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Nanglu K, de Carle D, Cullen TM, Anderson EB, Arif S, Castañeda RA, Chang LM, Iwama RE, Fellin E, Manglicmot RC, Massey MD, Astudillo‐Clavijo V. The nature of science: The fundamental role of natural history in ecology, evolution, conservation, and education. Ecol Evol 2023; 13:e10621. [PMID: 37877102 PMCID: PMC10591213 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.10621] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/28/2023] [Revised: 09/20/2023] [Accepted: 09/27/2023] [Indexed: 10/26/2023] Open
Abstract
There is a contemporary trend in many major research institutions to de-emphasize the importance of natural history education in favor of theoretical, laboratory, or simulation-based research programs. This may take the form of removing biodiversity and field courses from the curriculum and the sometimes subtle maligning of natural history research as a "lesser" branch of science. Additional threats include massive funding cuts to natural history museums and the maintenance of their collections, the extirpation of taxonomists across disciplines, and a critical under-appreciation of the role that natural history data (and other forms of observational data, including Indigenous knowledge) play in the scientific process. In this paper, we demonstrate that natural history knowledge is integral to any competitive science program through a comprehensive review of the ways in which they continue to shape modern theory and the public perception of science. We do so by reviewing how natural history research has guided the disciplines of ecology, evolution, and conservation and how natural history data are crucial for effective education programs and public policy. We underscore these insights with contemporary case studies, including: how understanding the dynamics of evolutionary radiation relies on natural history data; methods for extracting novel data from museum specimens; insights provided by multi-decade natural history programs; and how natural history is the most logical venue for creating an informed and scientifically literate society. We conclude with recommendations aimed at students, university faculty, and administrators for integrating and supporting natural history in their mandates. Fundamentally, we are all interested in understanding the natural world, but we can often fall into the habit of abstracting our research away from its natural contexts and complexities. Doing so risks losing sight of entire vistas of new questions and insights in favor of an over-emphasis on simulated or overly controlled studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Karma Nanglu
- Museum of Comparative Zoology and Department of Organismic and Evolutionary BiologyHarvard UniversityCambridgeMassachusettsUSA
| | - Danielle de Carle
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary BiologyUniversity of TorontoTorontoOntarioCanada
- Department of Invertebrate ZoologyRoyal Ontario MuseumTorontoOntarioCanada
| | - Thomas M. Cullen
- Department of GeosciencesAuburn UniversityAuburnAlabamaUSA
- Negaunee Integrative Research CenterField Museum of Natural HistoryChicagoIllinoisUSA
| | - Erika B. Anderson
- The HunterianUniversity of GlasgowGlasgowUK
- Department of Earth and SpaceRoyal Ontario MuseumTorontoOntarioCanada
| | - Suchinta Arif
- Department of BiologyDalhousie UniversityHalifaxNova ScotiaCanada
| | - Rowshyra A. Castañeda
- Ecosystems and Ocean SciencesPacific Region, Fisheries and Oceans CanadaSidneyBritish ColumbiaCanada
| | | | - Rafael Eiji Iwama
- Departamento de Genética e Biologia Evolutiva, Instituto de BiociênciasUniversidade de São PauloSão PauloBrazil
| | - Erica Fellin
- Department of BiologyMcGill UniversityMontrealQuebecCanada
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Keevil MG, Noble N, Boyle SP, Lesbarrères D, Brooks RJ, Litzgus JD. Lost reproductive value reveals a high burden of juvenile road mortality in a long-lived species. ECOLOGICAL APPLICATIONS : A PUBLICATION OF THE ECOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA 2023; 33:e2789. [PMID: 36482023 DOI: 10.1002/eap.2789] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/09/2022] [Revised: 07/23/2022] [Accepted: 08/25/2022] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
Adult mortality is often the most sensitive vital rate affecting at-risk wildlife populations. Therefore, road ecology studies often focus on adult mortality despite the possibility for roads to be hazardous to juvenile individuals during natal dispersal. Failure to quantify concurrent variation in mortality risk and population sensitivity across demographic states can mislead the efforts to understand and mitigate the effects of population threats. To compare relative population impacts from road mortality among demographic classes, we weighted mortality observations by applying reproductive value analysis to quantify expected stage-specific contributions to population growth. We demonstrate this approach for snapping turtles (Chelydra serpentina) observed on roads at two focal sites in Ontario, Canada, where we collected data for both live and dead individuals observed on roads. We estimated reproductive values using stage-classified matrix models to compare relative population-level impacts of adult and juvenile mortality. Reproductive value analysis is a tractable approach to assessing demographically variable effects for applications covering large spatial scales, nondiscrete populations, or where abundance data are lacking. For one site with long-term life-history data, we compared demographic frequency on roads to expected general population frequencies predicted by the matrix model. Our application of reproductive value is sex specific but, as juvenile snapping turtles lack external secondary sex characters, we estimated the sex ratio of road-crossing juveniles after dissecting and sexing carcasses collected on roads at five sites across central Ontario, Canada. Juveniles were more abundant on roads than expected, suggesting a substantial dispersal contribution, and the road-killed juvenile sex ratio approached 1:1. A higher proportion of juveniles were also found dead compared with adults, and cumulative juvenile mortality had similar population-level importance as adult mortality. This suggests that the impact of roads needs to be considered across all life stages, even in wildlife species with slow life histories, such as snapping turtles, that are particularly sensitive to adult mortality.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthew G Keevil
- School of Natural Sciences, Laurentian University, Sudbury, Ontario, Canada
| | - Natasha Noble
- School of Natural Sciences, Laurentian University, Sudbury, Ontario, Canada
| | - Sean P Boyle
- School of Natural Sciences, Laurentian University, Sudbury, Ontario, Canada
| | - David Lesbarrères
- School of Natural Sciences, Laurentian University, Sudbury, Ontario, Canada
| | - Ronald J Brooks
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada
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Moldowan PD, Brooks RJ, Litzgus JD. Sex, shells, and weaponry: coercive reproductive tactics in the painted turtle, Chrysemys picta. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2020. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-020-02926-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
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Moldowan P, Brooks R, Litzgus J. Demographics of injuries indicate sexual coercion in a population of Painted Turtles ( Chrysemyspicta). CAN J ZOOL 2020. [DOI: 10.1139/cjz-2019-0238] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/15/2023]
Abstract
Sexually coercive reproductive tactics are widespread among animals. Males may employ specialized structures to harass, intimidate, or physically harm females to force copulation, and injuries to the head and neck are reported in taxa with sexually coercive mating systems. The mating tactics of Painted Turtles (Chrysemys picta (Schneider, 1783)) are typically described as involving male courtship and female choice. In contrast, female Painted Turtles in our study population display injuries on the head and neck indicative of bite wounds inflicted by sexually dimorphic tomiodonts and weaponized shell morphology of males during reproductive interactions. Using a 24-year data set, we demonstrate population-level trends in soft tissue wounds inflicted by conspecifics. Adult females experienced more wounding than adult males or juveniles, and larger females had a greater probability of wounding than smaller females. Wounding was concentrated on the dorsal head and neck of females, consistent with expectation of sexual coercion. Furthermore, elevated rates of fresh wounding occurred during late summer, concurrent with the breeding period. By assessing wound demographics, we provide indirect evidence that the tomiodonts and shell of male Painted Turtles inflict injury and function as sexual weapons. These findings shed new light on our understanding of mating system complexity in an often-overlooked and difficult-to-observe taxonomic group.
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Affiliation(s)
- P.D. Moldowan
- Department of Biology, Laurentian University, 935 Ramsey Lake Road, Sudbury, ON P3E 2C6, Canada
| | - R.J. Brooks
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of Guelph, 50 Stone Road East, Guelph, ON N1G 2W1, Canada
| | - J.D. Litzgus
- Department of Biology, Laurentian University, 935 Ramsey Lake Road, Sudbury, ON P3E 2C6, Canada
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Keevil MG, Brooks RJ, Litzgus JD. Post-catastrophe patterns of abundance and survival reveal no evidence of population recovery in a long-lived animal. Ecosphere 2018. [DOI: 10.1002/ecs2.2396] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Matthew G. Keevil
- Department of Biology; Laurentian University; Sudbury Ontario P3E 2C6 Canada
| | - Ronald J. Brooks
- Department of Integrative Biology; University of Guelph; Guelph Ontario N1G 2W1 Canada
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Golubović A, Arsovski D, Tomović L, Bonnet X. Is sexual brutality maladaptive under high population density? Biol J Linn Soc Lond 2018. [DOI: 10.1093/biolinnean/bly057] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Ana Golubović
- Institute of Zoology, Faculty of Biology, University of Belgrade, Studentski trg, Belgrade, Serbia
| | | | - Ljiljana Tomović
- Institute of Zoology, Faculty of Biology, University of Belgrade, Studentski trg, Belgrade, Serbia
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Agha M, Ennen JR, Nowakowski AJ, Lovich JE, Sweat SC, Todd BD. Macroecological patterns of sexual size dimorphism in turtles of the world. J Evol Biol 2018; 31:336-345. [DOI: 10.1111/jeb.13223] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/16/2017] [Accepted: 12/06/2017] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- M. Agha
- Department of Wildlife, Fish, and Conservation Biology; University of California, Davis; Davis CA USA
| | - J. R. Ennen
- Tennessee Aquarium Conservation Institute; Chattanooga TN USA
| | - A. J. Nowakowski
- Department of Wildlife, Fish, and Conservation Biology; University of California, Davis; Davis CA USA
| | - J. E. Lovich
- Southwest Biological Science Center; U.S. Geological Survey; Flagstaff AZ USA
| | - S. C. Sweat
- Tennessee Aquarium Conservation Institute; Chattanooga TN USA
| | - B. D. Todd
- Department of Wildlife, Fish, and Conservation Biology; University of California, Davis; Davis CA USA
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