Testing major evolutionary hypotheses about religion with a random sample

Theories of religion that are supported with selected examples can be criticized for selection bias. This paper evaluates major evolutionary hypotheses about religion with a random sample of 35 religions drawn from a 16-volume encyclopedia of world religions. The results are supportive of the group-level adaptation hypothesis developed in Darwin’s Cathedral: Evolution, Religion, and the Nature of Society (Wilson 2002). Most religions in the sample have what Durkheim called secular utility. Their otherworldly elements can be largely understood as proximate mechanisms that motivate adaptive behaviors. Jainism, the religion in the sample that initially appeared most challenging to the group-level adaptation hypothesis, is highly supportive upon close examination. The results of the survey are preliminary and should be built upon by a multidisciplinary community as part of a field of evolutionary religious studies. This research was supported by a grant from the Institute for Research on Unlimited Love. David Sloan Wilson is an evolutionary biologist interested in a broad range of issues relevant to human behavior. He has published in psychology, anthropology, and philosophy journals in addition to his mainstream biological research. He is co-author with the philosopher Elliott Sober of Unto Others: The Evolution and Psychology of Unselfish Behavior (Harvard University Press, 1998).     

Trophic structure of a coastal fish community determined with diet and stable isotope analyses

A combination of dietary guild analysis and nitrogen (δ¹⁵N) and carbon (δ¹³C) stable‐isotope analysis was used to assess the trophic structure of the fish community in Rhode Island and Block Island Sounds, an area off southern New England identified for offshore wind energy development. In the autumn of 2009, 2010 and 2011, stomach and tissue samples were taken from 20 fish and invertebrate species for analysis of diet composition and δ¹⁵N and δ¹³C signatures. The food chain in Rhode Island and Block Island Sounds comprises approximately four trophic levels within which the fish community is divided into distinct dietary guilds, including planktivores, benthivores, crustacivores and piscivores. Within these guilds, inter‐species isotopic and dietary overlap is high, suggesting that resource partitioning or competitive interactions play a major role in structuring the fish community. Carbon isotopes indicate that most fishes are supported by pelagic phytoplankton, although there is evidence that benthic production also plays a role, particularly for obligate benthivores such as skates Leucoraja spp. This type of analysis is useful for developing an ecosystem‐based approach to management, as it identifies species that act as direct links to basal resources as well as species groups that share trophic roles.     

Neural network model of selective visual attention using Hodgkin–Huxley equation

We propose a mathematical model of selective visual attention using a two-layered neural network with neurons described by the Hodgkin–Huxley equation in order to investigate part of the assumption proposed by Desimone and Duncan. The neural network consists of a layer of hippocampal formation and of visual cortex. A frequency of firing and a firing time for each neuron and also a correlation of the firing times between neurons are calculated numerically to clarify an attention state, a nonattention state, and an attention shift. We find that synchronous phenomena occur not only for the frequency but also for the firing time between the neurons in the hippocampal formation and those in a part of the visual cortex in our model. It also turns out that the attention shift is performed quickly in our model.Acknowledgements We are grateful to T. Omori for his valuable discussions and comments. K. K. was partially supported by Research Fellowships of the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science for Young Scientists. This work was partially supported by Grant-In-Aid for Scientific Research No. 13680383 from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT), Japan.     

In defense of Louis Pasteur: Critique of Gerald Geison's deconstruction of Pasteur's discovery of molecular chirality

Louis Pasteur discovered the phenomenon of molecular chirality, based on his studies of tartrate crystals. His finding remains one of the most important discoveries in the history of chemistry and a fundamentally important chemical phenomenon, with essential implications in biology. In his 1995 book The Private Science of Louis Pasteur, the eminent historian of science Gerald L. Geison (1943‐2001) was highly critical of much of Pasteur's work including his discovery of molecular chirality. The in‐depth analysis provided in this article indicates, however, that the negative assessment of Pasteur's chirality work by Geison is entirely without scientific basis. Criticisms of Pasteur in the book for other “transgressions” in his chirality work, such as supposed influences of his personal biases and stubbornly held a priori notions, misrepresentation of his scientific work in his publications and lectures, and unethical and career‐minded conduct, are also not supported by the evidence. Other troubling features of the book include a broad failure to assure accuracy in a variety of fundamental and important information, including errors in names, dates, events, referencing, indexing, and French‐language text.     

Comparison of the properties of histidine ammonia-lyase in normal and histidinemic mutant mice

The histidinemic (his/his) mutant mouse shows greatly reduced skin and liver histidine:ammonia-lyase (HAL; EC 4.3.1.3) activity compared with normal mice. Liver HAL activity in the mutant is heat and salt labile and is inhibited at high substrate concentrations. Two HAL components have been identified in the normal mouse liver, a minor component with properties similar to those of HAL of the mutant mouse and a major component which is heat and salt stable and insensitive to substrate inhibition. Immunotitration with anti-HAL antibody shows that the livers of mutant mice contain no detectable antigenically cross-reacting HAL protein. It is concluded, therefore, that the his allele is a null allele at a structural or regulatory locus for the major HAL enzyme and maps close to the HAL-regulatory locus Hsd and that the low residual HAL activity in the mutant is due to another enzyme.This work was supported by an MRC Project Grant to H.K. and USPHS Grant GH21002 to S.M.A.     

Comparisons of arthropod assemblages on an invasive and native trees: abundance,diversity and damage

The success of exotic plants may be due to lower herbivore loads than those on native plants (Enemies Release Hypothesis). Predictions of this hypothesis include lower herbivore abundances, diversity, and damage on introduced plant species compared to native ones. Greater density or diversity of predators and parasitoids on exotic versus native plants may also reduce regulation of exotic plants by herbivores. To test these predictions, we measured arthropod abundance, arthropod diversity, and foliar damage on invasive Chinese tallow tree (Triadica sebifera) and three native tree species: silver maple (Acer saccharinum), sycamore (Platanus occidentalis), and sweetgum (Liquidambar styraciflua). Arthropod samples were collected with canopy sweep nets from six 20 year old monoculture plots of each species at a southeast Texas site. A total of 2,700 individuals and 285 species of arthropods were caught. Overall, the species richness and abundance of arthropods on tallow tree were similar to the natives. But, ordination (NMS) showed community composition differed on tallow tree compared to all three native trees. It supported an arthropod community that had relatively lower herbivore abundance but relatively more predator species compared to the native species examined. Leaves were collected to determine damage. Tallow tree experienced less mining damage than native trees. The results of this study supported the Enemies Release Hypothesis predictions that tallow tree would have low herbivore loads which may contribute to its invasive success. Moreover, a shift in the arthropod community to fewer herbivores without a reduction in predators may further limit regulation of this exotic species by herbivores in its introduced range.     

Quantitative electron microscopic studies on the innervation of the human thymus

Summary Quantitative electron microscopic studies have been carried out on the human thymus. According to the equation L _v =(2n)/F (Hennig, 1963) we have calculated that there is less than 0.204 mm nerve per 1 mm³ thymus tissue inside the blood-thymus-barrier (level of significance of 0.95). This result is compared to the degree of innervation in brown adipose tissue, which contains more than 160 mm nerve per 1 mm³ tissue. The biological significance of the paucity of neuronal elements in the thymus is undetermined.We are much obliged to Dipl. Ing. Dr. A. Hennig for his advice in the mathematical evaluation of our results.We are also indebted to Dr. med. A. Krug (Chir. Universitätsklinik Kiel) for human thymus material.This investigation was supported by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft.     

Responses of visual interneurons in the fly optic lobe during stimulation by motion in depth

Summary A high-order wide-field neuron in the optic lobe of the fly,Phormia terraenovae (Calliphoridae), has been investigated by stimulation with simple or multiple black stripes on a white background moving sinusoidally towards and away from the head. The variation in spike frequency in correlation with the optical stimulation provides evidence that the unit detects angular velocity as well as more complex features of the stimulus. It responds preferentially to movement towards the head. Spike frequency turned out to be a two-valued function of relative angular velocity across the eye. A simple formula predicts the highly reliable responses to visual stimuli in different parts of the visual field.The author wants to thank Professor G. A. Horridge for his valuable support and clarifying discussions and to Dr. M. Srinivasan for his comments. The project has been supported by grants from the Swedish Council for Natural Science Research.     

The neuronal basis of rhythmic pumping inBalanus kameri

Summary Rhythmic activity, having a period similar to that of the pumping behaviour of the intact barnacle, can be recorded from the isolated ventral ganglion ofBalanus hameri. Evidence is presented for a rhythm generated presynaptically by PSP's which have an excitatory effect on one set of neurones and an inhibitory effect on an out of phase set of neurones. Electric shocks give results suggesting that the rhythm arises through a relaxation oscillator mechanism, and lesion experiments suggest that the rhythm arises in the central region of the ganglion. Deafferentation indicates that the rhythm's generation is entirely endogenous, although it can be affected by sensory input from the cirri.Abbreviations AMN Anterior mid-dorsal nerve - CN Cirral neurone - MDN Mid-dorsal neurone - PCN Posterior cirral nerve This work was supported by a grant from the Science Research Council. I would like to express my gratitude to my supervisor during the course of this work, Dr. D.A. Dorsett, for his advice and encouragement, and also my thanks to Mr. D.C. Williams and Mr. W. Rowntree for their technical assistance.     

Michael Akam and the rise of evolutionary developmental biology

Michael Akam has been awarded the 2007 Kowalevsky medal for his many research accomplishments in the area of evolutionary developmental biology. We highlight three tributaries of Michael’s contribution to evolutionary developmental biology. First, he has made major contributions to our understanding of development of the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster. Second, he has maintained a consistent focus on several key problems in evolutionary developmental biology, including the evolving role of Hox genes in arthropods and, more recently, the evolution of segmentation mechanisms. Third, Michael has written a series of influential reviews that have integrated progress in developmental biology into an evolutionary perspective. Michael has also made a large impact on the field through his effective mentorship style, his selfless promotion of younger colleagues, and his leadership of the University Museum of Zoology at Cambridge and the European community of evolutionary developmental biologist.     

The history of the Purine Club: a tribute to Prof. Geoffrey Burnstock

The international purinergic scientific community has lost its pioneer. Geoffrey Burnstock, born on the 10th of May 1929 in London, died on the 2nd of June 2020, aged 91, in Melbourne (Australia). Geoff was one of the most highly regarded scientists of his generation. In the 1960s and 1970s, he developed a radical and somehow heretical new theory and opened an entire new field of science, signalling via extracellular nucleotides (the “purinergic theory”), which revolutionized our understanding of how cells communicate between each other. Initially, his unconventional theory found a lot of resistance in the scientific community. Once, one scientist even threatened to devote his entire life to disproving Burnstock’s theory. Undeterred, Geoff went further on, and continued to accumulate evidence in favour of his hypothesis, and led the field ever since. He struggled to attract new scientists to this new field of research and, in the early 1990s, due to new molecular biology techniques making it possible to isolate and identify cell surface receptors for ATP and its breakdown product adenosine, did evidence emerge that eventually convinced the doubters. The number of spontaneous obituaries and messages honouring Geoff’s memory that have appeared on specialized Journals and in the public press throughout the world since last June indicates that many people are clearly affected by his death. Besides being a rigorous, ethical and extremely brilliant scientist, Geoff was an extraordinary human being, always eager to collaborate and share data, never jealous of his findings and capable of learning things even from young people. He was known for his enthusiasm, empathy and ability to motivate young scientists and promote their careers. After the establishment of the Purine Club back in the 1990s, numerous Purine Club Chapters have been formed around the world with Geoff’s help and encouragement. He has obviously also been the inspirator and founder of our Journal, Purinergic Signalling (PUSI). For this reason, Charles Kennedy, the current Editor of the Journal, and myself thought that it might be nice to invite representatives from all known Purine Clubs to send a few notes to be published in PUSI on the history of their club and how Geoff inspired, aided or supported them. Here, I have collected all their contributions and I share with the entire purinergic community my personal memories on how the Purine Club was born and developed thanks to the invaluable mentoring of Geoffrey Burnstock. I apologize in advance if I am missing some information or forgot to mention somebody, and I strongly encourage all readers to submit memories and additional information that I shall gather for future writing. Keeping alive the history of how the field developed will be the best tribute that we can play to celebrate Geoff’s work along the years.

     

Density-dependent dispersal in host-parasitoid assemblages

Most spatial population models assume constant rates of dispersal. However, in a given community, dispersal may not only depend on the density of conspecifics, i.e. density‐dependent dispersal, but also on the density of other species, a phenomenon we term ‘community‐dependent dispersal’. We co‐vary the densities of both the beetle host Callosobruchus chinensis and its parasitoid wasp, Anisopteromalus calandrae, in a laboratory study and record the proportions of each species that disperse within a two‐hour period. The parasitoid in these systems exhibits community‐dependent dispersal – dispersing more frequently when parasitoid density is high and larval host density is low. This supported our prediction that individuals should disperse according to competition for available resources. However, in this study the host's dispersal was independent of density. We suggest that this may be due to less intense selection acting on host dispersal strategies than on the parasitoid. We consider some possible consequences of community‐dependent dispersal for a number of spatial population processes. A well‐known host‐parasitoid metapopulation model is expanded so that it includes a greater range of dispersal functions. When the model is parameterised with the parasitoid community‐dependent dispersal function observed in the empirical study, similar population dynamics are obtained as when fixed‐rate dispersal functions are applied. The importance of dispersal functions for invasions of both competitive and host‐parasitoid systems is also considered. The model results demonstrate that understanding how individuals disperse in response to different species’ population densities is important in determining the rate of spread of an invasion. We suggest that more empirical studies are needed to establish what determines dispersal rate and distance in a range of species, combined with theoretical studies investigating the role of the dispersal function in determining spatial population processes.     

Phylogenetic relationships and floral evolution in the papilionoid legume clade Amorpheae

Amorpheae (Fabaceae: Papilionoideae) was first considered a natural group by Rupert Barneby in his illustrated monographDaleae Imagines. Amorpheae currently comprise eight genera, ca. 250 spp., and extensive floral diversity, including loss of corolla and addition of a stemonozone. The Amorpheae and many of Barneby’s subtribal groups are supported as monophyletic by previous phylogenetic analysis of nuclear ribosomal and chloroplast sequence data. However, some relationships remain unclear. A nuclear marker derived from a genomic study inMedicago CNGC 4, was sequenced in selected Amorpheae This is one of the first applications of this marker. for phylogenetic study. The new data confirm some relationships inferred usingtrnK and ITS, but also provide evidence for new arrangements. Combined data were used to explore several aspects of Barneby’s taxonomic framework. The phylogeny, in concert, with data on floral morphology, implies that simplification of the complex papilionoid flower has occurred several times in the history of the Amorpheae.     

Effects of hot ground water on a small swamp-stream in Nova Scotia,Canada

We examined the effects of hot spring water (35–45 °C) on the ecology of a small, intermittant swamp-stream in Nova Scotia, Canada. Temperatures diminished quickly with distance downstream from the hot spring because of abundant inflow of cold ground water (<10 °C), but elevated temperature effects were detectable 130 m downstream. The brook below the hot spring supported a dense mat of the cyanobacterium Oscillatoria (10 m) followed by the green alga Vaucheria taylorii (40 m). Herbaceous vegetation below the algal zones was also altered by the hot water inflow, even where the temperature increase was slight. The structure of the sparse community of benthic invertebrates was sharply different at sites of different stream temperature: only oligochaete worms, ostracods, chironomids, and a single species of snail thrived at the warmest sites; cold downstream sites supported a typical headwater stream community. Mass loss from decomposing leaves of speckled alder was fast at all sites and strongly correlated with water temperature. The changes in community composition and decomposition rate in response to added heat persisted even where the temperature increase was small, indicating a tight coupling of ecosystem structure and function with the physical environment.     

Deep‐water anoxygenic photosythesis in a ferruginous chemocline

Ferruginous Lake Matano, Indonesia hosts one of the deepest anoxygenic photosynthetic communities on Earth. This community is dominated by low‐light adapted, BChl e‐synthesizing green sulfur bacteria (GSB), which comprise ~25% of the microbial community immediately below the oxic‐anoxic boundary (OAB; 115‐120 m in 2010). The size of this community is dependent on the mixing regime within the lake and the depth of the OAB—at ~117 m, the GSB live near their low‐light limit. Slow growth and C‐fixation rates suggest that the Lake Matano GSB can be supported by sulfide even though it only accumulates to scarcely detectable (low μm to nm ) concentrations. A model laboratory strain (Chlorobaculum tepidum) is indeed able to access HS^? for oxidation at nm concentrations. Furthermore, the GSB in Lake Matano possess a full complement of S‐oxidizing genes. Together, this physiological and genetic information suggests that deep‐water GSB can be supported by a S‐cycle, even under ferruginous conditions. The constraints we place on the metabolic capacity and physiology of GSB have important geobiological implications. Biomarkers diagnostic of GSB would be a good proxy for anoxic conditions but could not discriminate between euxinic and ferruginous states, and though GSB biomarkers could indicate a substantial GSB community, such a community may exist with very little metabolic activity. The light requirements of GSB indicate that at light levels comparable to those in the OAB of Lake Matano or the Black Sea, GSB would have contributed little to global ocean primary production, nutrient cycling, and banded iron formation (BIF) deposition in the Precambrian. Before the proliferation of oxygenic photosynthesis, shallower OABs and lower light absorption in the ocean's surface waters would have permitted greater light availability to GSB, potentially leading to a greater role for GSB in global biogeochemical cycles.     

DIATOM COMMUNITIES FROM A DELAWARE SALT MARSH 1,2

Edaphic diatoms were collected from 5 representative habitats of Canary Creek salt marsh, Lewes, Delaware, from 24 July 1969 to 21 July 1970. Of the 104 taxa encountered, 32 had a general distribution on the marsh and 41 were endemic to one of the 5 habitats sampled. Three of the habitats supported stands of grasses: tall Spartina alterniflora Loisel., dwarf S. alterniflora, and Distichlis spicata (L.) Greene; and these habitats possessed the highest species diversity (H') and the greatest number of diatom species. The remaining 2 habitats, a bare bank and a panne, were devoid of macroscopic vegetation. The diatoms of these last 2 habitats were exposed to hypersaline conditions during warmer periods of the year and this was considered a contributing factor to the lower values observed for the aforementioned parameters of community structure. A comprehensive examination of the community structure characterizing the 5 habitats, employing statistical analyses and the distribution of species, showed each habitat to support its own unique and easily recognizable edaphic diatom community. A multiple regression analysis indicated that the differences between the 5 communities were closely related to differences in temperature and elevation between the habitats, and also a result of significant interactions between edaphic diatoms and filamentous algae.     

Darwin,Wallace, and Huxley,and Vestiges of the Natural History of Creation

Conclusion Publication of the Vestiges and the rather primitive theory of evolution it expounded thus played a significant role in the careers of Darwin and Wallace. In addition, in spite of his poor opinion of the Vestiges, it presented Huxley with a convenient topic for critical discussion and the opportunity to focus more attention on the subject of evolution. The dynamic interactions among these leading figures of nineteenth-century natural science helped spur the development of more sophisticated models of evolution.Darwin had a proper appreciation of Chambers's contribution to evolutionary thought, although he fully recognized the shortcomings of this work. He understood the importance of allowing fresh ideas about organic change to be ventilated. However, he was primarily concerned with his own theory and viewed all developments in evolutionary biology from this perspective. If he did not give full consideration to Chambers and his book early on, it was due mainly to his feeling that the concepts in the Vestiges were very different from his own; he was therefore reluctant to embrace them as the forerunners of his own theory. As a scholar, he was also troubled by the scientific errors in the book. However, the record demonstrates that he attempted to make amends for any oversight on his part. His generous letter to Chambers's daughter, and his gracious treatment of Chambers during the brief time the latter lived in London, are ample proof of that.The attacks of Huxley, Sedgwick, and other prominent natural historians and geologists at the time, the problems inherent in Chambers's evolutionary theory, and the publication of the Origin, are the major reasons why the Vestiges became a neglected work. Nevertheless, Chambers's contribution will always stand out because, together with those of other late eighteenth- and early nineteenth-century predecessors of Darwin, it laid the foundations of modern evolutionary thought and, more importantly, helped prepare the scientific community for the more fully developed ideas of Darwin and Wallace.     

A deep maximum of green sulphur bacteria ('Chlorochromatium aggregatum') in a strongly stratified reservoir

1. Fine‐scale physical and chemical gradients and deep photosynthetic microbial populations were assessed to provide an initial characterisation of a small, thermally stratified reservoir (Cross Reservoir, Kansas, U.S.A.) and its deep chlorophyll maxima (DCM). Factors were identified that may affect vertical positioning of subepilimnetic photosynthetic sulphur bacteria (PSB) in lakes. 2. Results indicate that Cross Reservoir is a mesotrophic, dimictic lake with large subepilimnetic chlorophyll maxima containing dense layers of PSB. Characteristics of the deep PSB community of Cross Reservoir strongly correlate with both light and nutrient gradients. 3. The deep bacterial community mostly contained single‐celled and aggregating green sulphur bacteria, specifically free‐living Chlorobium limicola and the conspicuous motile ectosymbiotic consortium known as ‘Chlorochromatium aggregatum’. The bacteria were within the anaerobic hypolimnion, beneath a metalimnetic plate of Cryptomonas spp. and within very low sulphide and light conditions [mean of 67 μgS L^?1 and 0.05% photosynthetically active radiation (PAR)]. Pigment concentrations and fluorescence trends indicate that the bacteria made up a larger proportion of the DCM biomass than did phytoplankton in 1996. 4. Cross Reservoir shares characteristics with natural lakes world‐wide that also include a deep PSB community containing dense layers of ‘C. aggregatum’. Correlation analyses indicate that PSB community positioning and density are related to light, sulphide supply, redox potentials and pH. A 2‐factor principal components analysis (PCA) and other data trends supported these interpretations and indicated that PSB are sensitive to the thermal stability of the water column, are nitrogen limited and regulated more by sulphide or sulphide to light ratios than local levels of light. The sensitivity of these deep photosynthetic bacteria to environmental gradients, and their significance to some aquatic systems, demonstrate their potential as indicators of environmental disturbance.     

Aplysia punctata added to list of laboratory-cultured Aplysia

The marine opisthobranch molluscAplysia punctata was cultured at the Laboratoire de Biologie Marine in Concarneau, France.A. punctata veligers settled and underwent metamorphosis on the algaLomentaria articulata, but not onUlva spp., Palmaria marina, Laminaria spp. andFucus spp.Research supported by grants from The Arts Foundation and the Lerner Fund for Marine Research of the American Museum of Natural History. We wish to thank Director Yves Legal, College de France for his support and cooperation.     

Is population growth conducive to the sustainability of cooperation?

This paper asks whether population growth is conducive to the sustainability of cooperation. A simple model is developed in which farmers who live around a circular lake engage in trade with their adjacent neighbors. The payoffs from this activity are governed by a prisoner's dilemma “rule of engagement.” Every farmer has one son when the population is not growing, or two sons when it is growing. In the former case, the son takes over the farm when his father dies. In the latter case, one son stays on his father's farm, whereas the other son settles around another lake, along with the “other” sons of the other farmers. During his childhood, each son observes the strategies and the payoffs of his father and of the trading partners of his father, and imitates the most successful strategy when starting farming on his own. Then mutant defectors are introduced into an all-cooperator community. The defector strategy may spread. A comparison is drawn between the impact in terms of the sustainability of cooperation of the appearance of the mutants in a population that is not growing, and in one that is growing. It is shown that the ex-ante probability of sustaining the cooperation strategy is higher for a community that is growing than for a stagnant community.