Massive extinctions of animals and the arrival of the first humans in ancient Australia--which occurred 45,000 to 55,000 years ago--may be linked. Researchers at the Carnegie Institution, University of Colorado, Australian National University, and Bates College believe that massive fires set by the first humans may have altered the ecosystem of…

Gottlieb's (1991/2007) target article represents a milestone in our understanding of the impact of social experience on developmental malleability. Interactions across the species-typical and operant behavior categories are increasingly understood to exist. The social contingencies present in the normal species-typical developmental manifold are…

Mice from replicate lines, selectively bred based on high daily wheel-running rates, run more total revolutions and at higher average speeds than do mice from nonselected control lines. Based on this difference it was assumed that selected mice would find the opportunity to run in a wheel a more efficacious consequence. To assess this assumption…

This book contains a collection of 12 articles first printed in the magazine Scientific American. These articles show how life manages to eke out an existence where, by all rights, it shouldn't and helps in explaining the roles of energy and the building-block elements in the cycles of life. The titles include: (1) "The Evolution of the…

To test the hypothesis that social rearing may induce malleability, socially reared and socially isolated mallard duck, Anas platyrhynchos, embryos and hatchlings were exposed to the maternal call of a chicken, Gallus gallus domesticus, until 48 h after hatching. The hatchlings were then tested with the chicken call versus the mallard maternal…

Reports the evolutionary history of the nautilus and related molluscs. (BB)

A direct and definitive response to the creationist Noah's ark arguments is presented in this publication. Although the Bible is used as a constant reference point, the author does not engage in biblical criticism. The critique is rather directed at the leading creationist books and experimental studies that seek to scientifically prove that the…

Major differences between plants and animals are presented. Discussed are autotrophs and heterotrophs, plant growth and development, gas exchange, the evolution of plants, ecosystem components, the alleged inferiority of plants, and fungi. (CW)

Describes a new hypothesis regarding the origin of bulungamayine kangaroos. Suggests that this group of Oglio-Miocene kangaroos independently evolved adaptations for herbivory and are likely to be ancestral to modern and recently extinct plant-eating kangaroos. (Contains 17 references.) (Author/WRM)

Gilbert Gottlieb's formative role in establishing a science of experimental behavioral embryology is described. His experimental program on the development of species identification served as a model for developmental psychobiologists seeking alternatives to the nature-nurture dichotomies prevalent in the 20th century. Two of the major concepts…

Provides information on early written accounts of fossils and contrasts historical phases regarding their organic or inorganic origin. Topic areas discussed include the deluge as a stimulant to geological investigation, stratigraphic sequences and earth history, extinction, faunal succession and organic evolution, and fossil evidence of…

Speculates why animals have not developed wheels in place of inefficient legs. One study cited suggests three reasons why animals are better off without wheels: wheels are efficient only on hard surfaces, limitation of wheeled motion due to vertical obstructions, and the problem of turning in spaces cluttered with obstacles. (JN)

Reviews early theoretical and research literature on handedness and places it within the larger context of the nature-nurture controversy. Discussion focuses on Baldwin's study of the development of hand preference in infants in relation to the recapitulation theory, mental development ("dynamogenesis"), and speech development.…

Discusses evidence suggesting that the earliest land plants (small simple forms in damp areas during the Silurian period) preceeded the earliest land animals (including such small arthropods as millipedes and mites). Close animal-plant interactions occurred at the onset with more complex terrestrial ecosystems developing by the Devonian. (DH)