Social dominance modulates eavesdropping in zebrafish

Group living animals may eavesdrop on signalling interactions between conspecifics and integrate it with their own past social experience in order to optimize the use of relevant information from others. However, little is known about this interplay between public (eavesdropped) and private social information. To investigate it, we first manipulated the dominance status of bystander zebrafish. Next, we either allowed or prevented bystanders from observing a fight. Finally, we assessed their behaviour towards the winners and losers of the interaction, using a custom-made video-tracking system and directional analysis. We found that only dominant bystanders who had seen the fight revealed a significant increase in directional focus (a measure of attention) towards the losers of the fights. Furthermore, our results indicate that information about the fighters' acquired status was collected from the signalling interaction itself and not from post-interaction status cues, which implies the existence of individual recognition in zebrafish. Thus, we show for the first time that zebrafish, a highly social model organism, eavesdrop on conspecific agonistic interactions and that this process is modulated by the eavesdroppers' dominance status. We suggest that this type of integration of public and private information may be ubiquitous in social learning processes.

Body reserves mediate trade-offs between life-history traits: new insights from small pelagic fish reproduction

Limited resources in the environment prevent individuals from simultaneously maximizing all life-history traits, resulting in trade-offs. In particular, the cost of reproduction is well known to negatively affect energy investment in growth and maintenance. Here, we investigated these trade-offs during contrasting periods of high versus low fish size and body condition (before/after 2008) in the Gulf of Lions. Female reproductive allocation and performance in anchovy (Engraulis encrasicolus) and sardine (Sardina pilchardus) were examined based on morphometric historical data from the 1970s and from 2003 to 2015. Additionally, potential maternal effects on egg quantity and quality were examined in 2014/2015. After 2008, the gonadosomatic index increased for sardine and remained steady for anchovy, while a strong decline in mean length at first maturity indicated earlier maturation for both species. Regarding maternal effects, for both species egg quantity was positively linked to fish size but not to fish lipid reserves, while the egg quality was positively related to lipid reserves. Atresia prevalence and intensity were rather low regardless of fish condition and size. Finally, estimations of total annual numbers of eggs spawned indicated a sharp decrease for sardine since 2008 but a slight increase for anchovy during the last 5 years. This study revealed a biased allocation towards reproduction in small pelagic fish when confronted with a really low body condition. This highlights that fish can maintain high reproductive investment potentially at the cost of other traits which might explain the present disappearance of old and large individuals in the Gulf of Lions.

A REPORT ON THE MITEP PROGRAM AND ITS IMPACT ON MY TEACHING

This report has two major objectives. First, the results of an action research project conducted at my high school concerning the use of graphic organizers and their effects on students' written expression abilities. The findings from this action research project indicate that the use of graphic organizers can prove beneficial to students. The second major objective of this report is to provide a reflection and evaluation of my experiences as a participant in the Michigan Teacher Excellence Program (MiTEP). This program provided middle and high school science teachers with an opportunity to develop research based pedagogy techniques and develop the skill necessary to serve as leaders within the public school science community. The action research project described in the first chapter of this report was a collaborative project I participated in during my enrollment in ED 5705 at Michigan Technological University. I worked closely with two other teachers in my building - Brytt Ergang and James Wright. We met several times to develop a research question, and a procedure for testing our question. Each of us investigated how the use of graphic organizers by students in our classroom might impact their performance on writing assessments. We each collected data from several of our classes. In my case I collected data from 2 different classes over 2 different assignments. Our data was collected and the results analyzed separately from classroom to classroom. After the individual classroom data and corresponding analysis was compiled my fellow collaborators and I got together to discuss our findings. We worked together to write a conclusion based on our combined results in all of our classes.

MICHIGAN TEACHER EXCELLENCE PROGRAM: PERSONAL EXPERIENCES AND IMPACT

This report is a summary of the effects of the Michigan Teacher Excellence Program (MITEP) on me as a science educator. The first chapter is a report of an action research project jointly authored with two other science teachers participating in the MITEP program titled “Station Activities and Misconceptions in the Chemistry Classroom.” The second chapter is a reflective essay evaluating the impacts of the MITEP experience on my teaching skills and practice, knowledge of science education and science education research, and leadership skills. The most significant impacts were a dramatic increase in my earth science content knowledge, a deeper understanding of inquiry-based teaching methods, and an expanded professional network of science educators.

MICHIGAN TEACHER EXCELLENCE PROGRAM: A LIFE-CHANGING EXPERIENCE

The first chapter consists of an action research report submitted by Rebecca Joyce, Kari Luckett, and Claudia Witt as part of the Action Research class taken through the Michigan Teacher Excellence Program (MiTEP) during the winter of 2013. The research involved the use of stations to address student misconceptions in urban high school chemistry classrooms. Chapter two contains a personal reflection on the MiTEP program and how it has affected teaching strategies/practices, personal confidence, and professional relationships.

Massive Open Online Course management: learning science and engineering through peer-reviewed projects

Massive Open Online Courses (MOOC) are gaining prominence in transversal teaching-learning strategies. However, there are many issues still debated, namely assessment, recognized largely as a cornerstone in Education. The large number of students involved requires a redefinition of strategies that often use approaches based on tasks or challenging projects. In these conditions and due to this approach, assessment is made through peer-reviewed assignments and quizzes online. The peer-reviewed assignments are often based upon sample answers or topics, which guide the student in the task of evaluating peers. This chapter analyzes the grading and evaluation in MOOCs, especially in science and engineering courses, within the context of education and grading methodologies and discusses possible perspectives to pursue grading quality in massive e-learning courses.

An Open Source, DDI-based Curation System for Social Science Data

Poster at Open Repositories 2014, Helsinki, Finland, June 9-13, 2014

ZENODO - an open dependable home for the long-tail of science

Poster at Open Repositories 2014, Helsinki, Finland, June 9-13, 2014

'Nature Conservation': a new dimension in Open Access publishing bridging science and application

This Editorial presents the focus, scope and policies of the inaugural issue of Nature Conservation, a new open access, peer-reviewed journal bridging natural sciences, social sciences and hands-on applications in conservation management. The journal covers all aspects of nature conservation and aims particularly at facilitating better interaction between scientists and practitioners. The journal will impose no restrictions on manuscript size or the use of colour. We will use an XML-based editorial workflow and several cutting-edge innovations in publishing and information dissemination. These include semantic mark-up of, and enhancements to published text, data, and extensive cross-linking within the journal and to external sources. We believe the journal will make an important contribution to better linking science and practice, offers rapid, peer-reviewed and flexible publication for authors and unrestricted access to content.

Science and technology policies in open economies: the case of Latin America and the Caribbean

Includes bibliography