Poleward range expansions are currently observed in many species and commonly attributed to global change. However, recent research indicates that they might be facilitated by adaptation. An example is provided by Argiope bruennichi, a widely distributed Palearctic spider, which greatly expanded its European range in the past decades. The colonization of habitats in Northern Europe was apparently enabled by a climatic niche shift. This is mirrored in an increased cold tolerance and a specific cold stress induced gene expression response of expansive Northern European spider populations. In order to unravel the genetic origin of expansive spiders, we sequenced genomes of populations throughout the species’ range. Our analysis identifies three genetic lineages in the Palearctic, an East Asian, a European and an Azorean. The Asian and European clades form a contact zone in Central Asia, from where Asian genetic variation enters the European genepool. An analysis of historical DNA indicates that this secondary contact is less than 100 years old. Interestingly, we find considerable introgression in the newly colonized invaded habitat of the
species in Northern Europe, while introgression is barely affecting native populations. We speculate that an admixture of glacial lineages might have provided the variation for a rapid genetic and evolutionary divergence of spider populations.

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Robots are controllable machines that can be made to look and move like animals thus providing a viable tool for studying animal behavior. At the same time, a clear measure of their influence on an animal subject is not available. In this talk I will describe how tools from information theory, in particular a quantity called transfer entropy, can be used to measure the directional information flow between animals and robots. We will consider a robotics based experimental setup, in which a zebrafish is observed as it interacts with a robotic replica. Our results show that the transfer entropy is significantly more from the replica towards the focal subject than the other way around, and that this difference is not present when the replica is replaced by a conspecific. These results support the use of transfer entropy as a measure of information flow in social animal behavior, and present an indirect evidence of the effectiveness of robots in animal behavior studies.

Collective motion of animal groups continues to capture the imagination of engineers and biologists alike. To engineers, collective motion provides inspiration for the design of robotic swarms that can perform tasks far beyond the capabilities of a single inexpensive robot. To biologists, emergent behaviors raise questions about decision-making and individual perception within the group. In this workshop we will learn about the process of going from mathematical models to laboratory and field experiments in order to validate a hypothesis. We will begin with looking at two different models of collective behavior and discuss the techniques and challenges in data collection used to validate these models. We will then ask the question of whether collective behavior can be modulated? This will motivate a discussion on the use of robots in interactive experiments both for use in animal behavior as well as for field deployment where robots can aid in search and rescue. The format of the workshop will involve going through some recent papers in these areas, watching experimental videos, and discussing results.

In the animal world, as in our own, looks aren’t everything. In fact, some of the most aesthetically challenged creatures — from warthogs and proboscis monkeys to bull elephant seals — are also the most fascinating. A stunning variety of these ghastly yet glorious forms are explored in NATURE’s The Beauty of Ugly.

On the Web site for The Beauty of Ugly, you’ll get an in-depth look at some of these intriguing creatures. You’ll learn about the remarkable sensory abilities of the weird little star-nosed mole and the unusual social system of naked mole-rats and their imperious mole-rat queen, discover the threats faced by the Cape Griffon vulture, and get a fish-eye’s view of the needle-toothed viperfish and other deep-sea creatures, as photographed by a unique undersea camera called the Eye-in-the-Sea, designed by ocean researcher Dr. Edith Widder.

Source: http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/the-beauty-of-ugly-introduction/425/

Captive elephants in temples, festivals, zoos, circuses and other types of human use often have health issues, such as foot problems and joint inflammations. Additionally, training and handling of elephants is usually based on the “breaking the will” approach, in which the elephant is controlled by inflicting pain and fear. In addition to the suffering experienced by elephants, the situation also claims human lives every year, because painful experiences are one of the main reasons for the aggressive attacks by captive elephants at mahouts and other people.

Many of the responsible government officials, private elephant owners and mahouts do genuinely care about the well-being of elephants. The root cause of the problems is their lack of knowledge on other methods of training and management. Elephant-friendly and efficient methods for training and management have been developed, based on animal behaviour science. But expertise on them is scattered around the world, unavailable to an average mahout or elephant owner.

Elephant Experts is an international non-profit organization that works to bridge this gap. We provide advice and courses on science-based, elephant-friendly practices of training, handling and management, delivered by selected international experts. The first country in which we have tested this approach is Nepal, where we have worked since 2005. Funded by WWF and WSPA among others, we have created constructive collaboration with mahouts, elephant owners, local and national government, the tourist industry and NGO’s, all of whom have been very welcoming to the improved methods of captive elephant training and management, once they have seen them in action and experienced the benefits, such as increased obedience, calmness and learning rate in the elephants. At present, the Nepal programme is at the stage on which the Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation (the government body in Nepal responsible for elephants) has asked us to take the lead in planning and implementing a full transition in Nepal to modern, elephant-friendly methods of training and management. The key elements will include establishing a system of vocational training for mahouts, developing elephant-friendly forms of tourism and enacting legislation on elephant welfare. At the same time, we will continue our research programme to develop new tools for veterinarians, scientists and others to detect chronic pain and other health issues in elephants, in order to better recognize the elephants that need medical treatment. Another line of research we are working on involves research into elephant cognition, especially developing advanced methods for objectively measuring emotional states in elephants.

From the beginning, the aim has been to not only work in Nepal, but to utilize that experience for consequently making similar advancements available in other elephant range countries. We have received requests from several Asian countries to start similar collaborations. As India is one of the most important countries in terms of Asian elephants, we are giving the requests from India the highest priority. We are currently starting discussions with several stakeholders about potential collaboration in bringing meetings and courses available for elephant owners, officials and mahouts in Karnataka, and in potential collaboration in research into elephant cognition and health.

Rote-based, didactic and uninspiring education in India has deprived over 250 million disadvantaged children of the tools to overcome poverty. Instead, it has produced education apathy, a high dropout rate and youth that lack skills and confidence, creative-thinking and problem-solving abilities. Most schools do not have labs. Opportunities for participative, hands-on learning that sparks curiosity, and stimulates and empowers children and teachers are almost non-existent. Teacher training is divorced from the realities of the school classroom. Seeing little value in education, rural parents prefer to send their children to work in farms, thus perpetuating a cycle of poverty. Operating one of the largest hands-on science education programs in the world, Agastya offers disadvantaged children access to dynamic hands-on education that makes learning fun, awakens curiosity, encourages questioning, enhances understanding, and fosters creative-thinking, problem-solving and communication skills. Agastya’s vision of ‘a creative India’ - ‘tinkerers, creators, and solution-seekers …humane, anchored and connected’ – is being achieved through its mission to spark the creative temper among millions of disadvantaged children. Using experiential and hands-on, child-centric learning, teacher education and scalable methods, Agastya aims to bring about a shift in five vital behaviors - ‘Yes to Why,’ ‘Looking to Observing,’ ‘Passiveness to Exploring,’ ‘Text-book to Hands-on,’ and ‘Fear to Confidence’.

The World According to Monsanto is a 2008 film directed by Marie-Monique Robin. Originally released in French as Le monde selon Monsanto, the film is based on Robin's three-year-long investigation into the corporate practices around the world of the United States multinational corporation, Monsanto. The World According to Monsanto is also a book written by Marie-Monique Robin, winner of the Rachel Carson Prize (a Norwegian prize for female environmentalists), which has been translated into many languages. The film reports many controversies surrounding the use and promotion of genetically modified seeds, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), Agent Orange, and bovine growth hormone. Cases in the United States (including Anniston, Alabama), Canada, India, Mexico, Paraguay, the United Kingdom (Scotland) and France, are explored, claiming that the corporation's collusion with governments, pressure tactics, suppression and manipulation of scientific data, and extra-legal practices aided the company's attempts at dominating global agriculture. Scientists, representatives of the United States Food and Drug Administration and the United States Environmental Protection Agency, civil society representatives, victims of the company’s activities, lawyers, and politicians are interviewed. In March 2008, French journalist Marie-Monique Robin released the results of her three years of worldwide research into Monsanto. A book was published by La Découverte, a French editor, and a video documentary, Le Monde selon Monsanto (The World According to Monsanto), was released on DVD and shown on Arte, the Franco-German culture TV channel. Robin travels to India, Mexico, Argentina, and Paraguay to see how Monsanto's genetically modified organisms (GMOs) have affected local farmers using it for their crops. The film claims that GMO use has increased suicide rates of farmers in India. However, research by IFPRI has shown that this is not the case.

Source: Wikipedia