Philosophy of Science Assoc. 23Rd Biennial Mtg
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Load more
Recommended publications
-
KS2 Tortoise Shapes and Sizes
TORTOISE SHAPES AND SIZE... ? Not all tortoises look the same. What can you learn about a tortoise from looking at the shape of its shell? Some Galapagos tortoises have Some Galapagos tortoises have domed shells like this saddleback shells like this An adaptation is a feature an animal has which helps it survive. If an animal has a greater chance of surviving then it has a greater chance of having more babies who are also likely to have the same adaptation. In the space below, draw one of our Galapagos giant tortoises. Make notes describing the TASK 1 different adaptations of the tortoise and how those features might help the tortoise survive in the wild. Worksheet 2 KS2 1 ? Not all the Galapagos Islands have the same habitat. What can you tell about the habitat of a tortoise by looking at the shape of its shell? Some of the Galapagos Islands are Some of the Galapagos Islands are smaller and dryer, where tall cacti larger and wetter, where many plants grow. plants grow close to the ground. TASK 2 Of the two tortoise shell shapes, which is likely to be better for reaching tall cacti plants? ______________________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________________ Which of these island types is likely to provide enough food for tortoises to grow to large sizes? ______________________________________________________________________________________________ -
An Introduction to Lemurs for Teachers and Educators
AN INTRODUCTION TO LEMURS FOR TEACHERS AND EDUCATORS WELCOME TO THE WORLD OF AKO THE AYE-AYE The Ako the Aye-Aye Educator’s Guide introduces you to the remarkable world of lemurs. This guide provides background information about the biological concepts conveyed through the 21 Ako lessons. These lessons were created to accompany the Ako books. The Ako book series were developed by renowned primatologist Alison Jolly for students in Madagascar to inspire understanding and appreciation for the unique primates that share their island home. In addition to the books there is also a set of posters which showcase the habitat of each lemur species and their forest “neighbors.” GOALS OF THE AKO LESSONS: • Inspire students to make a positive difference for lemurs and other wildlife. • Promote environmental awareness, understanding and appreciation. • Provide activities that connect students to nature and motivate conservation action. HOW TO USE THIS GUIDE Each lesson aligns with a specific grade level (Kindergarten-1st, 2nd-3rd and 4th-5th) and one of the seven environmental themes below. Before carrying out an activity, we recommend reading the corresponding section in this guide that matches the theme of the lesson. The themes are: • LOOKING AT LEMURS—CLASSIFICATION AND BIODIVERSITY (PAGE 4) • EXPLORING LEMUR HABITATS (PAGE 10) • INVESTIGATING LEMUR ADAPTATIONS (PAGE 18) • DISCOVERING LEMUR COMMUNITIES—INTER-DEPENDENCE (PAGE 23) • LEARNING ABOUT LEMUR LIFE—LIFE CYCLES AND BEHAVIOR (PAGE 26) • DISCOVERING MADAGASCAR’S PEOPLE AND PLACES (PAGE 33) • MAKING A DIFFERENCE FOR LEMURS (PAGE 40) Lessons can be completed chronologically or independently. Each activity incorporates multiple learning styles and subject areas. -
Science Education and Our Future
Welcome to Frontiers Page 1 of 10 Science Education and Our Future Yervant Terzian ACCORDING TO CURRENT theory, matter was created from energy at the time of the Big Bang, at the beginning of cosmic history. As the hot, early universe expanded and cooled, it separated into pieces that later formed the hundreds of millions of galaxies we now see. One such galaxy was the Milky Way, which in turn spawned some 200 billion stars, of which the sun is one. Around the sun, a small planet was formed on which biological evolution has progressed during the last few billion years. You and I are part of the result and share this cosmic history. Now here we are, atoms from the Big Bang, an intelligent and technological civilization of about 6 billion, fast multiplying, and largely unhappy human beings. This long evolution has now given us the wisdom to ask what is it that we want. We all want survival, of course, but survival on our own terms, for ourselves and generations to come. 1, and probably you, would want those terms to be comfortable, happy, and democratic. If our most fundamental wish is a happy and democratic survival, this can be achieved only by an informed society. To be informed we must be educated, and in today's world no one ignorant of science and technology can be considered educated. Hence, science education appears fundamentally important to our happy future. During the past decades people have been asking me what was the value of science when during the Apollo mission inspired by President John E Kennedy, we spent $24 billion to visit the moon. -
HABITAT MANAGEMENT PLAN Green Bay and Gravel Island
HABITAT MANAGEMENT PLAN Green Bay and Gravel Island National Wildlife Refuges October 2017 Habitat Management Plans provide long-term guidance for management decisions; set forth goals, objectives, and strategies needed to accomplish refuge purposes; and, identify the Fish and Wildlife Service’s best estimate of future needs. These plans detail program planning levels that are sometimes substantially above current budget allocations and as such, are primarily for Service strategic planning and program prioritization purposes. The plans do not constitute a commitment for staffing increases, operational and maintenance increases, or funding for future land acquisition. The National Wildlife Refuge System, managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, is the world's premier system of public lands and waters set aside to conserve America's fish, wildlife, and plants. Since the designation of the first wildlife refuge in 1903, the System has grown to encompass more than 150 million acres, 556 national wildlife refuges and other units of the Refuge System, plus 38 wetland management districts. This page intentionally left blank. Habitat Management Plan for Green Bay and Gravel Island National Wildlife Refuges EXECUTIVE SUMMARY This Habitat Management Plan (HMP) provides vision and specific guidance on enhancing and managing habitat for the resources of concern (ROC) at the refuge. The contributions of the refuge to ecosystem- and landscape-scale wildlife and biodiversity conservation, specifically migratory waterfowl, are incorporated into this HMP. The HMP is intended to provide habitat management direction for the next 15 years. The HMP is also needed to ensure that the refuge continues to conserve habitat for migratory birds in the context of climate change, which affects all units of the National Wildlife Refuge System. -
Essays on Einstein's Science And
MAX-PLANCK-INSTITUT FÜR WISSENSCHAFTSGESCHICHTE Max Planck Institute for the History of Science PREPRINT 63 (1997) Giuseppe Castagnetti, Hubert Goenner, Jürgen Renn, Tilman Sauer, and Britta Scheideler Foundation in Disarray: Essays on Einstein’s Science and Politics in the Berlin Years ISSN 0948-9444 PREFACE This collection of essays is based on a series of talks given at the Boston Colloquium for Philosophy of Science, March 3 – 4, 1997, under the title “Einstein in Berlin: The First Ten Years.“ The meeting was organized by the Center for Philosophy and History of Science at Boston University and the Collected Papers of Albert Einstein, and co-sponsored by the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science. Although the three essays do not directly build upon one another, we have nevertheless decided to present them in a single preprint for two reasons. First, they result from a project that grew out of an earlier cooperation inaugurated by the Berlin Working Group “Albert Einstein.“ This group was part of the research center “Development and Socialization“ under the direction of Wolfgang Edel- stein at the Max Planck Institute for Human Development and Education.1 The Berlin Working Group, directed by Peter Damerow and Jürgen Renn, was sponsored by the Senate of Berlin. Its aim was to pursue research on Einstein in Berlin with particular attention to the relation between his science and its context. The research activities of the Working Group are now being continued at the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science partly, in cooperation with Michel Janssen, John Norton, and John Stachel. -
Human Translocation As an Alternative Hypothesis to Explain the Presence of Giant Tortoises on Remote Islands in the Southwestern Indian Ocean
See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/298072054 Human translocation as an alternative hypothesis to explain the presence of giant tortoises on remote islands in the Southwestern Indian Ocean ARTICLE in JOURNAL OF BIOGEOGRAPHY · MARCH 2016 Impact Factor: 4.59 · DOI: 10.1111/jbi.12751 READS 63 3 AUTHORS: Lucienne Wilmé Patrick Waeber Missouri Botanical Garden ETH Zurich 50 PUBLICATIONS 599 CITATIONS 37 PUBLICATIONS 113 CITATIONS SEE PROFILE SEE PROFILE Jörg U. Ganzhorn University of Hamburg 208 PUBLICATIONS 5,425 CITATIONS SEE PROFILE All in-text references underlined in blue are linked to publications on ResearchGate, Available from: Lucienne Wilmé letting you access and read them immediately. Retrieved on: 18 March 2016 Journal of Biogeography (J. Biogeogr.) (2016) PERSPECTIVE Human translocation as an alternative hypothesis to explain the presence of giant tortoises on remote islands in the south-western Indian Ocean Lucienne Wilme1,2,*, Patrick O. Waeber3 and Joerg U. Ganzhorn4 1School of Agronomy, Water and Forest ABSTRACT Department, University of Antananarivo, Giant tortoises are known from several remote islands in the Indian Ocean Madagascar, 2Missouri Botanical Garden, (IO). Our present understanding of ocean circulation patterns, the age of the Madagascar Research & Conservation Program, Madagascar, 3Forest Management islands, and the life history traits of giant tortoises makes it difficult to com- and Development, Department of prehend how these animals arrived -
Lemurs, Little and Large
Lesson Description LEMURS, LITTLE Students practice measuring and learn that lemurs come in many sizes by measuring the length of Bitika the mouse lemur AND LARGE and other lemur species that she encounters on her evening adventure. The discussion focuses on lemur biodiversity (and 2-3rd grade also island gigantism and dwarfism) and the risks and benefits Language Arts, Science. Math of being big and small. Students will know that lemurs come in a variety of sizes and be able to use different tools ● Sets of marked lemur measurement rope and and units to measure them. identification, made using: ● Lemur Fact Cards ● Thick yarn or twine (15 feet long, one per group of ● Measure the length of different lemur species students plus one for the teacher) ● Describe why lemurs are so diverse in size ● Toilet paper, paper towel roll, or similar tube ● Measure lengths using a variety of tools ● Paper clips (8 per group of students ) ● Compare various units of measurement ● Colored tape (to mark lengths on rope) ● Describe why island species are sometimes very ● Masking tape to tape the ends of the large or very small lemur measuring rope to the floor ● Understand complexity of conservation issues ● Menabe-Antanimena Ako Poster i LOOKING AT LEMURS SETUP . Print out one set of Lemur Fact Cards for each rope. Cut out each card and hole-punch the corner. Place a paper clip through the hole. The paper clip will be used to attach the card at the distance representing the length of each lemur depicted. Cut one 15 foot length of yarn for each student group. -
Comparative Thinking in Biology
Comparative Thinking in Biology Adrian Currie This material has been published in the Cambridge University Press series Elements in the Philosophy of Biology, edited by Grant Ramsey and Michael Ruse. This version is free to view and download for personal use only. Not for re-distribution, re-sale or use in derivative works. © Adrian Currie. Acknowledgements I’m grateful to Marta Halina, Sabina Leonelli, Alison McConwell, Aaron Novick, Trevor Pearce, Russell Powell, William Wong and two anonymous referees for extremely useful and kind feedback on draft material. Also thanks to Grant Ramsey and Michael Ruse. Ideas from this element were presented to Exeter’s Cognition and Culture reading group, at Philosophy of Biology at Dolphin Beach 13 and at the Recent Trends in Philosophy of Biology conference in Bilkent; thanks to the audiences there. Many thanks to Kimberly Brumble for the wonderful illustrations. Some of the research for this Element was funded by the Templeton World Charity Foundation. Dedicated to the incomparable Kate. Table of Contents Cats versus Dogs............................................................................................................................... 1 1. Comparative Thinking .......................................................................................................... 14 1.1 Comparative Concepts .................................................................................................... 14 1.2 Two Kinds of Inference ................................................................................................... -
Does Relaxed Predation Drive Phenotypic Divergence Among Insular Populations?
doi: 10.1111/jeb.12421 Does relaxed predation drive phenotypic divergence among insular populations? A. RUNEMARK*, M. BRYDEGAARD† &E.I.SVENSSON* *Evolutionary Ecology Unit, Department of Biology, Lund University, Lund, Sweden †Atomic Physics Division, Department of Physics, Lund University, Lund, Sweden Keywords: Abstract antipredator defence; The evolution of striking phenotypes on islands is a well-known phenome- body size; non, and there has been a long-standing debate on the patterns of body size coloration; evolution on islands. The ecological causes driving divergence in insular crypsis; populations are, however, poorly understood. Reduced predator fauna is lizards; expected to lower escape propensity, increase body size and relax selection Podarcis; for crypsis in small-bodied, insular prey species. Here, we investigated population divergence; whether escape behaviour, body size and dorsal coloration have diverged as variance. predicted under predation release in spatially replicated islet and mainland populations of the lizard species Podarcis gaigeae. We show that islet lizards escape approaching observers at shorter distances and are larger than main- land lizards. Additionally, we found evidence for larger between-population variation in body size among the islet populations than mainland popu- lations. Moreover, islet populations are significantly more divergent in dorsal coloration and match their respective habitats poorer than mainland lizards. These results strongly suggest that predation release on islets has driven population divergence in phenotypic and behavioural traits and that selective release has affected both trait means and variances. Relaxed preda- tion pressure is therefore likely to be one of the major ecological factors driving body size divergence on these islands. adjacent mainland localities. -
The Island Rule and Its Application to Multiple Plant Traits
The island rule and its application to multiple plant traits Annemieke Lona Hedi Hendriks A thesis submitted to the Victoria University of Wellington in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Ecology and Biodiversity Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand 2019 ii “The larger the island of knowledge, the longer the shoreline of wonder” Ralph W. Sockman. iii iv General Abstract Aim The Island Rule refers to a continuum of body size changes where large mainland species evolve to become smaller and small species evolve to become larger on islands. Previous work focuses almost solely on animals, with virtually no previous tests of its predictions on plants. I tested for (1) reduced floral size diversity on islands, a logical corollary of the island rule and (2) evidence of the Island Rule in plant stature, leaf size and petiole length. Location Small islands surrounding New Zealand; Antipodes, Auckland, Bounty, Campbell, Chatham, Kermadec, Lord Howe, Macquarie, Norfolk, Snares, Stewart and the Three Kings. Methods I compared the morphology of 65 island endemics and their closest ‘mainland’ relative. Species pairs were identified. Differences between archipelagos located at various latitudes were also assessed. Results Floral sizes were reduced on islands relative to the ‘mainland’, consistent with predictions of the Island Rule. Plant stature, leaf size and petiole length conformed to the Island Rule, with smaller plants increasing in size, and larger plants decreasing in size. Main conclusions Results indicate that the conceptual umbrella of the Island Rule can be expanded to plants, accelerating understanding of how plant traits evolve on isolated islands. -
Entropy: a Guide for the Perplexed 117 a Quasistatic Irreversible Path, and Then Go Back from B to a Along a Quasistatic Reversible Path
5 ENTROPY A GUIDE FOR THE PERPLEXED Roman Frigg and Charlotte Werndl1 1 Introduction Entropy is ubiquitous in physics, and it plays important roles in numerous other disciplines ranging from logic and statistics to biology and economics. However, a closer look reveals a complicated picture: entropy is defined differently in different contexts, and even within the same domain different notions of entropy are at work. Some of these are defined in terms of probabilities, others are not. The aim of this essay is to arrive at an understanding of some of the most important notions of entropy and to clarify the relations between them. In particular, we discuss the question what kind of probabilities are involved whenever entropy is defined in terms of probabilities: are the probabilities chances (i.e. physical probabilities) or credences (i.e. degrees of belief)? After setting the stage by introducing the thermodynamic entropy (Sec. 2), we discuss notions of entropy in information theory (Sec. 3), statistical mechanics (Sec. 4), dynamical-systems theory (Sec. 5), and fractal geometry (Sec. 6). Omis- sions are inevitable; in particular, space constraints prevent us from discussing entropy in quantum mechanics and cosmology.2 2 Entropy in thermodynamics Entropy made its first appearance in the middle of the nineteenth century in the context of thermodynamics (TD). TD describes processes like the exchange of heat between two bodies or the spreading of gases in terms of macroscopic variables like temperature, pressure, and volume. The centerpiece of TD is the Second Law of TD, which, roughly speaking, restricts the class of physically allowable processes in isolated systems to those that are not entropy-decreasing. -
Focus on an Island Rule May Hide Morphological Disparity in Insular Plants LETTER Joshua I
LETTER Focus on an island rule may hide morphological disparity in insular plants LETTER Joshua I. Briana,1 and Nathanael Walker-Haleb,1 The island rule (1, 2) posits that large mainland species case of island gigantism in stature but dwarfism in evolve to be small on islands, while small mainland leaves. However, C. repens is more closely related species evolve to be large. Biddick et al. (3) assess to Coprosma petiolata (4), which appears to repre- the signal of an island rule in plant traits on islands sent a case of island dwarfism in both stature and off the coast of New Zealand, concluding that some leaves, indicating that this process can be extremely plant traits show evidence of an island rule while variable. others do not. We applaud Biddick et al. for their ap- We consider that this variation may represent a plication of the island rule to plants. However, we ob- process of island plants exploring more of trait space serve significant heterogeneity in their data, and while than mainland relatives (5, 6), even in situations of so- analysis on a trait-by-trait basis may reveal an island rule, called anagenesis (5, 7). Analyses of separate traits can it may obscure evidence of island lineages explor- reflect an island rule but hide divergent patterns of ing more of trait space than their mainland relatives. among-trait evolution. In general, we expect that pop- A single plant species may demonstrate consider- ulations colonizing islands will be more subject to drift able variation in growth form, as their data suggest.