skip to main content
US FlagAn official website of the United States government
dot gov icon
Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.
https lock icon
Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock ( lock ) or https:// means you've safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Explore Research Products in the PAR
It may take a few hours for recently added research products to appear in PAR search results.


Title: Learning from Our Study Organisms about Sexual Selection: Lessons from the Ocellated Wrasse
Sexual selection is a powerful force shaping not only the details but also the breadth of what we see in nature. Yet so much unexplained variation remains. Organisms often solve the “problem” of how to pass on their genes in ways that do not fit our current expectations. I argue here that integrating empirical surprises will push our understanding of sexual selection forward. Such “nonmodel” organisms (i.e., species that do not do what we think they should do) challenge us to think deeply, integrate puzzling results, question our assumptions, and consider the new (and arguably better) questions these unexpected patterns pose. In this article, I share how puzzling observations from my long-term research on the ocellated wrasse (Symphodus ocellatus) have shaped my understanding of sexual selection and suggested new questions about the interplay among sexual selection, plasticity, and social interactions. My general premise, however, is not that others should study these questions. Instead, I argue for a change in the culture of our field—to consider unexpected results a welcome opportunity to generate new questions and learn new things about sexual selection. Those of us in positions of power (e.g., as editors, reviewers, and authors) need to lead the way.  more » « less
Award ID(s):
1655297
PAR ID:
10474075
Author(s) / Creator(s):
Publisher / Repository:
University of Chicago Press
Date Published:
Journal Name:
The American Naturalist
Volume:
201
Issue:
3
ISSN:
0003-0147
Page Range / eLocation ID:
418 to 428
Format(s):
Medium: X
Sponsoring Org:
National Science Foundation
More Like this
  1. (, Constructivist Foundations)
    > Context • In 1972, Papert emphasized that “[t]he important difference between the work of a child in an elementary mathematics class and […]a mathematician” is “not in the subject matter […]but in the fact that the mathematician is creatively engaged […]” Along with creative, Papert kept saying children should be engaged in projects rather than problems. A project is not just a large problem, but involves sustained, active engagement, like children’s play. For Papert, in 1972, computer programming suggested a flexible construction medium, ideal for a research-lab/playground tuned to mathematics for children. In 1964, without computers, Sawyer also articulated research-playgrounds for children, rooted in conventional content, in which children would learn to act and think like mathematicians. > Problem • This target article addresses the issue of designing a formal curriculum that helps children develop the mathematical habits of mind of creative tinkering, puzzling through, and perseverance. I connect the two mathematicians/educators – Papert and Sawyer – tackling three questions: How do genuine puzzles differ from school problems? What is useful about children creating puzzles? How might puzzles, problem-posing and programming-centric playgrounds enhance mathematical learning? > Method • This analysis is based on forty years of curriculum analysis, comparison and construction, and on research with children. > Results • In physical playgrounds most children choose challenge. Papert’s ideas tapped that try-something-new and puzzle-it-out-for-yourself spirit, the drive for challenge. Children can learn a lot in such an environment, but what (and how much) they learn is left to chance. Formal educational systems set standards and structures to ensure some common learning and some equity across students. For a curriculum to tap curiosity and the drive for challenge, it needs both the playful looseness that invites exploration and the structure that organizes content. > Implications • My aim is to provide support for mathematics teachers and curriculum designers to design or teach in accord with their constructivist thinking. > Constructivist content • This article enriches Papert’s constructionism with curricular ideas from Sawyer and from the work that I and my colleagues have done 
    more » « less
  2. (, Annual Review of Marine Science)
    How do the morphologies of organisms affect their physical interactions with the environment and other organisms? My research in marine systems couples field studies of the physical habitats, life history strategies, and ecological interactions of organisms with laboratory analyses of their biomechanics. Here, I review how we pursued answers to three questions about marine organisms: ( a) how benthic organisms withstand and utilize the water moving around them, ( b) how the interaction between swimming and turbulent ambient water flow affects where small organisms go, and ( c) how hairy appendages catch food and odors. I also discuss the importance of different types of mentors, the roadblocks for women in science when I started my career, the challenges and delights of interdisciplinary research, and my quest to understand how I see the world as a dyslexic. 
    more » « less
  3. ; (, ACM SIGMETRICS Performance Evaluation Review)
    This document examines five performance questions which are repeatedly asked by practitioners in industry: (i) My system utilization is very low, so why are job delays so high? (ii) What should I do to lower job delays? (iii) How can I favor short jobs if I don't know which jobs are short? (iv) If some jobs are more important than others, how do I negotiate importance versus size? (v) How do answers change when dealing with a closed-loop system, rather than an open system? All these questions have simple answers through queueing theory. This short paper elaborates on the questions and their answers. To keep things readable, our tone is purposely informal throughout. For more formal statements of these questions and answers, please see [14]. 
    more » « less
  4. (, Proceedings of the Eighth Conference on Research in Mathematics Education in Ireland (MEI 8))
    Kingston, M.; Grimes, P. (Ed.)
    I argue that we are morally obliged to consider the significant privilege of our lives and the whiteness of mathematics education institutions. Further, to determine implications for our work will require: (i) questioning things we’ve long taken for granted; (ii) developing means for stepping outside our training and standards; and (iii) learning to work together and in communities of those who are not like us but with whom we find alignment. Failing to take up this imperative confirms that we are the problem and existing injustice is our choice, not a reality imposed on us. I mean to argue this with both fervour and humility, using my own personal and professional journey to raise possibilities for us to consider, as a community, in charting the future of mathematics education research. 
    more » « less
  5. (, Deploying Human-Centered Machine Learning to Improve Adolescent Online Sexual Risk Detection Algorithms)
    As adolescents' engagement increases online, it becomes more essential to provide a safe environment for them. Although some apps and systems are available for keeping teens safer online, these approaches and apps do not consider the needs of parents and teens. We would like to improve adolescent online sexual risk detection algorithms. In order to do so, I'll conduct three research studies for my dissertation: 1) Qualitative analysis on teens posts on an online peer support platform about online sexual risks in order to gain deep understanding of online sexual risks 2) Train a machine learning approach to detect sexual risks based on teens conversations with sex offenders 3) develop a machine learning algorithm for detecting online sexual risks specialized for adolescents. 
    more » « less
  • Citation Formats
  • MLA
  • APA
  • Chicago
  • BibTeX
  • Save / Share this Record
  • Send to Email