Evolutionary and Ecological Processes Determining the Properties of the G Matrix: In this paper, Steinar Engen and Bernt-Erik Sæther show that Fisher's fundamental theorem of natural selection cannot be used to infer the rate of evolutionary responses to changes in the environment due to deterioration effects caused by genetic drift, mutations and environmental fluctuations

Summary and analysis by Eleanor Diamant!
https://www.amnat.org/an/newpapers/Nov-2024-Engen.html

Love in the Time of Climate Change: The Fate of Nuptial Gift-Giving Behavior in Unpredictable Environments

Read a summary and analysis by Ratna Karatgi of a new forthcoming paper: "Variability in precipitation weakens sexual selection for nuptial gifts in spiders" by Pavón-Peláez et al.

https://www.amnat.org/an/newpapers/Nov-2024-Pav-n-Pel-ez.html

Read a summary and analysis by Zachary Compton of a new forthcoming paper: "Disentangling the Factors Selecting for Unicellular Programmed Cell Death" by J. David Van Dyken and Peter C. Zee

https://www.amnat.org/an/newpapers/Nov-2024-VanDyken.html

When is it adaptive for populations to "hedge their bets," even if it means doing worse on average? Weissman et al. find that incorporating stochasticity in models changes the extent to which we expect this strategy to evolve. Read now ahead of print!
https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/735690

#population #stochasticity #evolution #strategy

Olusanya et al. study genetic load and extinction in a metapopulation. Their analysis is based on a novel theoretical framework that tracks the co-evolution of load and population sizes and gives a nuanced picture of the genetic and demographic factors that affect extinction. Now available ahead of print! https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/735562

#genetic #geneticLoad #extinction #metapopulation #coevolution #population

In this new Historical Perspective, Ken S. Toyama describes how the original definition of Rensch's rule, which has been overlooked for decades, can impact the way we study sexual dimorphism. Read now ahead of print!
https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/735583

#renschsRule #sexualDimorphism #dimorphism #historicalPerspective

New Natural History Miscellany Note available ahead of print! "Poles Apart: The Structure and Composition of the Bird Community in Bamboo in the Eastern Himalaya" by Srinivasan et al.
https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/735417

#bird #bamboo #himalaya #arthropod #communities