As we head into the weekend, here’s a few things we’ve noticed that might be worth your screen-time.
In the journals
Epps, C.W., Wasser, S.K., Keim, J.L., Mutayoba, B.M. & Brashares, J.S. 2013. Quantifying past and present connectivity illuminates a rapidly changing landscape for the African elephant. Molecular Ecology. doi: 10.1111/mec.12198
The connectivity of elephant populations in Tanza- nian protected areas reflects a landscape in transition: elephants are still moving surprising distances outside protected areas (Fig. 2), even over steep terrain and near human settlements, but areas of dense human set- tlement and poaching threats have likely greatly reduced or eliminated many such movements (Figs 3 and 4).
Sunday, J.M. & Hart, M.W. 2013. Sea star populations diverge by positive selection at a sperm-egg compatibility locus. Ecology and Evolution. doi: 10.1002/ece3.487
We find a different pattern of selection in the bindin locus in two geographically separated populations of a single species. Our results specifically indicate that there are sites under positive selection (dN > dS) in one population that are under purifying or neutral selection in the other population (dN ≤ dS), and the sites found to be under positive selection differed between the two populations.
In the blogosphere
A non-exhaustive list of hurdles for crowdfunding science.
The U.S. National Science Foundation Division of Environmental Biology (NSF-DEB) has launched a blog.
