Author: Jennifer Savoie

Gene switches make prairie voles fall in love

Post author By Jennifer Savoie (she/her/hers)
Post date August 10, 2023
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Link to open access version – https://med.fsu.edu/sites/default/files/news-publications/print/Gene%20switches%20make%20prairie%20voles%20fall%20in%20love%2C%20Nature.pdf

CUNY Library Permalink https://cuny-hc.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01CUNY_HC/9p6vcd/cdi_crossref_primary_10_1038_nature_2013_13112

Cormier, Z. (2013). Gene switches make prairie voles fall in love. Nature (London) https://doi-org.proxy.wexler.hunter.cuny.edu/10.1038/nature.2013.13112

Nature News article by Zoe Cormier describes a study by Wang et al.(2013 – reference below) who found evidence that mating behavior activates epigenetic changes in the brain which then affects behavior.

Assigned as a pre-class article for a class on Tinbergen’s 4 questions.

Course content area – Explaining Behavior – Tinbergen’s 4 Questions

Course – Evolution & Behavior (100 level)

Campus – Hunter College

Wang, H., Duclot, F., & Liu, Y. et al. (2013). Histone deacetylase inhibitors facilitate partner preference formation in female prairie voles. Nat Neurosci 16, 919–924 . https://doi-org.ezproxy.gc.cuny.edu/10.1038/nn.3420

Tags emotions, epigenetics, gene switch, genes, mating behavior

Educational Resources Readings

Animal Communication section Britannica

Post author By Jennifer Savoie (she/her/hers)
Post date August 10, 2023
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https://www.britannica.com/science/animal-communication

Britannica encyclopedia section covering animal communication including – signal production, reception, and transmission, costs and benefits of communication, the evolution of signals, and honesty and deceit

Assigned as pre-class reading for class introducing animal communication.

Course content area – Communication

Course – Evolution & Behavior (100 level)

Campus – Hunter College

Tags communication

Educational Resources Readings

In the oceans, the volume Is rising as never before

Post author By Jennifer Savoie (she/her/hers)
Post date August 10, 2023
No Comments on In the oceans, the volume Is rising as never before

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/04/science/ocean-marine-noise-pollution.html

NY Times article about the impact of anthropogenic noise on ocean environments.

Included as an optional reading to support an in-class discussion when covering animal communication.

Course content area – Communication

Course – Evolution & Behavior (100 level)

Campus – Hunter College

Tags communication, conservation, ocean

Educational Resources Readings

Queer animals are everywhere. Science is finally catching on reading

Post author By Jennifer Savoie (she/her/hers)
Post date August 10, 2023
No Comments on Queer animals are everywhere. Science is finally catching on reading

Washington Post article by Eliot Schrefer discusses the impact of human culture on the study of animal sexual behaviors and the lack of understanding of how a behavior that does not lead to offspring can still improve an animal’s fitness. Article is available to listen to.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/magazine/2022/06/30/queer-animals-are-everywhere-science-is-finally-catching/

Used as a pre-class reading to prepare for a class discussing the diversity of sexual behaviors found in the animal kingdom.

Course content area – Sexual Selection

Course – Evolution & Behavior (100 level)

Campus – Hunter College

Tags diversity, queer, sexual behaviors

Educational Resources Videos

Cuttlefish Mimics Being Female To Mate | Blue Planet II | BBC Earth

Post author By Jennifer Savoie (she/her/hers)
Post date August 10, 2023
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KT1-JQTiZGc

Video on youtube from BBC Earth showing an alternative mating strategy in cuttlefish.

Auto-generated captions

Course content area – Sexual Selection

Course – Evolution & Behavior (100 level)

Campus – Hunter College

Tags alternative strategy, sexual selection, sneaker male

Educational Resources Webpages

Genetic Drift Simulation

Post author By Jennifer Savoie (she/her/hers)
Post date August 10, 2023
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https://www.whfreeman.com/BrainHoney/Resource/6716/SitebuilderUploads/Hillis2e/Student%20Resources/Animated%20Tutorials/pol2e_at_1502_genetic_drift_simulation/pol2e_at_1502_genetic_drift_simulation.html#

A simulation (applet) that allows you to plot the population size, number of generations, and original allele frequency, then a figure populates to show the breakdown of the genotypes within the population.

Used to support Exploring Genetic Drift with Tuco tucos in-class activity.

Course content area – Population Genetics & Mechanisms of Evolution – Genetic drift, mutation, gene flow, Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium

Course – Evolution & Behavior (100 level)

Campus – Hunter College

Tags applet, Genetic drift, simulation

Educational Resources Readings

Understanding Evolutionary Relationships – Phylogenetic trees

Post author By Jennifer Savoie (she/her/hers)
Post date August 10, 2023
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https://evolution.berkeley.edu/the-tree-room/evolutionary-trees-a-primer/understanding-evolutionary-relationships/

This webpage from, Understanding Evolution (UC Museum of Paleontology), explains how to interpret relatedness from a phylogenetic tree.

Included to supplement class material on phylogenetic trees.

Course content area – Evolution Basics – history (Lamark, Darwin), evidence (fossils, homology)

Course – Evolution & Behavior (100 level)

Campus – Hunter College

Tags clades, evolutionary tree, phylogenetic trees, taxa

Educational Resources Readings

Animal emotions — Do animals feel as we do?

Post author By Jennifer Savoie (she/her/hers)
Post date August 10, 2023
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https://kids.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frym.2021.622811

Krause, A. & Nawroth, C. (2021). Animal emotions — Do animals feel as we do?. Front. Young Minds. 9(622811). doi: 10.3389/frym.2021.622811

Article with linked sources and a list of references describing the basics of emotions and how they are measured in animals.

Assigned as a pre-class reading to introduce students to the study of emotions in non-human animals. While intended for a younger audience this article is appropriate for most readers including CUNY students.

Course content area – Emotions

Course – Evolution & Behavior (100 level)

Campus – Hunter College

Tags affective states, emotions, physiology

Educational Resources Videos

Vogelkop bowerbird decorates his bower with flowers video

Post author By Jennifer Savoie (she/her/hers)
Post date August 10, 2023
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https://academy.allaboutbirds.org/vogelkop-bowerbird-decorates-his-bower-with-flowers/

High-quality video with transcript and captions from The Cornell Lab – Bird Academy. The video shows a male bowerbird building his bower and a female assessing the bower.