Preface to the Princeton Landmarks in Biology Edition vii Preface xi Symbols Used xiii 1. The Importance of Islands 3 2. Area and Number of Speicies 8 3. Further Explanations of the Area-Diversity Pattern 19 4. The Strategy of Colonization 68 5. Invasibility and the Variable Niche 94 6. Stepping Stones and Biotic Exchange 123 7. Evolutionary Changes Following Colonization 145 8. Prospect 181 Glossary 185 References 193 Index 201

The Theory of Island Biogeography

Abstract Integrative explanations of why obesity is more prevalent in some sectors of the human population than others are lacking. Here, we outline and evaluate one candidate explanation, the insurance hypothesis (IH). The IH is rooted in adaptive evolutionary thinking: The function of storing fat is to provide a buffer against shortfall in the food supply. Thus, individuals should store more fat when they receive cues that access to food is uncertain. Applied to humans, this implies that an important proximate driver of obesity should be food insecurity rather than food abundance per se. We integrate several distinct lines of theory and evidence that bear on this hypothesis. We present a theoretical model that shows it is optimal to store more fat when food access is uncertain, and we review the experimental literature from non-human animals showing that fat reserves increase when access to food is restricted. We provide a meta-analysis of 125 epidemiological studies of the association between perceived food insecurity and high body weight in humans. There is a robust positive association, but it is restricted to adult women in high-income countries. We explore why this could be in light of the IH and our theoretical model. We conclude that although the IH alone cannot explain the distribution of obesity in the human population, it may represent a very important component of a pluralistic explanation. We also discuss insights it may offer into the developmental origins of obesity, dieting-induced weight gain, and anorexia nervosa.

Nettle, Andrews, Bateson: Food insecurity as a driver of obesity in humans: The insurance hypothesis

Peer reviewed scientific publishing is critical for communicating important findings, interpretations and theories in any branch of science. While the value of peer review is rarely doubted, much concern is being raised about the possible biases in the process. We argue here that most of the biases originate in the evolved innate tendency of every player to optimize one’s own cost benefits. Different players in the scientific publishing game have different cost-benefit optima. There are multiple conflicts between individual optima and collective goals. An analysis of the cost-benefit optima of every player in the scientific publishing game shows how and why biases originate. By continuing with the current publishing structure, the global distribution of the scientific community would be increasingly clustered. Publication biases by gender, ethnicity, reputation, conformation and conformity will be increasingly common and revolutionary concepts increasingly difficult to publish. For a better future of science, it is necessary to design a publication system based on principles of human behaviour rather than on some ideological assumptions. If a system is designed in such a way that the conflicts between individual optima and collective goal are minimized, if everyone cares only for his/her personal benefits, biases would get minimized automatically and the progress towards the collective goal would be faster and smoother. Changing towards such a system might prove difficult unless a critical mass of authors take an active role to revolutionize scientific publishing.


/pdf/behavioral-optimization-in-scientific-publishing-1bl2adjo.pdf

Behavioral optimization in Scientific Publishing

/pdf/the-sunk-cost-fallacy-is-not-a-fallacy-2ag8l7813l.pdf

The Sunk Cost 'Fallacy' Is Not a Fallacy

Among the classical models of optimization, some models maximize the ratio of returns per investment, others maximize the difference between returns and investment. However, the question under what conditions use of the ratio model is appropriate and under what conditions a difference model should be used remained unaddressed until recently. The question is important because the strategies indicated by ratio optimum can be substantially different than the ones suggested by difference optimum. We make a general case here for the set of conditions for appropriate use of ratio versus difference optimum. When the investable amount is perceived as limiting but not the investment opportunities a ratio optimum is appropriate and when the investment opportunities are perceived to be limiting but not the investable amount, difference optimum is appropriate. Taking examples of Concorde fallacy, parental investment, r and K selection, nectar production, pollinator behavior, protein synthesis and stability, viral burst size and human economic behavior we show that the ratio-difference distinction in optimization models resolves many long standing debates and conundrums in evolution, behavior and economics.

/pdf/the-ratio-versus-difference-optimization-and-its-3739m0ao6z.pdf

The ratio versus difference optimization and its implications for optimality theory

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The ratio versus difference optimization and its implications for optimality theory