Dishonesty in ecology, as a policy for deterring potential rivals, has not been thought of as a common strategy across the animal kingdom until recently.

Dishonesty has been a long-standing conundrum in evolutionary ecology. Previously, well-respected researchers such as Harper & Maynard Smith (2003) and Zahavi (1975) have conceded that cheating is unlikely to evolve as an effective strategy because of the costs of producing dishonest signals. However, new research published in the British Ecological Society’s Functional Ecology journal sheds light on how animals can feign their fighting prowess.

Research focusing on fiddler crabs Uca mjoebergi – so-called because when waving their oversized claw to a female they appear to be playing a fiddle – suggests dishonesty could be much more widespread than previously thought. The research is all the more exciting because, by definition dishonesty is notoriously hard to detect.

There are around 100 species of fiddler crabs world wide, and they tend to live in mangrove swamps and mudflats.

Fiddler crabs provide a good model species to resolve the question of whether armaments, such as claws, are capable of being dishonest. This is because they possess an overtly enlarged claw, not only used in battle to defend territories but to assess fighting ability prior to an encounter, in order to prevent a costly fight. The claw is also used by females to identify high quality partners, so there is a two-fold advantage to possessing an oversized claw in terms of signalling.

The lead author of the research Simon Lailvaux from the Australian National University said: “By studying exactly how animals fight, and what physiological and performance capacities enable males to win fights, we’re getting closer to identifying which traits are likely to be generally important for male combat. Honest signalling is important for several reasons, primarily because it’s important that fights don’t always escalate into bloody violence.”

If male fiddler crabs lose a claw in battle, they are able to regenerate a new claw. The potential for cheating lies in their ability to produce a new claw that is similar in size and impressiveness to the previous claw, but lacking in equivalent strength and effectiveness when fighting.

The researchers pitted males caught from the wild against each other under controlled laboratory conditions, to determine the effectiveness of original vs. regenerated claws in signalling (deterring a rival male from fighting) and fighting (defeating a rival male). Losers of encounters between rival males left the territory, making it easy to identify the victor.

The researchers found that, although size was generally correlated with strength and fighting ability, weaker regenerated claws did not perform as well as original claws in fights.

Lailvaux said: “Males with regenerated claws can ‘bluff’ their fighting ability, like bluffing in a poker game. They’re not good fighters, but the deceptive appearance of their claw allows them to convince other males that it’s not worth picking a fight with them. “

This research also exposes the cost associated with bearing a dishonest signal. Generally, males tend to challenge other males of similar claw size. When males are forced to defend intruders possessing a strong original claw from burrows , the bluff is exposed and they tend to lose. There is also possibly an evolutionary pressure to keep cheating to a minimum, as has been documented in yeast (Greig and Travisano 2004). Since dishonest males are in the overwhelming minority (~7% of the study population), there is clearly sufficient scope for them to get away with it.

Source: Simon P Lailvaux, Leeann T Reaney and Patricia R Y Backwell (2008).
Dishonesty signalling of fighting ability and multiple performance
traits in the fiddler crab Uca mjoebergi. Functional Ecology, doi:
10.1111/j.1365-2435.2008.01501.x, is published online on 12 November 2008.

References:

Greig D., andTravisano, M., 2007, The Prisoner’s Dilemma and polymorphism in yeast SUC genes, Proceedings of the Royal Society B, Vol 271, pp 25-26

Harper, D. & Maynard Smith, J. (2003) Animal Signals. Oxford University
Press, Oxford.

Zahavi, A. (1975) Mate selection: a selection for a handicap. Journal of
Theoretical Biology, 53, 205–214.

The IUCN have today announced the findings of an investigation into the state of the North Atlantic’s rays and sharks; 26 per cent of these face extinction with 20% ‘near threatened.’

The estimated percentage is conservative however, insofar as many of the species (27%) assessed lacked sufficient data to effectively assess their status. Even the conservative estimate of 26 per cent threatened, is much greater than the global average of 18 per cent.

The primary cause of their alarming status is overfishing. As the annual meeting for EU quotas looms closer, there will be opportunities to bolster the recovery of these species.

Sonja Fordham, Deputy Chair of the IUCN SSG and Policy Director for the Shark Alliance called for government officials to listen up and take notice:

“Country officials should heed the dire warnings of this report and act to protect threatened sharks and rays at national, regional and international levels. Such action is immediately possible and absolutely necessary to change the current course toward extinction of these remarkable ocean animals,”

This report highlights the urgent need to ratify the Marine Bill, due to be announced in the forthcoming Queen’s speech.

The Environmental Audit Committee has today published its report into ‘Halting UK Biodiversity Loss’. The Committee call for a new approach to address dramatic declines in biodiversity across England and in the UK’s Overseas Territories (OTs).

The Committee find that the Government is on course to miss the key target to halt biodiversity loss by 2010, with many species and habitats facing severe declines and local extinctions across England. The Committee has particularly criticised the Government’s policies with respect to the UK’s OTs; it’s failure to act in relation to previous recommendations of the Committee to protect the environment of the territories means that the biodiversity of these areas now faces its ‘eleventh hour’.

The Committee call upon the Government to adopt an ecosystems approach to conservation, taking into account the implications of the policy of all Government Departments for the natural environment when making decisions and thinking beyond simply a ‘protected area’ approach to conservation. The Committee welcome the Government’s decision to conduct an ecosystem assessment for England, but state that this should be just a first-step to a wider cross-departmental initiative.

Calling on the Government to take urgent action to protect the environment of the UK’s Territories, Tim Yeo MP, Committee Chair, said: “One of the most important contributions the Government could make to slow the catastrophic global diversity loss currently occurring, would be to accept its environmental responsibility for our Overseas Territories.” The Committee recommend that responsibility for the OTs is transferred from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to Defra.

See Full Report
Read the joint BES- Institute of Biology response to the consultation on ‘Halting UK Biodiversity Loss’

Scientists have recently developed a new computer modeling system that will improve the way in which river basins are assessed for the European Water Framework Directive.

The system has been named the Elbe decision support system, (Elbe-DSS), after the river it was initially developed for assessing, the River Elbe, one of the largest in Europe.

The system will specifically monitor the following elements of river catchment:

One of the strengths of this system is that it will help cross-border collaboration in tackling river management objectives. The system can be intelligently manipulated in order to assess the likely impacts of likely changes in variables affecting the catchment area, such as reforestation and increased/decreased fertiliser input.

Having tested theory against practice, it has proved to be reliable in predicting nutrient levels across the whole river basin. Because the system can be applied at various spatial scales, it means that approaches can be taken at specific locations across the modeled area in an efficient way. It also allows management actions to be ranked in importance according to modeled assumptions about future environmental and demographic changes.

The system is free and available from the German Federal Institute of Hydrology, (although the website is currently under construction and written in German).

This article is adapted from the Science Environment Policy Bulletin, Source: Lautenbach, S., Berlekamp, J., Graf, N. et al. (2009). Scenario analysis and management options for sustainable river basin management: Application of the Elbe DSS. Environmental Modelling and Software. 24(1): 26-43.

Tuesday 4 November saw the launch of the RSA’s Arts and Ecology showcase of STOP.WATCH. The event comprised of seven short films, alluding to the fragility of nature and artistically representing ecological problems.

The films were commissioned especially for the internet and represent a unique means of communicating issues the planet faces. Witty, thought-provoking and at times obscure; the films remained an eye-opening take on complex ecological issues. The soundtracks were particularly impressive and engaging on a number of the short stills, all of which can be seen on the Arts and Ecology website.

Most impressive of all was a poem written by Melanie Challenger, (Creative Fellow at the Centre for the Evolution of Cultural Diversity, University College London), about one of the short films entitled Shattered. Melanie spoke of the need to conserve, at the very least document, local, unique extant languages around the world. Languages contain words that convey a particular meaning to a social dynamic peculiar to a given location. When lost, for example a description of the properties of a particular plant or an ailment, then so to is all the associated local knowledge.

Overall, the event provided an opportunity to network with a crowd of interesting and diverse backgrounds, and demonstrated the variety in which scientific issues can be communicated effectively.

The BES has an opportunity for an intern to assist the Science Policy Team for up to three months, working for two days each week. Although this position is not paid, the BES will cover lunch costs (up to £5 per day) and travel expenses within London.

Assist the Society’s policy officer in monitoring current legislation in the UK and EU, contribute to consultation responses and briefing papers, help to organise policy meetings and events and to maintain the Ecology and Policy Blog. This is a fantastic way for a graduate with a knowledge of, or interest in, ecology, to gain valuable experience of working in science policy.

For more information see the BES website.

To apply, send your CV and a covering letter, explaining why you are interested in the post and giving details of your availability, to Policy@BritishEcologicalSociety.org no later than Friday 28 November. Interviews will be held in the morning of Wednesday 10 December.

Scientists have recently discovered that a tree fungus Gliocladium roseum, produces compounds of long-chain hydrocarbons very similar in structure to commercial diesel.

The lead scientist of the research, Gary Strobel, from Montana State University said: “This is the only organism that has ever been shown to produce such an important combination of fuel substances… …we were totally surprised to learn that it was making a plethora of hydrocarbons.”

The work is due to be published in the journal Microbiology next month, where the compounds have been described as ‘mycodiesels.’ The research also documents the ability of the fungus to break down cellulose – the structure that makes up the plant cell wall with lignin – to create the mycodiesel. Previously, cellulose has been converted to biofuels in a two-step process requiring enzymes to create sugars from the cell wall followed by microbes to convert sugars to ethanol.

The find illustrates the very real and unthinkably diverse compounds in the depths of our remaining forests, and highlights the desperate need to conserve what we have left. The research also comes at a time when traditional taxonomy is in precipitous decline, making the case to educate more young taxonomists even stronger. There is great potential for the discovery of new medicines and fuels derived from biodiversity across many ecosystems, from forests to the marine environment.

Although excited by the news, Tariq Butt, a fungus expert based at Swansea University, urged caution:

“Concept-wise, the discovery and its potential applications are fantastic. However, more research is needed, as well as a pilot study to determine the costs and benefits. Even so, another potential supply of renewable fuel allows us to diversify our energy sources and is certainly an exciting discovery.”

Climate change remains a present and future threat to biodiversity. REDD, Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation, aims to curb climate change by conserving the world’s remaining forests.

REDD aim to ensure that measures to tackle climate change include accounting for the carbon sinks that forests and bogs provide. After lenghty dialogue, both the UNFCCC and the Kyoto Protocol have made provisions to reduce emissions released from forest degradation and deforestation.

December 07 witnessed the unilateral agreement between the conference of the parties to strengthen agreements made at the fourteenth conference. UNEP and WCMC have now produced a paper that outlines opportunities for multiple benefits of forest protection, including increased watershed and coastal protection.

It seems likely that protection of native forests will offer greater resilience to the effects of climate change than new plantations, and this should be taken into consideration in decision-making.