent Developments in Evolutionary Approaches to the Study of Human Cognition and Behavior

In this paper I review some theoretical exchanges and empiricalresults from recent work on human behavior and cognition in thehope of indicating some productive avenues for critical engagement.I focus particular attention on methodological debates between Evolutionary Psychologists and behavioral ecologists. I argue for a broader and more encompassing approach to the evolutionarily based study of human behavior and cognition than either of these two rivals present.     

LCA in Japan: policy and progress

A summary of the current Japanese activities related to Life Cycle Assessment are presented with a specific comparison of Life Cycle Impact Assessment in relation to European tendencies. Japanese organizations involved in LCA, recent legislation impacting LCA activities and LCA case studies are also tabulated. The LCA priorities of policy makers and industrialists are discussed in comparison and compared to those in the United States. Projects within the Life Cycle Assessment Society of Japan and the Man-Earth Project are highlighted including the construction of a public LCI data base and the prediction of 21st century environmental crises.     

Ontogeny, anatomy, and the problem of homology: Carl Gegenbaur and the American tradition of cell lineage studies

Summary In this paper we analyze Carl Gegenbaur’s conception of the relationship between embryology (“Ontogenie”) and comparative anatomy and his related ideas about homology. We argue that Gegenbaur’s conviction of the primacy of comparative anatomy and his careful consideration of caenogenesis led him to a more balanced view about the relationship between ontogeny and phylogeny than his good friend Ernst Haeckel. We also argue that Gegenbaur’s ideas about the centrality of comparative anatomy and his definitions of homology actually laid the conceptual foundations for Hans Spemann’s (1915) later analysis of homology. We also analyze Gegenbaur’s reception in the United States and how the discussions between E.B. Wilson and Edwin Conklin about the role of the “embryological criterion of homology” and the latter’s argument for an even earlier concept of cellular homology reflect the recurring theme of preformism in ontogeny, a theme that finds its modern equivalent in various genetic definitions of homology, only recently challenged by the emerging synthesis of evolutionary developmental biology. Finally, we conclude that Gegenbaur’s own careful methodological principles can serve as an important model for proponents of present day “evo-devo”, especially with respect to the integration of ontogeny with phylogeny embedded in comparative anatomy.     

The Philosophy of Donald T. Campbell: A Short Review and Critical Appraisal

Aside from his remarkable studies in psychology and the social sciences, Donald Thomas Campbell (1916–1996) made significant contributions to philosophy, particularly philosophy of science,epistemology, and ethics. His name and his work are inseparably linked with the evolutionary approach to explaining human knowledge (evolutionary epistemology). He was an indefatigable supporter of the naturalistic turn in philosophy and has strongly influenced the discussion of moral issues (evolutionary ethics). The aim of this paper is to briefly characterize Campbells work and to discuss its philosophical implications. In particular, I show its relevance to some current debates in the intersection of biology and philosophy. In fact, philosophy of biology would look poorer without Campbells influence. The present paper is not a hagiography but an attempt to evaluate and critically discuss the meaning of Campbells work for philosophy of biology and to encourage scholars working in this field to read and re-read this work which is both challenging and inspiring.     

Gliocephalotrichum microchlamydosporum and G. simplex in the Ryukyu Islands, Japan

Seven hyphomycete isolates from forest environments of the Ryukyu Islands, Japan, were identified to Gliocephalotrichum microchlamydosporum and G. simplex. The former species is a new record in Japan. Although the five known species in the genus Gliocephalotrichum including two isolates of G. microchlamydosporum and four of G. simplex in this study are all soilborne, another isolate of G. simplex was first isolated from an unidentified basidiocarp tissue.     

Current LCA database development in Japan -results of the LCA project

In 1998, the Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry (METI) launched a five-year national project entitled ‘Development of Life Cycle Impact Assessment for Products’ (commonly known as ‘the LCA Project’). The purpose of the project is to develop common LCA methodology as well as a highly reliable database that can be shared in Japan. Activities over these five years have resulted in the supply of LCI data on some 250 products. Industrial associations voluntarily provided data. The results of these activities are currently being made available on the Internet on a trial basis in the form of an LCA database. In addition, a method entitled ‘Life-cycle Impact assessment Method based on Endpoint modeling (LIME)’ was developed. It is expected that these results will be widely used in Japan in the future. This paper presents an outline of the results of the research and development that has been conducted in the LCA Project in Japan.     

Geographical distribution of myxomycetes on coniferous deadwood in relation to air temperature in Japan

This study obtained information on the biogeographical distribution of lignicolous myxomycetes in temperate regions in Japan. It examined how climatic variables are related to patterns of occurrence in myxomycete communities. Sixty-four taxa were recorded on coniferous wood in 15 forest sites in summer. Common species that were abundant and widely distributed in Japan included Stemonitis axifera, Lycogala epidendrum, and Cribraria cancellata. In addition, Lindbladia cribrarioides was characteristic on dead Pinus densiflora wood in southwestern Japan. The species diversity index (H′) of the myxomycete communities was positively correlated with the annual mean temperature. The distribution of myxomycete communities was analyzed using nonmultidimensional scaling (NMDS). The ecological nature of the gradients expressed by the first two NMDS axes was that the first axis was found to correspond strongly to changes in the average minimum temperature and the latitude, and the second axis was related to a complex of factors, including altitude. The relative abundance of certain species in a myxomycete community on Japanese red pine changed in relation to the annual mean temperature, e.g., Lycogala epidendrum correlated negatively while Stemonitopsis hyperopta did so positively. We conclude that air temperatures can be used to predict the geographical distribution of lignicolous myxomycetes in this temperate region of Japan.     

Twenty years of phylogeography: the state of the field and the challenges for the Southern Hemisphere

Phylogeography is a young, vigorous and integrative field of study that uses genetic data to understand the history of populations. This field has recently expanded into many areas of biology and also into several historical disciplines of Earth sciences. In this review, I present a numerical synthesis of the phylogeography literature based on an examination of over 3000 articles published during the first 20 years of the field (i.e. from 1987 to 2006). Information from several topics needed to evaluate the progress, tendencies and deficiencies of the field is summarized for 10 major groups of organisms and at a global scale. The topics include the geography of phylogeographic surveys, comparative nature of studies, temporal scales and major environments investigated, and genetic markers used. I also identify disparities in research productivity between the developing and the developed world, and propose ways to reduce some of the challenges faced by phylogeographers from less affluent countries. Phylogeography has experienced explosive growth in recent years fuelled by developments in DNA technology, theory and statistical analysis. I argue that the intellectual maturation of the field will eventually depend not only on these recent developments, but also on syntheses of comparative information across different regions of the globe. For this to become a reality, many empirical phylogeographic surveys in regions of the Southern Hemisphere (and in developing countries of the Northern Hemisphere) are needed. I expect the information and views presented here will assist in promoting international collaborative work in phylogeography and in guiding research efforts at both regional and global levels.     

Development of ecology in Japan,with special reference to the role of Kinji Imanishi

The development of ecology in Japan, especially after the Meiji Restoration (1868), is briefly reviewed. Pioneering studies of Hiratsuka, on the calorimetric budget of a silkworm population, and Motomura, on the relation between numbers of species and individuals in biotic communities, are noteworthy. A critical examination of his role in ecology in Japan reveals Kinji Imanishi to have played pivotal roles in leading Japanese population ecologists to realize the importance of dispersal in population regulation, and leading to the worldwide revival of field primatology. Although Imanishi's later (popular) writings, in which he completely negated the role of competion and natural selection, have justifiably drawn much criticism, his earlier critique of the competition-Almighty paradigms may be re-evaluated in the light of recent discussions on interspecific competition and community equilibrium.