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Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences
Evolutionary Adaptation Of Marine Zooplankton To Global Change, Hans Dam
Evolutionary Adaptation Of Marine Zooplankton To Global Change, Hans Dam
Hans G. Dam
Predicting the response of the biota to global change remains a formidable endeavor. Zooplankton face challenges related to global warming, ocean acidification, the proliferation of toxic algal blooms, and increasing pollution, eutrophication, and hypoxia. They can respond to these changes by phenotypic plasticity or genetic adaptation. Using the concept of the evolution of reaction norms, I address how adaptive responses can be unequivocally discerned from phenotypic plasticity. To date, relatively few zooplankton studies have been designed for such a purpose. As case studies, I review the evidence for zooplankton adaptation to toxic algal blooms, hypoxia, and climate change. Predicting the …
On Characterizing Adaptive Events Unique To Modern Humans, Jessica Crisci, Alex Wong, Jeffrey Good, Jeffrey Jensen
On Characterizing Adaptive Events Unique To Modern Humans, Jessica Crisci, Alex Wong, Jeffrey Good, Jeffrey Jensen
Jessica L Crisci
Ever since the first draft of the human genome was completed in 2001 there has been increased interest in identifying genetic changes that are uniquely human, which could account for our distinct morphological and cognitive capabilities with respect to other apes. Recently, draft sequences of two extinct hominin genomes, a Neanderthal and Denisovan, have been released. These two genomes provide a much greater resolution to identify human-specific genetic differences than the chimpanzee, our closest extant relative. The Neanderthal genome paper presented a list of regions putatively targeted by positive selection around the time of the human-Neanderthal split. We here seek …