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Nominations for the Distinguished Naturalist Award

Tue, 05 Dec 2023 06:00:00 GMT

The ASN seeks nominations (including self-nominations) for the Distinguished Naturalist Award. Nominations are due by 15 January and should consist of a brief statement of suitability for the award, a curriculum vitae, and names and email addresses of three current and/or former trainees of the nominee. To nominate yourself or others please use this Google form; you can also contact President-elect Jeff Conner with questions or nominations.

We are committed to increasing the diversity of our awardees. Information about these and other ASN awards is here. The names of former recipients can be found here.

The ASN Distinguished Naturalist Award is given to an active investigator in mid-career (within 20 years of completion of the PhD) who has made significant contributions to the knowledge of a particular ecosystem or group of organisms. Time since PhD degree can be extended in light of parental leave. Other forms of exceptional caregiving responsibility [e.g., partner, spouse, aged parent, etc]. or extenuating circumstances will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

Individuals whose research and writing illuminate principles of evolutionary biology and an enhanced aesthetic appreciation of natural history will merit special consideration. The recipient need not be a member of the Society. The award will consist of an especially appropriate work of art and a prize of $2,000.

Nominations for the ASN Award for Distinguished Achievement in the Conceptual Unification of the Biological Sciences

Tue, 05 Dec 2023 06:00:00 GMT

The ASN Award for Distinguished Achievement in the Conceptual Unification of the Biological Sciences, established in 1991, is given annually and honors a senior but still active investigator who is making fundamental contributions to the Society's goals, namely, promoting the conceptual unification of the biological sciences. The award includes an honorarium of $1,000.

The ASN seeks nominations (including self-nominations) for the Award for Distinguished Achievement in the Conceptual Unification of the Biological Sciences. Nominations are due by 15 January and should consist of a brief statement of suitability for the award, a curriculum vitae, and names and email addresses of three current and/or former trainees of the nominee. To nominate yourself or others please use this Google form; you can also contact President-elect Jeff Conner with questions or nominations.

We are committed to increasing the diversity of our awardees. Information about these and other ASN awards is here. The names of former recipients can be found here.

"Diversity-Dependent Diversification in the History of Marine Animals"

Fri, 01 Dec 2023 06:00:00 GMT

Michael Foote, May 2023

Read the article.

Throughout Earth’s history, the number of animal species has been in constant flux as species originate and go extinct. What are the evolutionary forces controlling the total number of species? A new study by Dr Michael J. Foote, Louis Block Distinguished Service Professor at the University of Chicago, shows that one important factor could have affected diversification and extinction rates through time: species diversity itself.

Every species fills a distinct ecological niche. When open niches are available, species may diversify and adapt to these roles. Ecosystems with many species have fewer niches available, and thus, fewer opportunities for new species to arise. This theory is applicable at a global scale, implying that throughout Earth’s history, the total number of species could have influenced the number of species originating and going extinct.

The fossil record offers a unique opportunity to test this theory with actual data across the Phanerozoic. Authors such as J. John Sepkoski Jr. and John Alroy have already looked at the fossil record of marine animals for this purpose, but researchers have not reached a consensus. In this issue of American Naturalist, Prof. Michael J. Foote revisits this long-standing theory, testing whether time periods across the Phanerozoic with high species diversity were followed by low rates of diversification and high rates of extinction, as previously theorized. “What I have done is follow this tradition, but I did not feel the questions had been answered”- said Prof. Foote.

Foote’s study focuses on the entire fossil record of marine animals, a dataset that is currently only available thanks to digital repositories like the Paleobiology database. Critical to this study is its novel approach to calculating diversity and the correction of the statistical effect known as “regression to the mean”. This is a common statistical problem: after sampling a random value and getting an extreme result, the next sample is generally more likely to fall closer average. This phenomenon could have skewed previous studies, as high diversity levels at a previous time point would normally tend to be followed by more average diversification rates. Prof. Foote says: “This was the main limitation of these previous studies […] a vexing problem that has not been addressed this way, before.”

The results of Foote’s analysis show that time periods with low diversity are indeed followed by high diversification rates, as theorized. Niches are not filled immediately, and thus, this effect can persist for a long time. On the other hand, extinction rates have not been highly influenced by global diversity, comparatively. Extinctions largely depend on environmental perturbations, and thus, the total number of niches filled may not have been a highly important factor. One unusual result is that diversity-diversification correlations lose strength after the Paleozoic (543-251 million years ago). “This is a puzzle to me, I don’t even have a speculation”, says Prof. Foote.

The results of this study further support the idea that global diversity played a major role in the total number of animal species across Earth’s history. It also highlights the value of large paleontological databases to test these questions and offers new methods to calculate diversity and reduce statistical artifacts. With these tools we can now test new questions on diversity through time, such as changes in diversity on land or even the total number of animal species that could theoretically inhabit Earth.

Abstract

By comparing detrended estimates of diversity (taxonomic richness) and rates of origination, extinction, and net diversification, I show that at the global scale over the course of the Phanerozoic eon, rates of diversification and origination are negatively correlated with diversity. By contrast, extinction rates are only weakly correlated with diversity for the most part. These results hold for both genus- and species-level data and for many alternative analytical protocols. The asymmetry between extinction on the one hand and origination and net diversification on the other hand supports a model whereby extinction is largely driven by abiotic perturbations, with subsequent origination filling the void left by depleted diversity. Diversity dependence is somewhat weaker, but still evident, if the initial Ordovician radiation or rebounds from major mass extinctions are omitted from analysis; thus, diversity dependence is influenced, but not dominated, by these special intervals of Earth history. In the transition from Paleozoic to post-Paleozoic time, diversity dependence of origination weakens while that of extinction strengthens; however, diversity dependence of net diversification barely changes in strength. Despite nuances, individual clades largely yield results consistent with those for the aggregate data on all animals. On the whole, diversity-dependent diversification appears to be a pervasive factor in the macroevolution of marine animal life.

Author Bio:

Alejandro Izquierdo López is a recent graduate with a PhD in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from the University of Toronto in Canada. His research focuses on the taxonomy, ecology and morphological evolution of arthropods, and has described several new species from the world-renowned Cambrian Burgess Shale fossil site. He is also a freelance science writer that loves topics at the intersection between sciences and culture.

Inclusive Pedagogy

Wed, 29 Nov 2023 06:00:00 GMT

Dear Colleagues,

We are compiling a resource for undergraduate evolutionary biology education. One of the first places students engage with evolutionary biology in-depth is in undergraduate courses, and evolutionary concepts can be confusing and difficult to grasp at this early stage. Furthermore, to facilitate a deeper understanding of evolutionary concepts within our classrooms and research community, it is important to address how exclusionary systems influenced foundational work in our disciplines, and how it continues to shape the way we study the natural world.

We know that many members of our community have already developed fantastic teaching materials, and our goal is to create a central repository of resources for inclusive undergraduate evolution education. We will share resources on this database monthly: https://tinyurl.com/inclevoedu. If you have any resources to share, we would greatly appreciate it. Please contribute resources and teaching materials by filling out a short Google form (should take <5 minutes to complete): https://forms.gle/Sjn9V3oezas9e8tG6. Please contact inclusive.evoedu@gmail.com with any questions, suggestions, or if you'd like to contribute further to this effort.

Please forward this message to your networks.

Thank you!

Alejandra Camargo
Dr. Nancy Chen
Dr. Kiyoko Gotanda
Dr. Suegene Noh
Amanda Puitiza
Lucia Ramirez
Juleyska Vazquez
Dr. Yaamini Venkataraman
on behalf of Women of Color in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology

ASN Diversity Committee Call for Members

Wed, 29 Nov 2023 06:00:00 GMT

The ASN Diversity Committee (DC) seeks to add 1-2 new members starting in January 2024. The DC works to promote diversity, equity, and inclusiveness to enhance the study of evolution, ecology, and behavior and to foster the career of its developing scientists. We pursue initiatives that support marginalized groups, which include helping to create an inclusive, accessible environment at the Evolution conference, the stand-alone ASN meeting, and our field in general. Members serve a 3-year term, and the committee typically holds two meetings a month to discuss ideas and work on projects collectively.

Applicants must be members of ASN (join or renew your membership here: https://amnat.org/membership/beamember.html) and have attended at least one Evolution conference or ASN stand-alone meeting in the past.

We welcome participation from members of the community from all backgrounds and all countries, across all career stages (including graduate students and postdocs), and in all career paths. We are particularly interested in recruiting a graduate student and a tenured professor for the next cycle. We are looking for new perspectives and ideas. Applicants should submit an application by December 15, 2023. If you have any questions, feel free to contact us at ASNdiversity@gmail.com.

Adoption of the Code of Ethics

Wed, 22 Nov 2023 06:00:00 GMT

The Executive Committee of the ASN is glad to announce that the Code of Ethics has been approved by the vote of the members and will go into place on January 1, 2024. Thank you for participating in this important process. You can read more about the Code of Ethics at https://www.evolutioncodeofethics.org. The Code of Ethics will be a valuable new tool in helping the Society uphold the highest standards of academic honesty and decency with a process that is fair, transparent, and responsive.

Please note that, as specified in its text, the Code of Ethics is binding for all members of the ASN as soon as it goes into effect. As new members join, or as current members renew their membership, we will ask them to acknowledge their awareness of the Code of Ethics on the membership page.

The Executive Committee of the ASN views the adoption of the Code of Ethics as a big step forward in ensuring that the activities of the ASN are accessible to the whole of our membership.

With best wishes,

Maria Servedio
President, The American Society of Naturalists

Applications for the 2024 ASN Early Career Investigator Award

Thu, 09 Nov 2023 06:00:00 GMT

The ASN Early Career Investigator Award honors outstanding promise and accomplishments of early-career investigators who conduct integrative work in the fields of Ecology, Evolutionary Biology, Behavioral Ecology, and Genetics. Applicants working in any of these fields are encouraged to apply.

The award honors outstanding promise and accomplishments of early career investigators (3 years post-Ph.D., or in the final year of their PhD) who conduct integrative work in ecology, evolution, behavioral ecology, and genetics (see * below). The award was established in 1984 to recognize exceptional work by investigators who received their doctorates in the three years preceding the application deadline, or who are in their final year of graduate school. The award was established in memory of Jasper Loftus-Hills (1946-1974), an Australian biologist of exceptional promise who died tragically during the course of fieldwork three years after receiving his degree.

Winners of this award will present a research paper in the Early Career Investigator’s Symposium at the ASN annual meeting and receive a $700 prize, a travel allowance of $700, cost of registration for the meetings, and a supplement of $500 in case of intercontinental travel. Four awards are made annually. Recipients need not be members of the Society.

In order to apply for this award, applicants should go to this Google form, where they will be asked to answer a few questions and upload their application (see ** below). The application should consist of one PDF, with the following (in this exact order):
- CV (no page limit)
- Research statement (3 page limit, including figures)
- 3 of your published studies

Additionally, two letters by individuals familiar with the applicant’s work should be uploaded by referees to this Google form (see ** below). Applicants are responsible for ensuring their letter writers submit their letters before the deadline (this can be done before submitting an application), as applications will not be considered complete without these two letters.

* The standard timeframe covers anyone who graduated in 2021, 2022, or 2023, or who plans to defend in 2024. Time since PhD degree can be extended by 1 year for each child born or adopted during this period if the applicant was a primary care giver. Other forms of exceptional care giving responsibility (e.g. partner, spouse, aged parent, etc.) will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

**Applicants and letter writers will be required to sign into an account registered with Google (does not have to be a Gmail address) to upload their applications and letters, respectively. If you or your letter writers do not have a google account, please send materials directly to Eleanor Caves.

Jasper Loftus-Hills (1946-1974) was an Australian biologist of exceptional promise who lost his life doing fieldwork recording frog calls in Texas, three years after receiving his degree from the University of Melbourne. An obituary appeared in Copeia in 1974 (Alexander, Richard D. "Jasper Loftus-Hills." Copeia 1974:812-13).

The Golden Coquí (in the photo above) was discovered on Puerto Rico by George E. Drewry, Kirkland L. Jones, Julia R. Clark, and Jasper J. Loftus-Hills. They had planned to name the species for its color, but when Loftus-Hills was killed in 1974, his colleagues chose instead to name it in his honor.

A further description of Jasper Loftus-Hills appeared in Copeia 2015 (103:467-475), which is a retrospective on his mentor, Murray John Littlejohn (doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1643/OT-15-274)

The most gifted graduate student Murray ever worked with (in his own estimation) was Jasper Loftus-Hills, whose Ph.D. thesis “Auditory function and acoustic communication in anuran amphibians” was completed in 1971. Jasper followed in Murray’s footsteps to Austin and then went on to Cornell University and the University of Michigan. He was tragically killed by a hit-and-run driver while doing night fieldwork on Gastrophryne in Texas in 1974. The 1992 Gastrophryne paper coauthored by Jasper and Murray is a lucid analysis of the state of the art in character displacement and reinforcement, two terms burdened with a long history of confusion.
(Loftus-Hills, J. J., and M. J. Littlejohn. 1992. Reinforcement and reproductive character displacement inGastrophryne carolinensis and G. olivacea (Anura: Microhylidae): a re-evaluation. Evolution 46:896–906.)

Proposed bylaw changes (2023)

Wed, 11 Oct 2023 05:00:00 GMT

Dear Colleagues,

The Executive Committee and Diversity Committee of the ASN propose changes to the ASN’s Constitution and Bylaws to better integrate these two committees. These include making the Chair of the Diversity Committee a voting member and the Vice-Chair of the Diversity Committee a nonvoting member of the Executive Committee, as well as appointing the second-past president of the ASN as a member of the Diversity Committee. The full text of the revised Constitution and Bylaws can be found here:

ASN Constitution and Bylaws, Revised (2023)

The proposed changes are shown as Tracked Changes in the Word document.

The vote will run from October 11 to November 11.

Maria Servedio
President, ASN