tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-44563486575969142372024-03-18T03:46:16.708-04:00Eco-Evo Evo-EcoAcademic musing by Hendry, Bolnick, Gotanda, and awesome guests.
Opinions and statements expressed on this blog are the views of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent endorsement by the blog administrators.Ben Hallerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17875404974157070805noreply@blogger.comBlogger451125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4456348657596914237.post-51329614937227224392024-02-23T18:09:00.011-05:002024-02-28T09:14:50.078-05:00Predicting Speciation?<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US"><i>(posted by Andrew on behalf of Marius Roesti)</i></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">Another year is in full swing. What will 2024 hold for us?<br /> </span><span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">Nostradamus, the
infamous French astrologer, is well known for his projections into the future. Some
500 years ago, he also made a series of predictions for 2024. He wrote, for
instance, <i>“Red adversary will become pale with fear, putting the great Ocean
in dread”</i>, and <i>“The dry earth will grow more parched, and there will be
great floods when it is seen"</i>.<sup>1</sup> These vague predictions that
lack a rigorous rationale and are quite open to interpretation (have a go at
it!) are probably better called “prophecies”. In contrast, the scientific
enterprise has led to a very different quality of predictions. For example, today's
astronomy predicts with stunning precision a total solar eclipse for parts of North
America on 8 April this year. According to NASA,<i> "... the first
location in continental North America that will experience totality is Mexico’s
Pacific coast at around 11:07 a.m. PDT. (...) The eclipse will exit continental
North America on the Atlantic coast of Newfoundland, Canada, at 5:16 p.m. NDT".</i><sup>
2</sup> Based on NASA's past predictive success we can </span><span lang="UZ-CYR">confidently mark
this eclipse </span><span lang="EN-US">in</span><span lang="EN-US"> </span><span lang="UZ-CYR">our calendars. As of today, however, meteorology cannot predict whether the
weather conditions will indeed allow us to witness the eclipse from Earth. In
this respect, a lot of uncertainty remains.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="UZ-CYR"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuRzY2o6slWOfPuQ_K1DOTTWZa0ccLIzoGsPevnXyGQtlb8OcOKjaUkbfKoLkYatAlBhg5HZDZmfXhZa8326rBwPcWm6eVlp0IUGtEAVIBlk6AE0xXSoEkp7_Irt3vKslHbdlzH7dOgNr9nxvpcD6pIpicLVNnUJesZIyCpIIBCbed0MNSZR8h4S6AnSxT/s1600/Roesti%201.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1131" data-original-width="1600" height="283" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuRzY2o6slWOfPuQ_K1DOTTWZa0ccLIzoGsPevnXyGQtlb8OcOKjaUkbfKoLkYatAlBhg5HZDZmfXhZa8326rBwPcWm6eVlp0IUGtEAVIBlk6AE0xXSoEkp7_Irt3vKslHbdlzH7dOgNr9nxvpcD6pIpicLVNnUJesZIyCpIIBCbed0MNSZR8h4S6AnSxT/w400-h283/Roesti%201.jpg" width="400" /></a></div></span></div><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">In many life situations, we base our decisions and actions on their predicted
consequences. Yet, predictions are also indispensable in fundamental sciences
where interests center on understanding how our universe works, rather than
assisting with practical life problems. We recently asked some colleagues why we want to predict things in
science and often heard something like "because this will tell us whether
we got it right or not". – This made us think. If true, what does this
mean for a field of research still struggling with making accurate predictions?<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">(And now for some
shameless self-promotion!...)</span></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">This question marked the starting point for our essay<sup>3</sup>, which
now appeared online and will be part of a special volume on "Speciation"
in <i>CSH Perspectives in Biology</i>. To start, it seems essential to distinguish
between two types of scientific predictions because they fundamentally differ
in their function and value: in fundamental research, we are mainly interested
in "causal predictions", not "correlational predictions". We
then identify the three fundamental challenges for making accurate causal predictions
in speciation research and discuss which of them are theoretically
surmountable. Don't despair, there is hope! We also outline how these and
further insights (more in the paper!) could shape future speciation research – namely
toward a Standard Model – as well as related research in ecology and evolution.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Indeed, although
tailored to speciation research, our essay connects with and easily translates
to scientific disciplines beyond this field. We believe there are benefits for
many of us in a deep consideration of scientific predictability, whether empiricists,
theoreticians, or folks drawn to the philosophy of science. Perhaps even
Nostradamus would have found interest in this read. While the fundamental
topics we discuss in the essay are not new, we use an integrative and somewhat
unorthodox approach – including a thought experiment with an Orrery and a
Speciation Machine (see figure below) – to hopefully stimulate not only vivid
and fun but also fruitful discussions. In fact, our (many) discussions on
predictability have led us to organize a symposium on this topic at this year's
joint ESEB/Evolution conference in Montreal (stay tuned for it!).</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSajLd-ABf6g_qggxHOcUlE1ckeqqB4nNV4gmF_tUSAQiS-bvU2g2IKhuIROwS4UNJHqdV-cCQCmygtKml_Xf613bULEPI3GeCoWgV3A0Ee2brH43zldvq9c23rzwy7E6swt5o3AtojMHy0KSXVze9NF84499gg70CcdeaBGyDrbsxFRS9mnY7pmnBEu2a/s1600/Roesti%202.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1404" data-original-width="1600" height="351" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSajLd-ABf6g_qggxHOcUlE1ckeqqB4nNV4gmF_tUSAQiS-bvU2g2IKhuIROwS4UNJHqdV-cCQCmygtKml_Xf613bULEPI3GeCoWgV3A0Ee2brH43zldvq9c23rzwy7E6swt5o3AtojMHy0KSXVze9NF84499gg70CcdeaBGyDrbsxFRS9mnY7pmnBEu2a/w400-h351/Roesti%202.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p></p><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">Our paper well complements and extends Andrew Hendry's recent paper on "Prediction
in Ecology and Evolution"<sup>4</sup>, and these two papers may provide a
nice back-to-back read for students, journal clubs, or coffee-break discussions.
Below is the abstract of our paper. </span><span lang="EN-GB">Should you have
trouble accessing it in full, don't hesitate to </span><span lang="EN-US">let me know and I can email you a copy </span><span lang="EN-GB">(you
should also be able to access the full paper via my personal homepage)</span><span lang="EN-US">.</span></span></div><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPtWEYsX8JjNoCYGa4-75fOCOYDsEHKJ31U5RbTFJR3c6cG3Ys1oUjRdQL_bxWgNSiwJ59eYySbpQhWYhNfpHDcdkeln3dKOT0wjrs4KSlPqvJFy4S8OwhRXhZ2iLvNHpJq1ULVkntzrhmlyzqpQoonxizNV7jlvxR-5_58ggDmFt4QPoXK6AKeBlEzE07/s694/Picture2.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="694" data-original-width="576" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPtWEYsX8JjNoCYGa4-75fOCOYDsEHKJ31U5RbTFJR3c6cG3Ys1oUjRdQL_bxWgNSiwJ59eYySbpQhWYhNfpHDcdkeln3dKOT0wjrs4KSlPqvJFy4S8OwhRXhZ2iLvNHpJq1ULVkntzrhmlyzqpQoonxizNV7jlvxR-5_58ggDmFt4QPoXK6AKeBlEzE07/s16000/Picture2.png" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">And folks in North America, don't forget to mark 8 April in your
calendars for an astronomical spectacle because it won’t happen there again for
the next 9 years (3278 days, to be precise)!<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">References</span></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">1. Nostradamus,
M. <i>Les Prophéties</i>. Lyon, 1555.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">2. </span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">From
</span><i style="font-family: inherit;">https://science.nasa.gov/eclipses/future-eclipses/eclipse-2024/where-when/ </i><span style="font-family: inherit;">(accessed
28 January 2024)</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">3. </span><span lang="UZ-CYR">Roesti M, Roesti H, Satokangas I, Boughman
J, Chaturvedi S, Wolf JBW, Langerhans RB. Predictability, an Orrery, and a Speciation Machine:
Quest for a Standard Model of Speciation. <i>Cold Spring Harb</i></span><i><span lang="EN-US">or</span></i><i><span lang="UZ-CYR"> Perspect</span></i><i><span lang="EN-US">ives in</span></i><i><span lang="UZ-CYR"> Biol</span></i><i><span lang="EN-US">ogy</span></i><span lang="UZ-CYR"> 2024 Feb 12:a041456.</span><span lang="UZ-CYR"> </span><span lang="UZ-CYR">doi: 10.1101/cshperspect.a041456. Epub
ahead of print. PMID:
38346860.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="UZ-CYR" style="font-family: inherit;">4. Hendry</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"> A.</span><span lang="UZ-CYR" style="font-family: inherit;"> Prediction in ecology and evolution, <i>BioScience</i>,
Volume 73, Issue 11, November 2023, Pages 785–799, https://doi.org/10.1093/biosci/biad083</span></p>Andrew Hendryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03653724437118653645noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4456348657596914237.post-4852200066590689802024-02-20T15:55:00.002-05:002024-02-20T15:55:35.872-05:00Sticklestock center<p>"There are two kinds of readers. Those who have read the Lord of the Rings. And those who are going to."</p><p><br /></p><p>There are two kinds of biologists. Those who have worked with stickleback. And those who are going to. </p><p>If you count yourself in the former category, we have good news. You can now buy stickleback through a non-profit center. The Stickleback Stock Center (aka Sticklestock) at the University of Connecticut provides eggs, juveniles, adults, cell cultures, and associated microbes for research and education. We can do microinjection of CRISPR so you don't have to. You can place orders here:</p><p><a href="https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.sticklestock.com%2Fstore-1&data=05%7C02%7Cdaniel.bolnick%40uconn.edu%7C0ea7433fc8a145a12dd408dc324fe09f%7C17f1a87e2a254eaab9df9d439034b080%7C0%7C0%7C638440565871699398%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=gnprnwk0rcErgdfwcT%2BL%2FtkpxV0fbilZGhUrF6NsGLE%3D&reserved=0" id="LPlnk799997" originalsrc="https://www.sticklestock.com/store-1" shash="C+jWNO6K+etbMHVgI04+Pn6FeJyjCuFflbMSQj9Lvb3Fa7vKfSFsxdU7W+poBFUJqsUnsI5M+4Slm1EcY0Uu3f3Z9V4It3vUIzj4EpStUB2xWC9iOCho3MXKSFtjMmoFsjFUs68G8AobNy8jE9u3B+KgXfnI/ny/aPahg/XhnjM=" style="font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.666667px;">https://www.sticklestock.com/store-1</a></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjRb1Zf-xmaSFEfkS0yDsU2xFEfk5OvFhQvvJmW8SqDumugbX-j5goEtBJgctm-mr5u_KGpX6lwgQm6KqLW9vRitfMqj_LYSor4dnsggL0E5VW50NyBTNq5XX0LABIcBj2lWCQfWTZ2viFiZ8vGdMrJnxHcp2uPMAu0FExI8BRLu229x3LLWqL9oT4U4VI" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1040" data-original-width="1392" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjRb1Zf-xmaSFEfkS0yDsU2xFEfk5OvFhQvvJmW8SqDumugbX-j5goEtBJgctm-mr5u_KGpX6lwgQm6KqLW9vRitfMqj_LYSor4dnsggL0E5VW50NyBTNq5XX0LABIcBj2lWCQfWTZ2viFiZ8vGdMrJnxHcp2uPMAu0FExI8BRLu229x3LLWqL9oT4U4VI" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgP2IsZzHP5Gs9BsUy0u7oS7z8nRuC-9r-lLcgk5EdlKN2XhUoQLNXxGqEhEn7OMwhD0v0pobZji8JTfzv9NaVsOTxhqi4oZwGhDF1706PAvn7HkX5axy0fPIjudJ9RGQPRM80JB4SFd1MDxmBcjIQz2lRpVnJanX79urO8i1gfkpipzxESRSQjo3PoiCE" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2320" data-original-width="3088" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgP2IsZzHP5Gs9BsUy0u7oS7z8nRuC-9r-lLcgk5EdlKN2XhUoQLNXxGqEhEn7OMwhD0v0pobZji8JTfzv9NaVsOTxhqi4oZwGhDF1706PAvn7HkX5axy0fPIjudJ9RGQPRM80JB4SFd1MDxmBcjIQz2lRpVnJanX79urO8i1gfkpipzxESRSQjo3PoiCE" width="319" /></a></div><br /><br /><p></p><p>If you count yourself in the latter category, even better news: not only can you buy stickleback for research, but the sticklestock.com website provides detailed protocols to help you get started with husbandry, breeding, field work, lab work, spatial transcriptomics, and more, through our protocols page:</p><p><a href="https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.sticklestock.com%2Fprotocols&data=05%7C02%7Cdaniel.bolnick%40uconn.edu%7C0ea7433fc8a145a12dd408dc324fe09f%7C17f1a87e2a254eaab9df9d439034b080%7C0%7C0%7C638440565871706426%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=kjBePtKfh90aBt9QQHMfUo5K33syN7wmw1gIiNXYLzI%3D&reserved=0" id="LPlnk741048" originalsrc="https://www.sticklestock.com/protocols" shash="ud4iTOvo1TI5EOlTZxgsxrkMdjl8iKRwvRimRIcrhqcgjgx8d3BTzUQfLiYp7yCSj9G87vh222WSkmK+jmxkAUi1Xn98sYyz72m/Xp9Cv83NZv8NzLge+T2fC1fnR+FpA20nZQkipRfNr7b0ys/NXm0py+d0EEYaOfgwVCWO7Pk=" style="font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.666667px;">https://www.sticklestock.com/protocols</a></p><p>Our goal is to facilitate adoption of this useful research model organism, both by supplying animals (or tissues), and advice to ease the transition.</p><p>Why have a stock center? A number of reasons motivated us to start this initiative. </p><p>First, stickleback are highly seasonal animals that breed in mid-spring (depending on where you go). If you want embryos another time of year, you are out of luck. By offering a stock center we hope to provide a year-round source of samples. </p><p>Second, field work is expensive and time-consuming. You need flights, lodging, rental cars, permits, traps. You need to ship fish which can turn into a major hassle when crossing international borders. We typically do field work at just one location at a time (e.g., this summer I'll go to Vancouver Island for two weeks), which makes it hard to create crosses between geographically far-flung populations. A stock center provides a cost effective alternative, saving researchers time, expense, and reducing carbon footprints.</p><p>Third, when we study wild populations we are studying a moving target. For example, my lab has worked on Gosling Lake on Vancouver Island for 20 years now. During that time the population has seen a major evolutionary change leaving genome-wide alterations in allele frequencies, and large allele frequency change at the gene I care most about (spi1b). A stock center population may also evolve, adapting to culture enviroments in aquaria, but provides a stable genotype for future study. Moreover, multiple labs can readily study the sample genotypes facilitating collaboration and replication.</p><p>Fourth, we rarely have the option to work with populations that have genome sequences before we ever begin. The stock center plans to work primarily with populations where we already have some whole genome sequence data, or acquire some early on during culture. This allows us to offer our customers genotype-guided choices of populations to work with, an unusual opportunity for a wild vertebrate model system.</p><p>We hope the stock center grows and provides a sustained resource for stickleback researchers, current and future. If you are thinking of trying out stickleback research, get in touch! Only through sustained orders will we convince funding agencies that we have the capacity to become a self-sustaining program that can provide long-term support to the community. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhq_JUBLOduSfltHgIk4pOsqxf8uYuMrDPvJVw_ljopCtPmwYVmNRzYY1UAnF2dsXEn6vwolo6bwiamcZvgBRk6AShJz3RQVDehGO0WqYsEhTpEnMykcAXQnGGzmi6toI3UThUwsCWCgyr09OTFVlpQ0OMQ4SoLjm7ZYQM60MwI6WpIMF8i6vewFG4Twuo" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="760" data-original-width="1392" height="175" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhq_JUBLOduSfltHgIk4pOsqxf8uYuMrDPvJVw_ljopCtPmwYVmNRzYY1UAnF2dsXEn6vwolo6bwiamcZvgBRk6AShJz3RQVDehGO0WqYsEhTpEnMykcAXQnGGzmi6toI3UThUwsCWCgyr09OTFVlpQ0OMQ4SoLjm7ZYQM60MwI6WpIMF8i6vewFG4Twuo" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p></p>Dan Bolnickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05181664810897127126noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4456348657596914237.post-78701058136574004972023-11-09T10:10:00.007-05:002024-02-28T08:30:39.630-05:00Prediction In Ecology And Evolution<p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">I recently published a paper titled <i><b>Prediction in Ecology and Evolution</b></i> in <a href="https://academic.oup.com/bioscience/advance-article/doi/10.1093/biosci/biad083/7330893" target="_blank">BioScience</a>. I was pretty sure the paper would get a lot of attention as I had six reviewers who provided more than 20 single-spaced pages of comments. In all cases, the reviewers were very interested and sincerely wanted to help improve the paper. Most of the criticisms focused on (1) what I should have paid more attention to, or (2) what I should have excluded. After publishing the paper, I immediately started getting emails making similar suggestions. This inspired me to start an exchange of ideas.</span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; white-space-collapse: preserve;">---------------------------------------------------------------</span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">To start, I provide the abstract of my paper, which is freely accessible on the <a href="https://academic.oup.com/bioscience/advance-article/doi/10.1093/biosci/biad083/7330893" target="_blank">journal website</a> through the end of 2023. Then we will move to some commentaries/criticisms/suggestions. </span></p><p><b><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">Prediction In Ecology and Evolution - by <a href="https://www.andrew-hendry.ca/" target="_blank">Andrew P. Hendry</a><span> </span></span></b></p><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"><i>Prediction is frequently asserted to be the sine qua non of science, but prediction means different things to different people in different contexts. I organize and explain this diversity by addressing five questions. What does it mean to predict something? To answer this question, I describe concepts of prediction as prophecy, diagnosis, history, repeatability, and fate. What are we trying to predict? Here, I describe how predictions vary along several axes: general to specific, qualitative to quantitative, relative to absolute, point to range, and continuous to discontinuous. Where do predictions come from? In this case, I focus on deductive versus inductive reasoning. How do we test predictions? The answer here is not straightforward and I discuss various approaches and difficulties. How good are predictions? Not surprisingly, it depends on what is being predicted and how we judge success. Importantly, I do not espouse a “best”way to approach prediction but, rather, I outline its diverse manifestations so as to help organize practical thinking on the topic.</i></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">---------------------------------------------------------------</span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"><b>1. From Predicting an Eclipse to Predicting Speciation</b></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">By Marius Roesti - University of Bern</span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">In a separate post, Marius asks if we can move from a machine predicting an eclipse (use of an orrery to do so in the movie Pitch Black is shown below) a "machine" for predicting speciation in the post is <a href="https://ecoevoevoeco.blogspot.com/2024/02/predicting-speciation.html">here</a>.</span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dyF5cU6UJSnDLuDymoUHKK0JGGptg2eKB9zpfTATMkHX09LFQsaPKPde__ci0Od7ZtXl03JO3G8EBCCh-Jd-g' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><br /><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><u>Excerpt from the post</u>: <i>In many life situations, we base our decisions and actions on their predicted consequences. Yet, predictions are also indispensable in fundamental sciences where interests center on understanding how our universe works, rather than assisting with practical life problems. </i></span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-style: italic;">We recently asked some colleagues </span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-style: italic;">why we want to predict things in science and often heard something like "because this will tell us whether we got it right or not". – This made us think. If true, what does this mean for a field of research still struggling with making accurate predictions?</span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmVy2enPqQviY7hOXNuf19yYhrdkUlRDpQm-hgQKTdUMNLOpSn8Q1f9_YewcmHpxfRD1NKTxXqLXxbB0GAOS3NvTUrhAPjTvvmif5JKtSardEL6vI0zzHOHCQZDeKZyHJ3nMrCn_6l__aXdclXA7PCoTHGkI37iJyzsNsldBuF161fA2MtCMlELVMiZGhyphenhyphen/s694/Picture2.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="694" data-original-width="576" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmVy2enPqQviY7hOXNuf19yYhrdkUlRDpQm-hgQKTdUMNLOpSn8Q1f9_YewcmHpxfRD1NKTxXqLXxbB0GAOS3NvTUrhAPjTvvmif5JKtSardEL6vI0zzHOHCQZDeKZyHJ3nMrCn_6l__aXdclXA7PCoTHGkI37iJyzsNsldBuF161fA2MtCMlELVMiZGhyphenhyphen/w333-h400/Picture2.png" width="333" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The paper on which the post is based.</td></tr></tbody></table><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">---------------------------------------------------------------</span></p><p></p><p class="MsoTitle"><span lang="EN-US" style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: inherit; mso-themecolor: text1;"><b>2. Assessing Predictability in Ecology and
Evolution</b></span></p><p class="MsoTitle"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.ortizbarrientoslab.org/" target="_blank">Daniel Ortiz-Barrientos</a>, </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="text-align: center;">The University of Queensland, </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="text-align: center;">d.ortizbarrientos@uq.edu.au</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoBlockText"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"><i><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p> </o:p></span></i><i style="text-align: center;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" lang="EN-US">“We never actually prove any proposition in science; nor
do we accept any proposition as ‘true,’ ‘finally true,’ or even ‘probable.’ But
we do accept some propositions (or theories) as better tested, or better
corroborated, than others.” - Lakatos (1978)</span></i></span></p><p class="MsoBlockText"><span lang="EN-AU"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The paper “Predictability in Ecology and Evolution” (PIEE, Hendry 2023)
comprehensively frames our understanding of the diverse applications of
prediction in ecology and evolution. However, an emphasis on predictive ability
can lead us to overestimate foresight given the complex and contingent nature
of biological systems (Mayr 1961). Integrating a structured categorization of
prediction in ecology and evolution with tailored best practices could add to
the paper’s grounded perspective (Tables 1-2).</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-AU"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The taxonomy of PIEE encompasses concepts such as prophecy and
repeatability and avoids a one-size-fits-all approach. This approach suits the
complex context and aims of prediction in our research fields. However,
predictions range on a continuum from universal principles to specific
forecasts, each with distinct utilities and limitations (Table 1). This
spectrum reflects the trade-offs among realism, precision, and generality
(Levins 1966). General principles provide theoretical guides but can oversimplify
nonlinear dynamics (Gould and Lewontin 1979), and detailed quantitative
predictions often fail when extended beyond their inductive scope.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8QxIh08SVmUIFvnq7MoiF6Cem2hoItosvAIYXpQ57v3BRXRKsVzh-IoArXIquO0oWbZK7gutBi3CIi7zelfc6uh-IQqs3bxN7MrsXWmKKLh1ehHUSlZRely33-sdxYqS-sk411NMut7mtxbiLe_LG2tHcdVXdBfwIt0weittKAhnrNCEYCBKnqKL9H7Le/s629/Screenshot%202023-11-09%20095352.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="556" data-original-width="629" height="354" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8QxIh08SVmUIFvnq7MoiF6Cem2hoItosvAIYXpQ57v3BRXRKsVzh-IoArXIquO0oWbZK7gutBi3CIi7zelfc6uh-IQqs3bxN7MrsXWmKKLh1ehHUSlZRely33-sdxYqS-sk411NMut7mtxbiLe_LG2tHcdVXdBfwIt0weittKAhnrNCEYCBKnqKL9H7Le/w400-h354/Screenshot%202023-11-09%20095352.png" width="400" /></span></a></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-AU"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Practices like replicating studies, comparing models, and providing
effect sizes (Table 2) should capture the relevant contexts we need for proper
interpretation without demanding impossible generalities. Such a goal can
ultimately reflect the role of contingency in evolution (Wiens and Donoghue,
2004). Also, conveying historical context and information on the sensitivity of
evolutionary processes to initial conditions can help. In general, categorizing
prediction into types that teach us about our own practice can prevent us from
presuming universal accuracy while keeping our fundamental goal of finding
rules in biology.</span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgthRO31I43nFg_OP6xZ89W8oGAUVzHuSQNyMaj4AHMBhx0wdnPTuv4VbtefDjIIzXamATzwyJqRPF5nsa8EtQI2khWXaddcVb4hrw26trqIyktq1NiWtIOFjlpcpW8PKVH9trSkQ0lSGxGDcWn5UnrU4vYdNnZVRWpZpmGW14ellG2OFKWkG4D0BJn05-D/s755/Screenshot%202023-11-09%20095526.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="755" data-original-width="569" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgthRO31I43nFg_OP6xZ89W8oGAUVzHuSQNyMaj4AHMBhx0wdnPTuv4VbtefDjIIzXamATzwyJqRPF5nsa8EtQI2khWXaddcVb4hrw26trqIyktq1NiWtIOFjlpcpW8PKVH9trSkQ0lSGxGDcWn5UnrU4vYdNnZVRWpZpmGW14ellG2OFKWkG4D0BJn05-D/w301-h400/Screenshot%202023-11-09%20095526.png" width="301" /></span></a></div><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-AU"><span style="font-family: inherit;">In conclusion, while the PIEE paper sheds light on the diverse role of
prediction in ecology and evolution, it might overstate the predictive power
achievable for researchers, given the complex realities of nature. Combining a
structured prediction framework (Table 1) with adaptable methodologies (Table
2, Lakatos, 1978), can strengthen PIEE’s string conceptual foundation. It
should also help us embrace unpredictability and sharpen our scientific rigor.
Recognizing intrinsic limitations, as highlighted by Mayr (1961), can equip
researchers with epistemic humility to navigate ecological and evolutionary
complexity pragmatically.</span></span></p>
<h1><span lang="EN-US" style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: inherit; font-size: small; mso-themecolor: text1;">References<o:p></o:p></span></h1>
<p class="FirstParagraph"><span lang="EN-US" style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: inherit; mso-themecolor: text1;">Gould, S. J., & Lewontin, R. C. (1979).
The spandrels of San Marco and the Panglossian paradigm: a critique of the
adaptationist programme. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series B.
Biological Sciences, 205(1161), 581-598.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoBodyText"><span lang="EN-US" style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: inherit; mso-themecolor: text1;">Hendry, A. P. (2023). Prediction in ecology
and evolution. BioScience, 73(3).<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoBodyText"><span lang="EN-US" style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: inherit; mso-themecolor: text1;">Lakatos, I. (1978). The Methodology of
Scientific Research Programmes (Philosophical Papers Volume 1). Cambridge
University Press.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoBodyText"><span lang="EN-US" style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: inherit; mso-themecolor: text1;">Levins, R. (1966). The strategy of model
building in population biology. American Scientist, 54(4), 421-431.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoBodyText"><span lang="EN-US" style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: inherit; mso-themecolor: text1;">Mayr, E. (1961). Cause and effect in biology.
Science, 134(3489), 1501-1506.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoBodyText"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">Wiens, J. J., & Donoghue, M. J. (2004).
Historical biogeography, ecology and species richness. Trends in Ecology &
Evolution, 19(12), 639-644.</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: medium;">---------------------------------------------------------------</span><br clear="all" style="break-before: page; mso-special-character: line-break; page-break-before: always;" />
</span>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-size: 14pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font: major-fareast; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p> YOUR COMMENT HERE!</o:p></span></b></p><br /><p></p>Andrew Hendryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03653724437118653645noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4456348657596914237.post-6770667882862635702023-07-07T18:07:00.003-04:002023-07-07T18:15:21.638-04:00A rejected analogy<p class="MsoNormal"><i>Analogies can be useful ways of explaining complicated ideas - but they can also be problematic. Reviewers of a recent paper were having trouble understanding a rather intricate idea we were presenting. Thus, on revision, I attempted an analogy. I liked the analogy and found it helpful but - whether unfortunately or not - it didn't make it into the final paper. It was left on the cutting room floor, so to speak. Still, I kind of like it and so provide it here - with context.</i></p><p class="MsoNormal">Led by Sarah Sanderson, we recently conducted several studies that tested the hypothesis that populations living in areas with low levels of a limiting nutrient would show compromised performance for traits depending on that nutrient. Specifically, <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/ece3.7386">we first tested</a> whether fish populations living in water with very low calcium levels would show reduced levels of calcium in their scales. This work was possible because several native species can be found across an environmental gradient in calcium levels, from "high" in the St. Lawrence to "low" in the Ottawa River (Figure below).</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUd6DnoglUOwrIY9nEaVrzZUtgXTc9LjseenufGnCTPXcCdUHuavt1PaeWXdrIhYL6V7iHIYE3_79DCf9oOR4qktvi9Z6YcZYPPUg1ZdRHNqQuVsyEHhEfobLyvrpp67Xw9lam_E8BTpUd2kUL7kGWfYGSaQ7uyBhKVeCxvj44u1qV1kCkbWKiJt3mty6j/s1303/Screenshot%202023-07-07%20174125.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="727" data-original-width="1303" height="358" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUd6DnoglUOwrIY9nEaVrzZUtgXTc9LjseenufGnCTPXcCdUHuavt1PaeWXdrIhYL6V7iHIYE3_79DCf9oOR4qktvi9Z6YcZYPPUg1ZdRHNqQuVsyEHhEfobLyvrpp67Xw9lam_E8BTpUd2kUL7kGWfYGSaQ7uyBhKVeCxvj44u1qV1kCkbWKiJt3mty6j/w640-h358/Screenshot%202023-07-07%20174125.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p class="MsoNormal">To cut a long story short, we found NO EVIDENCE that the populations in low-calcium water had lower levels of calcium in their scales. The figure below shows that - for a given change in water calcium - scale calcium levels changed hardly at all. At one level, this made sense - because calcium is what makes scales strong - and strong scales aid defense from predators and other environmental stressors. Yet experimentally exposing fish to similarly low calcium levels has been shown to compromise various aspects of performance - so how were these fish maintaining high-quality scales?</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUvhiOXQkOQa04omI9LzybT5ZR7KXHCpD-RwkgfSCqP2BiZlCsWvqoPW5Jjji-jTMBx7umS2mKWZAg-aT7V-VDr_NO2Ou_N_EIGxNPgqHKyPg00kl4n8RX2bhpggVAMxvSTlMZ3tmfYBvGNQKYix_8CAKu1RAD22DynCEdcdlYDzoaESuPcrzCIjHI4FVB/s657/Screenshot%202023-07-07%20174535.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="657" data-original-width="622" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUvhiOXQkOQa04omI9LzybT5ZR7KXHCpD-RwkgfSCqP2BiZlCsWvqoPW5Jjji-jTMBx7umS2mKWZAg-aT7V-VDr_NO2Ou_N_EIGxNPgqHKyPg00kl4n8RX2bhpggVAMxvSTlMZ3tmfYBvGNQKYix_8CAKu1RAD22DynCEdcdlYDzoaESuPcrzCIjHI4FVB/w379-h400/Screenshot%202023-07-07%20174535.jpg" width="379" /></a></div><br /><p class="MsoNormal">Our next hypothesis was that these fish really really need high-quality scales - and so prioritize that function when faced with low calcium availability. If so, they might show reduced functionality of other calcium-dependent traits - and so we next looked at various aspects of the skeleton. Again, <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/jfb.15412">we found no evidence</a> that fish in low-calcium water show any compromise in this calcium-dependent structure. This result is summarized below, where the results for scale calcium from the earlier paper are in red and the results from various skeleton measurements are in green and blue. </p><p class="MsoNormal"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGuWDc6gMBNTjBGUCUVz4J9AjIrn0RoB18lJyrrE8LK0Q1oCEeNR1eGCnX50H4-5_xtcu7xvOZP76-qB_fUORvMcsnY4WP-gYILvtcCpJC5aYSC_IzEuL72RcozkbGA16hKaLZk7Fnc7mBrQTBYgugv3vpArwidlXMd88h3Y7-Rt4u16_xzam2VpEqzvfG/s1501/Screenshot%202023-07-07%20174932.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="736" data-original-width="1501" height="314" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGuWDc6gMBNTjBGUCUVz4J9AjIrn0RoB18lJyrrE8LK0Q1oCEeNR1eGCnX50H4-5_xtcu7xvOZP76-qB_fUORvMcsnY4WP-gYILvtcCpJC5aYSC_IzEuL72RcozkbGA16hKaLZk7Fnc7mBrQTBYgugv3vpArwidlXMd88h3Y7-Rt4u16_xzam2VpEqzvfG/w640-h314/Screenshot%202023-07-07%20174932.jpg" width="640" /></a></p><div>It seems, then, that populations in low-calcium water have somehow evolved to be better at obtaining calcium and/or building calcium-dependent structures - perhaps a classic case of "counter-gradient variation" (which would have to be confirmed using common-garden rearing). Yet, even in cases of counter-gradient variation, something else is often compromised - that is "Darwinian Demons" who are great at everything are unlikely. </div><div><br /></div><div>So where are the compromises then? We could always look at other calcium-dependent structures (although scales and skeletons are the most obvious) or perhaps the effort required to obtain calcium in low-calcium water has other costs, such as to growth or survival. But this is could be a wasted effort because ....</div><div><br /></div><div>And now we come to the alternative idea for which I generated the analogy. Here it unfolds as written out in the draft version. The first paragraph is the analogy that was axed later and the rest of it was also modified for the final published paper. Perhaps you will like it or maybe you will hate it but, regardless, I bet you will remember it - even if only for short time.</div><div><br /></div><div>-----------------------------</div><div><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: inherit;">Perhaps trade-off payments during adaptation are “front loaded”</span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><u>"We start with
an analogy</u>. <i>When purchasing a mortgage for a home, the purchaser incurs an
additional cost (beyond the cost of the home itself) in interest payments to
the lender (usually a bank) – and most mortgages are structured such that those
interest payments are front-loaded. As a result, payments early in a mortgage include
a lot of interest payments (on the money loaned by the bank), whereas payments
late in a mortgage almost entirely reduce the principal (because the interest
was paid earlier). Thus, if one examines mortgage payments early on, this
additional cost is apparent – and is a trade-off associated with purchasing a
home via a mortgage. Later on, however, examining mortgage payments would
suggest this cost was minimal – because the interest payments have become very
small. In short, a strong trade-off (interest payments) can be evident early in
the process of adaptation (getting a home) but are not evident later in the
process (because they were paid early on).</i></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="text-indent: 36pt;">From this analogy, we suggest that the costs of
adaptation to a limiting nutrient might be absent in the present because they
have been paid via selective mortality in the past. When an environment changes
to become more stressful or difficult (e.g., colonizing an environment with
limited resources, like calcium), selection for improved tolerance to that
stressor is expected to be “hard” (as opposed to “soft”) – that is, by increasing
mortality rates </span><span lang="EN-US" style="text-indent: 36pt;">(Brady <i>et al.</i>,
2019a)</span><span style="text-indent: 36pt;">. This increased mortality represents
a cost in the form of “selection load” that stays high until evolution better
adapts the population for the new stressful conditions. If population sizes are
low during this period, an additional cost can be incurred through inbreeding
that exposes “genetic load” </span><span lang="EN-US" style="text-indent: 36pt;">(Crow, 1970)</span><span style="text-indent: 36pt;">. Once the population adapts and
increases in abundance, however, it has paid those costs of selection (removing
maladaptive alleles) and inbreeding (“purging” recessive deleterious mutations);
and, hence, might perform better than the ancestral population in </span><i style="text-indent: 36pt;">both</i><span style="text-indent: 36pt;">
environments. Indeed, populations adapted to stressful environments can show
higher fitness (or at least not lower fitness) in all environments – both in
laboratory adaptation studies and in field experiments </span><span lang="EN-US" style="text-indent: 36pt;">(Reed <i>et al.</i>,
2003; Rolshausen <i>et al.</i>, 2015)</span><span style="text-indent: 36pt;">.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="text-indent: 36pt;">Applying this last scenario to our study system,
adaptation to low-calcium water might have been extremely difficult at first –
generating substantial mortality and strong selection. This expectation is
supported by experiments that expose naïve fish to low-calcium water </span><span lang="EN-US" style="text-indent: 36pt;">(Baldwin <i>et al.</i>,
2012; Iacarella & Ricciardi, 2015)</span><span style="text-indent: 36pt;"> and by the failure of Ponto-Caspian
invaders to colonize low-calcium water </span><span lang="EN-US" style="text-indent: 36pt;">(Iacarella &
Ricciardi, 2015; Jones & Ricciardi, 2005; Palmer & Ricciardi, 2005)</span><span style="text-indent: 36pt;">. During this initial period,
trade-offs would be expected. During the period of intensive adaptation,
selection would tend to remove individuals that showed the strongest trade-offs
– or that suffered the most from them. Once the population passed through this
period and became reasonably well adapted to the stressful conditions, the
result could be a locally-adapted populations able to maintain homeostasis
without incurring large costs. Time will tell whether invaders in the system
will be able to pass through this same bottleneck.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span>We are not here suggesting that this selection cost is
high every time a high-calcium fish population colonizes low-calcium water.
Instead, a long history of native fishes occupying a diversity of calcium
environments has probably maintained a pool of standing variation that
facilitates rapid adaptation to new calcium conditions. The costs paid during
this rapid adaptation would presumably be lower than the cost paid the first
time that adaptation proceeded – that is, the first time a high-calcium fish
lineage successfully colonized low-calcium conditions. Subsequently, alleles
suitable for adaptation to low-calcium conditions might persist within the
species as a whole – even when not in low-calcium water. An analog to this
situation could be the ability of marine threespine stickleback to adapt
repeatedly and rapidly to new freshwater habitats via standing genetic
variation in the marine population that persists via gene flow from past and
present freshwater populations </span><!--[if supportFields]><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;mso-fareast-font-family:
"Times New Roman";color:black;mso-themecolor:text1;mso-font-kerning:0pt;
mso-ligatures:none;mso-ansi-language:EN-CA;mso-fareast-language:EN-US;
mso-bidi-language:AR-SA'><span style='mso-element:field-begin'></span><span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'> </span>ADDIN EN.CITE
<EndNote><Cite><Author>Roberts
Kingman</Author><Year>2021</Year><RecNum>542</RecNum><DisplayText>(Roberts
Kingman et al. 2021)</DisplayText><record><rec-number>542</rec-number><foreign-keys><key
app="EN" db-id="aatsw9t0pvdtvde55r0xwascwre0afxxs9wa"
timestamp="1649043267">542</key></foreign-keys><ref-type
name="Journal
Article">17</ref-type><contributors><authors><author>Roberts
Kingman, Garrett A.</author><author>Deven N.
Vyas</author><author>Felicity C.
Jones</author><author>Heidi I.
Chen</author><author>Kerry Reid</author><author>Mark
Milhaven</author><author>Thomas S.
Bertino</author><author>Windsor E. Aguirre</author><author>David
C. Heins</author><author>von Hippel, Frank
A.</author><author>Peter J.
Park</author><author>Melanie
Kirch</author><author>Devin M.
Absher</author><author>Richard M.
Myers</author><author>Di Palma,
Federica</author><author>Michael A. Bell</author><author>David
M. Kingsley</author><author>Krishna R.
Veeramah</author></authors></contributors><titles><title>Predicting
future from past: The genomic basis of recurrent and rapid stickleback
evolution</title><secondary-title>Science
Advances</secondary-title></titles><periodical><full-title>Science
Advances</full-title><abbr-1>Sci.
Adv.</abbr-1></periodical><pages>eabg5285</pages><volume>7</volume><number>25</number><dates><year>2021</year></dates><urls></urls><electronic-resource-num>10.1126/sciadv.abg5285</electronic-resource-num></record></Cite></EndNote><span
style='mso-element:field-separator'></span></span><![endif]--><span>(Roberts Kingman <i>et
al.</i> 2021; Roesti <i>et al.,</i> 2014; Schluter & Conte, 2009)</span><!--[if supportFields]><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;mso-fareast-font-family:
"Times New Roman";color:black;mso-themecolor:text1;mso-font-kerning:0pt;
mso-ligatures:none;mso-ansi-language:EN-CA;mso-fareast-language:EN-US;
mso-bidi-language:AR-SA'><span style='mso-element:field-end'></span></span><![endif]--><span>. We can see considerable value in applying these
ideas to other systems where some fishes can occupy a broad diversity of
habitats without obvious costs, whereas other fishes cannot."</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">-------------------------------------</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGAaEgDWh325IO2QeQzpg_ul67ZhhMzkLviOon_80d4rL93nUnBOoDyQrmc36IH4BsdF1KjhetAuZvkyD6ktDl1Q-LGUW_k5M3fzg8j1MhMQh-7Touu0GYHTA9xNre-koIk2yer8X8ezhR06tRfLYQes_nmb6WYYwQ8_euS2PGCFYfbzVF5tSsRUifZZi5/s742/Screenshot%202023-07-07%20180633.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="698" data-original-width="742" height="602" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGAaEgDWh325IO2QeQzpg_ul67ZhhMzkLviOon_80d4rL93nUnBOoDyQrmc36IH4BsdF1KjhetAuZvkyD6ktDl1Q-LGUW_k5M3fzg8j1MhMQh-7Touu0GYHTA9xNre-koIk2yer8X8ezhR06tRfLYQes_nmb6WYYwQ8_euS2PGCFYfbzVF5tSsRUifZZi5/w640-h602/Screenshot%202023-07-07%20180633.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhioj7DbCUXHCrtx_VAEVfxE4JraA9C-9JqupeIk2TcEpzjXBWiRdFEUYjZ1T5y5UN6OYBMgvsLU5K4XbKadUNq1_2niFJU65dmbsBi2SqVDjEI2DqRVWyf_BaDuEpMStXzoUzTLv4apW1wM1GNuHrPLQKpxBreLP5Yj6jb6JyUkXJLAX1lB85Ivo6nxUfd/s818/Screenshot%202023-07-07%20180558.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="818" data-original-width="737" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhioj7DbCUXHCrtx_VAEVfxE4JraA9C-9JqupeIk2TcEpzjXBWiRdFEUYjZ1T5y5UN6OYBMgvsLU5K4XbKadUNq1_2niFJU65dmbsBi2SqVDjEI2DqRVWyf_BaDuEpMStXzoUzTLv4apW1wM1GNuHrPLQKpxBreLP5Yj6jb6JyUkXJLAX1lB85Ivo6nxUfd/w576-h640/Screenshot%202023-07-07%20180558.jpg" width="576" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span><p></p></div>Andrew Hendryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03653724437118653645noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4456348657596914237.post-6485435626436027562023-05-16T21:15:00.000-04:002023-05-16T21:15:07.463-04:00Histories of Stickleback Research - Tom Reimchen<p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="text-indent: 36pt;"><b>Retrospection</b> - by Prof. Tom Reimchen (University of Victoria, BC, Canada)</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYmIx6FQcr06NwGyYBwWfqNjDhiEJURrytXQOsF1zZUZ2F82aruaoJqqGmpG5SPpE0dNcx0jcj3tmk6ztvArqfh3BDaGa8_DoBR7Pr8PZkGAUvYEwd5ckbWS87GnpeeA99cADkCicO1ySY98ayfzvjRn7Tgwd9JDJjFBRJDYzc9aMYV2N8r21s6hQAbw/s1740/Sealumcreek-Tom&Mesa.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1195" data-original-width="1740" height="275" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYmIx6FQcr06NwGyYBwWfqNjDhiEJURrytXQOsF1zZUZ2F82aruaoJqqGmpG5SPpE0dNcx0jcj3tmk6ztvArqfh3BDaGa8_DoBR7Pr8PZkGAUvYEwd5ckbWS87GnpeeA99cADkCicO1ySY98ayfzvjRn7Tgwd9JDJjFBRJDYzc9aMYV2N8r21s6hQAbw/w400-h275/Sealumcreek-Tom&Mesa.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: 36pt;">I was a second year undergraduate
student at the University of Alberta in 1967 and interested in evolution but
indecisive as to majoring in biology or geology. Students were given an
opportunity to assist graduate students in summer projects. </span><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: 36pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: 36pt;">I applied with Ric Moodie who was doing his
PhD on Haida Gwaii (then called the Queen Charlotte Islands) studying the
evolution of a giant black stickleback at Mayer Lake (I had read about
stickleback in the journal Evolution). Other students applied for this position
as well but I got the job. Ric later told me later that I was the only
applicant who expressed no interest in sport fishing but a strong interest in evolution,
so he hired me.</span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: 36pt;">Ric’s research exposed me to methods
of studying variation in natural populations. One of the techniques involved
gill-netting cutthroat trout from the lake, extracting the stickleback from the
stomachs and then measuring their size and various defense traits including the
bony lateral plates on the side of the fish.</span><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: 36pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: 36pt;">Ric got the impression that stickleback with seven lateral plates, which
comprised the modal (most common) phenotype in the population, were captured by
trout at a lower rate than stickleback with fewer or greater number of plates. He
suspected that fish with different numbers of plates differed in their behaviour</span><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: 36pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: 36pt;">and that this variation might account for the
trends in trout stomach contents. </span><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: 36pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: 36pt;">He
assigned me the task of locating stickleback nests in the shallows of this large
lake, after which we would capture the territorial males. Ric scored the males
for nuptial colour, number of lateral plates on both sides, and body size. I did
not really understand the rationale for this but it gave me the first exposure to
the idea that individual phenotypes differing by a single lateral plate might
be acting in different ways.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: 36pt;">Over the three summers that I worked as Ric’s
assistant, I found many nests and Ric scored many male stickleback. Ric thought
it might be interesting to sample some of the neighbouring lakes to see if
there were any other interesting stickleback. We hiked into the interior of the
island across </span><i style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: 36pt;">Sphagnum </i><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: 36pt;">bogs and through
forests using survey maps and compass bearings occasionally missing lakes altogether.
One of these isolated lakes was much smaller than Mayer Lake, lacked littoral
vegetation, and was appropriately named Drizzle Lake. </span><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: 36pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: 36pt;">As we walked along the shoreline, speculating
on whether there would be any fish in this small lake, I found a dead
stickleback on the shore that looked superficially like the giant black Mayer
Lake stickleback. I thought Ric had dropped a Mayer Lake stickleback to fool me
into thinking that we had discovered another example of gigantism. He assured me
that he had done no such thing. The genetic work years later showed that this
was an independent origin of gigantism from that at Mayer Lake. On inspection
of this dead stickleback, we could see that it had only 4 lateral plates, lower
than the lowest plate count that Ric had ever seen at Mayer Lake, and we
concluded (naively) that there would be minimal predation in the lake.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: 36pt;">In my free time, I hiked to some additional unsampled
lakes. One of these was the small Boulton Lake that lacked predatory fish. I
put some traps in, waited a few hours, and when I checked them, to my absolute
amazement, I found that most of the stickleback had no pelvis and many were missing
some of the dorsal spines. Excitedly I returned to Mayer Lake to tell Ric who told
me that such a stickleback had not been previously found in North America or
Europe. We continued these lake surveys and got stickleback from 22 lakes, and
many of the populations were distinctive to each lake. Such variability across
such short distances exceeded the known morphological diversity of stickleback
throughout Canada and Europe. The provincial environmental agency got wind of
our ‘discoveries’ and asked us to recommend three lakes with unusual
stickleback, one of which would be established as an Ecological Reserve for
long term protection of the entire watershed and opportunity for research. We proposed
Mayer Lake, where Ric was doing his study, Drizzle Lake, with the other giant
stickleback in the north of the island, and Boulton Lake, which had stickleback
with a missing pelvis. The government made a decision that Drizzle Lake would
be established as an Ecological Reserve as it had the fewest administrative
conflicts with other agencies. I was happy with this decision as the undisturbed
lake was remote with no road access and had a small old log cabin near the lake
that would provide a living place if I ever were to do research on the fish in
this lake.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: 36pt;">In May 1970, after completing my
Zoology undergraduate degree at the University of Alberta, I convinced my
friend Joe Rasmussen to come with me to Haida Gwaii for several weeks to sample
more lakes for stickleback. During this trip, we discovered a small acidic bog
pond with stickleback that were very unusual: not only were the lateral plates
missing but the entire trunk was covered in a unique dinoflagellate parasite.
We called this locality Rouge Lake as the nuptial colour of the males was
outlandishly red; </span><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: 36pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: 36pt;">it turned out with
later studies to be also very atypical with respect to its genetic structure. On
this expedition, I also made detailed collections of the Boulton Lake
stickleback and saw that the relative expression of the pelvic girdle differed
from one part of this lake to another, variation that I was later able to
relate to spatial differences in the predation landscape.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: 36pt;">During the spring of 1970, I started
looking at samples of the giant stickleback from Drizzle Lake and noticed that some
of the anterior lateral plates underlay the basal support structures for the
dorsal and pelvic spines. One atypical fish had spines that were easily laterally
deflected from their erect position. This fish was missing one of the lateral
plates and it immediately became clear that the plates would buttress the
dorsal and pelvic spines from lateral forces exerted during predator
manipulation. I shelved my idea about this for several years, returning to it
in the late 1970’s and </span><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: 36pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: 36pt;">eventually
publishing these observations in 1983 (Evolution 37: 931-946 - Figure 1).</span><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: 36pt;"> </span></p><p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUqXlhCh1TJjqurL3ueOmnhcSL8PxIrr9DUyKyZXEWWSdMGrJTaW6o5Jy_TtEPjkeDLYejidvZ-GqWi-gO8JCJye-FY_nX3hd_-tVIrDTgwXMpR4bhEXJm39s5GbVVx2DtFcltjgaEvipMwre30BecgTOd7NrQStt4plmqIohlS3U-42agIlD2DdUMOQ/s3000/Slide1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2250" data-original-width="3000" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUqXlhCh1TJjqurL3ueOmnhcSL8PxIrr9DUyKyZXEWWSdMGrJTaW6o5Jy_TtEPjkeDLYejidvZ-GqWi-gO8JCJye-FY_nX3hd_-tVIrDTgwXMpR4bhEXJm39s5GbVVx2DtFcltjgaEvipMwre30BecgTOd7NrQStt4plmqIohlS3U-42agIlD2DdUMOQ/w640-h480/Slide1.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Figure
1: Relationships between lateral plates and spine supports.</span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: 36pt;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: 36pt;">Ric Moodie suggested I read EB Ford’s
recent book on ecological genetics. This completely hooked me on studying adaptation
and measuring selection in real time in the field. Fortunately, the University
of Alberta had just hired Kennedy McWhirter, who was Ford’s colleague at
Oxford. I took the courses Ecological Genetics and Population Genetics from
Kennedy and this further cemented my interest in this emerging discipline. Kennedy
encouraged me to do graduate work at the University of Liverpool in the UK
where Arthur Cain and Philip Shepard had recently arrived from Oxford and were
developing a graduate program in Ecological Genetics.</span><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: 36pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: 36pt;">My subsequent four years in the UK resulted
in a DPhil on the ecology and genetics of two sibling species of intertidal
gastropods. This research greatly emphasized to me the importance of spatial
and temporal scale for interpreting polymorphic variation within and among
populations, an approach that would structure my subsequent studies on
stickleback.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: 36pt;">During my graduate program, I
became friends with Paul Handford and Graham Bell who were both at Oxford; </span><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: 36pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: 36pt;">over several years, we hatched an outlandish
research plan in which we would go to Drizzle Lake on Haida Gwaii, and with our
partners, live in an old log cabin, and undertake a multi-year study on the
giant stickleback from the lake; </span><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: 36pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: 36pt;">Paul would
focus on the behavioural adaptations of the fish, Graham on the demography of
the population and myself on predator-prey interactions in relation to
phenotypic variability. Paul joined me on Haida Gwaii in late 1975 and 1976. Paul,
who had just finished a post-doc on songbird dialect in the dry mountains of
Argentina, did not take well to living in a small dark cabin in the midst of a
wet and cool rainforest. Graham at this time had just finished his DPhil at
Oxford and with Sue, his partner, initiated the process of immigrating to
Canada. They got as far west as Edmonton where Paul was staying. It was clear
that the logistics of potentially six of us living at Drizzle Lake were unreasonable.
Paul and Graham got sensible and each got jobs, Paul at the University of
Western Ontario and Graham at McGill University.</span></p><p><span style="text-indent: 36pt;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="font-family: inherit; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnTWMR4DZjCTzGt097O060ijmiWFhsVL6CV7M18_QxhsuOHjJ6OXUPaZ-xWvSamD6R9qE-EKCgAeSc_9kExJFenbl93VrfZb2jy9F1ryie4P4y3vP8Jw2E3kywvZq2HAWWGLrsF86MuqgIV4R6EXWcDniTjrMHyZfPsrEaeSpWmU9Fna_pzQicqKjo5g/s3000/Slide2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2250" data-original-width="3000" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnTWMR4DZjCTzGt097O060ijmiWFhsVL6CV7M18_QxhsuOHjJ6OXUPaZ-xWvSamD6R9qE-EKCgAeSc_9kExJFenbl93VrfZb2jy9F1ryie4P4y3vP8Jw2E3kywvZq2HAWWGLrsF86MuqgIV4R6EXWcDniTjrMHyZfPsrEaeSpWmU9Fna_pzQicqKjo5g/w640-h480/Slide2.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Figure
2a. Haida Gwaii with Drizzle Lake and research cabin (inset)</span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: 36pt;">Not as well-anchored in reality, I took up
residency at the Drizzle Lake cabin in 1976 (Figure 2a) and began the research program. I
wanted to extend principles from some of my thesis work involving polymorphic traits
and felt that sources of mortality and microsite adaptations might also be
operating with traits that were continuous, such as lateral plates, rather than
only discontinuous traits like the colour of </span><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: 36pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: 36pt;">intertidal snails. With a $2000 support from
the Ecological Reserves Unit (BC government) as well as similar amounts from Joseph
Nelson at the University of Alberta, my partner Sheila Douglas and I equipped
the 80 year old Drizzle Lake cabin with solar panels, a small wind generator,
lights, microscopes as well as a ‘portable’ Osborne computer. In 1985, I was
successful at getting an NSERC operating grant that allowed us to continue the
research. </span></p><p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg22QmxLXJUwXA3ANq1O4_LmjWP4AMAvNkVZPHNhzmO-wFFkw-r7h-ittbHdWlk9ZqhRU1bkjemH_nKpmFeOvr4N6h2WxewYYXhl6DL70MxoVmi2cv8p2EEK6y8UGC4pg9ME8XhJVNKFOUsHzcEeIhGiO22pexC0XOB09wUlRHX3-3hJE4upPOyvtuhag/s690/Drizzle%20Lake%20Lab.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="472" data-original-width="690" height="438" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg22QmxLXJUwXA3ANq1O4_LmjWP4AMAvNkVZPHNhzmO-wFFkw-r7h-ittbHdWlk9ZqhRU1bkjemH_nKpmFeOvr4N6h2WxewYYXhl6DL70MxoVmi2cv8p2EEK6y8UGC4pg9ME8XhJVNKFOUsHzcEeIhGiO22pexC0XOB09wUlRHX3-3hJE4upPOyvtuhag/w640-h438/Drizzle%20Lake%20Lab.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Figure 2b. The lab at Drizzle Lake.</span></td></tr></tbody></table></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: 36pt;">Our year round residency at
Drizzle Lake from 1976 to 1985 and then summer residency from 1986 to 1990 yielded
substantial evidence of repeatable temporal and spatial variation in the
predation regime and the potential influence on the selection landscape
affecting the stickleback population. Within several years, we had identified
over 20 species of predators on stickleback in the lake, including 16 species
of avian piscivores as well as resident salmonids (Figure 3). Most of these predators
differed seasonally and they differed as to where they foraged in the lake and
what size classes of stickleback they consumed. This high diversity of predators
was not because the lake was a predator ‘hotspot’ but rather, evidence for this
diversity emerged only as a consequence of the extended time duration (multiple
years, multiple seasons) of the study. I summarized these data in a chapter for
an Oxford publication that Mike Bell and Susan Foster put together in 1994. </span></p><p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGIeOKsy1IJqUoYNUumUZHT67kUJRf4GadKNcT9QfOKGn9o9eSHjNi00oap-gNH36EusoXk_Shjq-_btR9GThuKNERikKc18uHSVy0sj36SkWQ8QwMsrU9JNkT_OQzO-1SlwKOdbz-FO_jYL4RsSeRbBpxk9_d91ixqvRtuv2nVot5Kb6KDunkXBctgA/s3000/Slide3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2250" data-original-width="3000" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGIeOKsy1IJqUoYNUumUZHT67kUJRf4GadKNcT9QfOKGn9o9eSHjNi00oap-gNH36EusoXk_Shjq-_btR9GThuKNERikKc18uHSVy0sj36SkWQ8QwMsrU9JNkT_OQzO-1SlwKOdbz-FO_jYL4RsSeRbBpxk9_d91ixqvRtuv2nVot5Kb6KDunkXBctgA/w640-h480/Slide3.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Figure
3: Predator assemblage at Drizzle Lake.</span></span></td></tr></tbody></table></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: 36pt;">During the research program, Sheila
and I circumnavigated Haida Gwaii several times and sampled about 800 lakes,
ponds and streams, of which about 15% had stickleback, all of which were
morphologically different from each other. Each lake offered a distinctive set
of biophysical parameters (predators, diet, parasites, lake morphometry,
spectra, etc) that had the potential of structuring the selective landscape (Figure 4).</span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: 36pt;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: 36pt;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1TzGzk9L7iNm4Ga9JUKdppTyNur43_2nG71p5fOFcPjOITfcwjzLbVBOY_bDRyXx8xpmzr85xmso00bCJsFY3B9iBipeyPmeMPx8mDYA6uM3JnCmJu1lRmi7EntmNT46kDaK1-sbxBEb9PTSWwg4FSFc4czoEGPlyfV458-Y83IMJfAvAdCFVxCXBuw/s3000/Slide4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2250" data-original-width="3000" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1TzGzk9L7iNm4Ga9JUKdppTyNur43_2nG71p5fOFcPjOITfcwjzLbVBOY_bDRyXx8xpmzr85xmso00bCJsFY3B9iBipeyPmeMPx8mDYA6uM3JnCmJu1lRmi7EntmNT46kDaK1-sbxBEb9PTSWwg4FSFc4czoEGPlyfV458-Y83IMJfAvAdCFVxCXBuw/w640-h480/Slide4.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Figure
4: Geographical survey of Haida Gwaii for stickleback with representative examples
of habitats. Symbols: blue- stickleback present, black- stickleback absent</span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: 36pt;">I was able to recruit some
excellent students </span><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: 36pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: 36pt;">including Carolyn
Bergstrom on the role of asymmetry in defensive traits, Patrik Nosil on
fluctuating selection and Mark Spoljaric on plasticity and predictability of
body shape. We summarized the adaptive radiation of these 100+ allopatric
populations in 2013 (Evolutionary Ecology Research 15: 241–269). Essentially,
the selective landscape at each locality was defined by the relative importance
of puncturing, compression or grappling piscivores combined with water spectra
(reaction distance) and lake size (Figure 5).</span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: 36pt;"><br /></span></p><p></p><p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaUGKaMq5mf10IqmpY4zRcWKUzsCsVyp8u81KOHFIjBxEw929eAcAI8M4TWiOipcQ9vOfJ-hPDB7PVG-Voi5JjUpHLmvmOTXg7gCtZTRzbly3jLF4FaurJOMei9OrUWwbWzPnHi6w-Ocu6spsCV31Oejr6rk2-jFfr68uYz45_cgu5m2Hw3slylyYArw/s3000/Slide5.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2250" data-original-width="3000" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaUGKaMq5mf10IqmpY4zRcWKUzsCsVyp8u81KOHFIjBxEw929eAcAI8M4TWiOipcQ9vOfJ-hPDB7PVG-Voi5JjUpHLmvmOTXg7gCtZTRzbly3jLF4FaurJOMei9OrUWwbWzPnHi6w-Ocu6spsCV31Oejr6rk2-jFfr68uYz45_cgu5m2Hw3slylyYArw/w640-h480/Slide5.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Figure
5: Summary of major processes influencing the selective landscapes of Haida
Gwaii stickleback defense structures. </span></span></td></tr></tbody></table></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: 36pt;">While it was clear to me that large
differences in morphology, from fully-armoured to unarmoured among and within these
populations, were adaptive; it remained ambiguous whether this represented genetic
variation or plasticity. Axel Meyer had recently shown a major role of adaptive
plasticity in jaw and skull morphology of central American cichlids, and such
plasticity could not be ruled out for these divergent Haida Gwaii populations. </span><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: 36pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: 36pt;">In 1989, I asked a new graduate student, Patrick
O’Reilly, to examine the mtDNA of some of the most divergent populations of
stickleback, including the unarmoured stickleback in small acidic ponds that I
discovered back in 1970. It was reassuring that these unarmoured fish had a
very distinctive mtDNA haplotype from most other stickleback populations (although
it was similar to those in Japan), and were potentially relictual but this did
not resolve whether the unarmoured phenotype was heritable. Subsequently, advances
in DNA sequencing techniques allowed David Kingsley at Stanford to develop
genome-wide SNP arrays for stickleback. My post-doc, Bruce Deagle, was able to
use the arrays to show extensive genomic differentiation among the
morphologically divergent populations, including three different lake-stream
species pairs (Proc. Roy. Soc. 279 : 1732 1277),</span><span style="color: white; font-family: inherit; text-indent: 36pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: 36pt;">although this did still not
rule out adaptive plasticity for divergence in morphological traits.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: 36pt;">The repeated evidence for
adaptive differentiation among and within populations would have more conceptual
context if I had some </span><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: 36pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: 36pt;">experimental data
that allowed estimates of strength of selection and rates of change. In the
mid-1980’s, I sketched out a plan to transplant limnetic giant stickleback with
robust armour from a large lake into a small ‘barren’ fishless pond that
differed in multiple ecological axes from the source lake. Ideally, I wanted to
create a shift in the ecological theatre involving predation landscape (salmonids/birds
to macroinvertebrates), trophic regime (limnetic/plankton to
benthic/macrobenthos), spectral regime (dystrophic/heavily stained to
eutrophic/non-stained waters) and water chemistry (lower to higher
conductivity), expecting that subsequent generations might reveal phenotypic changes
in the direction predicted from the differences I observed in the geographical
surveys (Figure 6). Eventually, I identified four suitable barren ponds that generally
met the criteria and in 1992 initiated the first of the transplant experiments. </span></p><p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJqcCmFQBGIxPHYpQA-ssJ9rEAzpSI6vO0y9hPWD8OjZqoA8FiHUHsQN1HvfiLLAyEGkyoa70N6uzDMEqPMdBu7iH8woW847-k1a46LPnULmtyQQGDg88dBjsC83Srx9u8-LbsUDw-QwPDfbB6JlHONOp_TDtQL_SeD1I0xjHqpMPzv6SaauR-eqJWnA/s3000/Slide6.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2250" data-original-width="3000" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJqcCmFQBGIxPHYpQA-ssJ9rEAzpSI6vO0y9hPWD8OjZqoA8FiHUHsQN1HvfiLLAyEGkyoa70N6uzDMEqPMdBu7iH8woW847-k1a46LPnULmtyQQGDg88dBjsC83Srx9u8-LbsUDw-QwPDfbB6JlHONOp_TDtQL_SeD1I0xjHqpMPzv6SaauR-eqJWnA/w640-h480/Slide6.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Figure
6: Transplant experiment from Mayer Lake with giant stickleback into a barren
roadside pond.</span></span></td></tr></tbody></table></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: 36pt;">The colonists successfully reproduced, yielding numerous
generations that I sampled over time. In 2007, an outstanding student (Steven
Leaver) began a graduate program with me and photographed and measured all the
samples for meristic and metric traits. The results produced striking evidence
for shifts in all defense and trophic traits over nine generations, all in the
direction predicted. Some of the traits shifted in the first generation,
consistent with adaptive plasticity, and other traits shifted across
generations, more consistent with genetic changes (Biol. J. Linnean Society.
107:494-509 - Figure 7). </span><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: 36pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: 36pt;">David
Kingsley offered to do whole-genome sequences and I sent him 56 stickleback,
including the source and transplant populations as well as representative
stickleback from morphologically divergent Haida Gwaii populations. I needed a
post-doc to do the genomics of these samples and fortunately Katie Peichel encouraged
David Marques to apply. Remarkably skilled, David was able to complete the
analyses of these fish identifying trait-specific genetic markers across the
genome. These results gave novel insight into opsin evolution, as well as
evidence for genome-wide shifts, all in the direction that were predicted by the
genomic differences among the allopatric populations differing in ecological
conditions. I feel this paper (Marques et al. 2017, Nature, Ecology and
Evolution) has been the most substantive to emerge from my research program as
it exemplifies the efficacy of natural selection and predictability of evolutionary
changes among populations in remarkably few generations. This theme greatly contrasts
to that of the famous orator, Stephen J. Gould, who concluded in 1985 that “….</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: 36pt;">some geographic variation within a
species is clearly adaptive, but much is a non-adaptive product of
history."</span></p><p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaIi6uBVVgzNZd-yVFYDoe4nXxt-U-CKncpV3jQ_rxXnII7Xfm-cI8bTuSQc190rZOjMHvWr41pid7Ed55rhXuRyfg6LDfagP2ZxjfquUY7r_fzDKpHH3IlnQSiB_bepi6IMYTT5yAaDh2bWdGJ4kPePzw-MqkSDm0cZTYUtE_wMb-jgzvLrlgenrf_g/s3000/Slide7.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2250" data-original-width="3000" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaIi6uBVVgzNZd-yVFYDoe4nXxt-U-CKncpV3jQ_rxXnII7Xfm-cI8bTuSQc190rZOjMHvWr41pid7Ed55rhXuRyfg6LDfagP2ZxjfquUY7r_fzDKpHH3IlnQSiB_bepi6IMYTT5yAaDh2bWdGJ4kPePzw-MqkSDm0cZTYUtE_wMb-jgzvLrlgenrf_g/w640-h480/Slide7.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Figure
7: Results of phenotypic shifts in the transplant population relative to the
original colonists after 8 generations.</span></span></td></tr></tbody></table></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">One of the important concepts </span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">that emerged during our many years in the
ecological theatre at Drizzle Lake and Haida Gwaii was the persistent reminder
that inter- and intra population variability in defense morphology could not be
reliably understood without context to age-specific sources of mortality. Presence
of multiple species of piscivores that differed spatially and seasonally, as
well as in their foraging and prey capture behaviour, creates an opportunity
for diversifying selection on the traits that can differ spatially within
populations and fluctuate over short periods of time. The tendency of
researchers, including Ric and myself in the early formative years, to classify
populations as either with or without predators was simply wrong. There were
localities without predatory fish but there were none that lacked one or more
species of piscivorous birds or macroinvertebrates (Figure 8). </span></p><p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaZUcc4y4U8eNhMMeJkZHtFAZIc8dFs0pMa9PvIcSUl6ta3DUP41xgcTWegVmNXcux2GmbxuKBs8va6PHT5hjtM7O64P-INRi2CN-TATWDE_bsD7X2FiRHzMHwyWpio4SmW2VXH0ucmcXET0KQLkHmsCwxYVk8Qe1ph0Ovhw1PPrAb8GhqNwcrQaCt6A/s3000/Slide8.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2250" data-original-width="3000" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaZUcc4y4U8eNhMMeJkZHtFAZIc8dFs0pMa9PvIcSUl6ta3DUP41xgcTWegVmNXcux2GmbxuKBs8va6PHT5hjtM7O64P-INRi2CN-TATWDE_bsD7X2FiRHzMHwyWpio4SmW2VXH0ucmcXET0KQLkHmsCwxYVk8Qe1ph0Ovhw1PPrAb8GhqNwcrQaCt6A/w640-h480/Slide8.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Figure
8: Routine morning observations of Common Loons foraging on stickleback at
Drizzle Lake. Inset shows adult stickleback that escaped after capture by a
Common Loon. These exhibit different lateral plate phenotype than uninjured
fish and have elevated fitness relative to modal phenotypes (Evolution 2023, 77(4),
1101–1116).</span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">Researchers, editors and reviewers still
uncritically accept the flawed dichotomous characterization of the predation
landscape (yes/no or high/low) despite the lack of evidence to warrant the dichotomy. While
It is unlikely that </span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">future researchers
will embrace my approach - </span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">living in an old
cabin at the study lake for year-round observations on the abundance and
behaviour of the predator assemblage, </span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">I
am optimistic for the future. New technologies, such as hi-resolution field
cameras and e-DNA </span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">will hopefully contribute
to the understanding of the subtle but real temporal and spatial variability in
selective landscapes, the motivation for the extended field studies on Haida
Gwaii stickleback.</span></p><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbQtTu5__Pp_F8rduWFBv-sNerC-LTVIu9tcEMeaQJAnaGFIHel2vz0ipYTSkGWWVV5QQbAwaiAcT7AyTnBGH08CvzXD8Qe99bHaeMk4U1TGwbgJ3wZ6VkUBqs4WXD2RPOZmJTUjeHX0s1pMqhSdRC2_TgBtTPzF2x4gvK3I5U0VAdFQm2rfb2K9IAVA/s1351/80_Sheet29_06.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="966" data-original-width="1351" height="286" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbQtTu5__Pp_F8rduWFBv-sNerC-LTVIu9tcEMeaQJAnaGFIHel2vz0ipYTSkGWWVV5QQbAwaiAcT7AyTnBGH08CvzXD8Qe99bHaeMk4U1TGwbgJ3wZ6VkUBqs4WXD2RPOZmJTUjeHX0s1pMqhSdRC2_TgBtTPzF2x4gvK3I5U0VAdFQm2rfb2K9IAVA/w400-h286/80_Sheet29_06.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sheila Douglas putting in the work.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><span style="line-height: 107%;"><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>Andrew Hendryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03653724437118653645noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4456348657596914237.post-50019374439955633742023-04-01T10:49:00.002-04:002023-04-12T09:44:45.316-04:00Ole Kristian Berg - Memories<p><span style="font-family: inherit;">When a colleague and friend passes on, those of us left behind wish to honor them with some of our favorite memories. With Ole Kristian Berg, those memories are many and vivid. He was an excellent colleague and a genuinely wonderful man, who not only brought a creative originality to his (and our) research but also an undimmed sense of wonderment about the natural world, especially salmonid fishes (salmon, trout, and charr). Most importantly, he was someone who loved and lived life to the fullest, and never ceased to help us all remember how lucky we are to have careers and lives that can be so fun.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">This post has memories from myself (Andrew Hendry), Sigurd Einum, Thomas Quinn, Trond Amundsen, </span>Gunnbjørn Bremset, Jan
Grimsrud Davidsen, Tor G.
Heggberget, Sten
Karlsson, Line
Elisabeth Sundt-Hansen, and Eva Marita
Ulvan<span style="font-family: inherit;"> - as well as (at the end) a collection of Ole's most cited papers. </span><b style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Note</i></b><span style="font-family: inherit;">: many more remembrances from family, friends, and colleagues are </span><a href="https://svanholm-vigdal.vareminnesider.no/memorial_page/memorial_page_personal_info.php?order_id=4149536&set_site_id=242&cat=home&sign=5cc155f0e7e744f25d5912529188e07e#" style="font-family: inherit;" target="_blank">HERE</a><span style="font-family: inherit;"> in Norwegian.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b></b></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX98T3bYgoHj1M4VinGsXSuVWYemK4zyMJf855PygtM9Inj8dWrFNQh-2O_Fwxa-UJ3IMh0JdugREfrAxpS-FY-NiL7RpEVUYeNAM48FA9XRIQk4iwct4jYg8GSfyTKfME_KJCejWCL6AgjxSAjWVKIlVFftFwsI5YnNZVvdTw9ScsJ7t_j3jg00K3HQ/s1574/7a57e52a-cc94-4949-92ee-413b5318c423.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="885" data-original-width="1574" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX98T3bYgoHj1M4VinGsXSuVWYemK4zyMJf855PygtM9Inj8dWrFNQh-2O_Fwxa-UJ3IMh0JdugREfrAxpS-FY-NiL7RpEVUYeNAM48FA9XRIQk4iwct4jYg8GSfyTKfME_KJCejWCL6AgjxSAjWVKIlVFftFwsI5YnNZVvdTw9ScsJ7t_j3jg00K3HQ/w640-h360/7a57e52a-cc94-4949-92ee-413b5318c423.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ole Kristian Berg (11.04.1954 - 26.02.2023)</td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><p></p><p><b><u><span style="font-family: inherit;">Andrew Hendry</span></u></b></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">I was a pretty green first-year graduate student in 1993 when I first met Ole - and I remained his close friend and collaborator for another 10 years. I worked with him four different years in Alaska (over the span of 10 years) and I spent months (over several trips) with his family in Trondheim, Norway. He was my first real international collaborator - and a more wonderful and personal entre into such collaborations could not have been imagined. Ole was an important and innovative scientist, with some truly influential work that you can peruse below. Ole was about so much more than science though, and he was such a fun and novel individual that capturing the spirit of who he was is perhaps best served by a series of personal anecdotes. </span></p><p><i><span style="font-family: inherit;">Field work with Ole and his family</span></i></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">My most intimate experiences with Ole were during field work at a remote camp on Lake Nerka, Alaska, in 1995, 1996, and 2000. For much of that time, it was just me and Ole and Ole's family, and it was one of the most memorable and rewarding of times for me. We worked long hours, ate good food, and had lots to drink, while playing games and watching nature. And we laughed and laughed and laughed. And nothing made him laugh so hard as watching his young kids teach me how to swear in Norwegian. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">And then there was the electric drill. In 1995, Ole's main goal was to analyze the energy content of salmon and how it changed as they returned from the ocean to spawn in freshwater. To measure this energy content, we need to create a slury (or smoothie, if you will) of many many individual salmon. So Ole bought a Dewalt DW101 drill and hooked it up to a meat grinder. Powered by a generator, that amazing drill ran hours and hours each day making salmon smoothie. The result was a very influential paper (Hendry and Berg. 1999. CJZ <span style="text-indent: -36px;">7:1663-1675</span>). When he left Alaska, Ole proudly presented me with the drill, and it has been a valued household tool to this very day.</span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr7W5MpBkYVjbn7YV0gZh-4cEtFT-W_LkHV5460WiOCXbEy7txAAajIlGFUGd6BPXyNOb-fm0EspbrsrEZeXnpd4TYYaS9O9tL7YRyjcNcsbAd4SRAjZFAxw3MG5NFJVm4ZgUUNHs-hxqTEtxshjMwZyB-DIpD375yEwm7qD_QwRPxSZ8YacYHqIAZUw/s2814/drill.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2814" data-original-width="2214" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr7W5MpBkYVjbn7YV0gZh-4cEtFT-W_LkHV5460WiOCXbEy7txAAajIlGFUGd6BPXyNOb-fm0EspbrsrEZeXnpd4TYYaS9O9tL7YRyjcNcsbAd4SRAjZFAxw3MG5NFJVm4ZgUUNHs-hxqTEtxshjMwZyB-DIpD375yEwm7qD_QwRPxSZ8YacYHqIAZUw/w315-h400/drill.jpg" width="315" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Ole's drill 27 years later.</span></td></tr></tbody></table><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">I feel compelled to comment again about how creative Ole was as a scientist. We had written a series of papers about how natural selection influences female reproductive life span in salmon. That is, a female couldn't just lay her eggs and die because she had to live somewhat longer to defend her nest site against other females who might dig on top and thus displace and destroy the earlier female's eggs. Yet no one had a good estimate of this selection on life span due to "nest superimposition." Ole had the amazing idea to inject females with colored food dye, which would bind to the eggs. Then we could dig up the females' nests to see how many of the colored eggs remained depending on whether another female later dug her nest in the same spot. This study was one of my favorites to this very day (Hendry et al. 2004. PRSB. 271:259-266).</span></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgn2rrniLhscGLPv08SeTaXGD-JfhEkG0nu1n0RWu6YV5eYwNGiV2kUAlK1lJbpVA3FWWfFdvHt7UK_srbVgcRjAGm6ThoRWiVlFin7mdQENpUnyqB_p-Z6Ey2mxml8uMg3D6dBpmL5Y0h8Dll3xyH0VjK-OKMggWBBJfx3B3Yn5e2jaocjfLQJNXm0TA" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1580" data-original-width="2442" height="259" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgn2rrniLhscGLPv08SeTaXGD-JfhEkG0nu1n0RWu6YV5eYwNGiV2kUAlK1lJbpVA3FWWfFdvHt7UK_srbVgcRjAGm6ThoRWiVlFin7mdQENpUnyqB_p-Z6Ey2mxml8uMg3D6dBpmL5Y0h8Dll3xyH0VjK-OKMggWBBJfx3B3Yn5e2jaocjfLQJNXm0TA=w400-h259" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />Ole digging up salmon nests (above) to look for dyed eggs (below).</span></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgriTwRIk-emt6s4l1CSo_tJXXkntp9xbIsh5WtbjINHnTApGlti91jV2fBNyJbZPsogJ5lHnaaz15a0CkMrmvTOpZBXiLS2w6riN5t_VqMqU1wm_HU2TWclvy3ZQr6mRTNqoTZVP8bIM6FtvPaexVxMOMq6pPzgys6lUTeA5aCRLS3-v_3PaX6bZRcRQ" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1577" data-original-width="2460" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgriTwRIk-emt6s4l1CSo_tJXXkntp9xbIsh5WtbjINHnTApGlti91jV2fBNyJbZPsogJ5lHnaaz15a0CkMrmvTOpZBXiLS2w6riN5t_VqMqU1wm_HU2TWclvy3ZQr6mRTNqoTZVP8bIM6FtvPaexVxMOMq6pPzgys6lUTeA5aCRLS3-v_3PaX6bZRcRQ=w400-h256" width="400" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /><i>Visiting Ole and his family in Trondheim. </i></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">I have many memories of my trips to Norway, but two come immediately to mind and put a big smile on my face. The first was when we took a long hike up into the mountains to camp at a lake Ole and colleagues were studying. We arrived at dusk and crowded into a small one-room cabin, with beverages all round. Not having seen an outhouse, I eventually worked up the courage to ask "<i>Where do I go to the bathroom</i>"? Ole laughed and shouted "Oh, just go anywhere over in Sweden." It turned out we were right beside the cairns that marked the border with Sweden, and anywhere past that border was the outhouse. It was my first visit to Sweden. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">The other memory I want to share is how - when I spent several weeks staying with Ole and his family, they took great pleasure it introducing me to all of the traditional Norwegian "delicacies" - laughing at me as I tried them and telling stories about how Ole (and his kids) would weaponize <span>food (mainly <span style="background-color: white;">Surströmming) as practical jokes during military training (the whole barracks had to empty), at school (the police were called), and at athletic events (dropped on the opposing rowing team from a bridge above). Here is the menu and tasting notes that I generated from those days. Yes, they really cooked each of these dishes for me - mostly just to laugh at my reaction. </span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1P7D4p-VQ004uH_41Kq9lBW4CdY32rwtrH9Cw5Vt0Z4oWJHd8E5S7zjpVx9AZRnuqJEey-7NGRYbzfrSIK-z-ZsH0HCBNqUWKVm6Bi6aJUxizZRM0vU-H69m3ZxE-dr3hzzyCIAsaMYUIgzcVzLlS6SEIrI9X7Jdp9fCi3sOj9P3FoTZBJTO5Lurzyg/s692/Screenshot%202023-03-31%20122846.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="692" data-original-width="523" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1P7D4p-VQ004uH_41Kq9lBW4CdY32rwtrH9Cw5Vt0Z4oWJHd8E5S7zjpVx9AZRnuqJEey-7NGRYbzfrSIK-z-ZsH0HCBNqUWKVm6Bi6aJUxizZRM0vU-H69m3ZxE-dr3hzzyCIAsaMYUIgzcVzLlS6SEIrI9X7Jdp9fCi3sOj9P3FoTZBJTO5Lurzyg/w485-h640/Screenshot%202023-03-31%20122846.jpg" width="485" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><p><b><u><span style="font-family: inherit;">Sigurd Einum</span></u></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">In remembrance of my dear friend
and colleague Ol</span><span>e</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">It is now 30 years since I met Ole
for the first time, I was a bachelor student in biology, and he was faculty.
It’s funny how the teachers seemed old to me back then, he was only 38, and I’m
now 50! Anyways, I already then noticed how he was able to establish a rapport
with the students that few others did. I’m not sure how he did it, but I
believe his rather informal manner and a good (or bad?) sense of humor was part
of it. One of his more infamous pedagogic tricks was applied during lectures
when he noticed students closing their eyes and appearing to fall asleep. He
would then continue his lecturing in a normal voice while slowly approaching
the unsuspecting student, and once there yell something really load and
slamming his hands into the bench next to the sleeping head. Of course, he did
this with a smile on his face, raising laughs, and it usually ended well. As
another example, during a lecture on marine fish stocks in a class of about 100
students he, upon coming to a part about cod, got the students to participate
in singing a kid’s song that describes components of the life-cycle and ecology
of that species (Torskevise by Thorbjørn Egner). The thousands of students that
experienced this probably remembers a thing or two about cod, and at the same time
felt a bond to their professor that contributed to their motivation. While it
is tempting to try to replicate this, I’m afraid that only someone with Ole’s
personality can pull it off, and I would probably fail miserably.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIgUcSFrgmTRvUbYKhbxCp7IqV_pHR_yGCHMTBJRd9igbu7rVG7Aj7V2hW4S0S0vr5XKQfN8RpOXEAj3JXBn2JqSoa0jSTkd3nn0HF36WnkVDAJ3hsq-J1PAQfYkcjnOd5CUHuYiF0TOtNzOB4LFWJiDZSkXNWFXVAMga88NpLWEdrctnhIjlOe2Cm_g/s2560/Ole%20Kristian%20Berg.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2560" data-original-width="1920" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIgUcSFrgmTRvUbYKhbxCp7IqV_pHR_yGCHMTBJRd9igbu7rVG7Aj7V2hW4S0S0vr5XKQfN8RpOXEAj3JXBn2JqSoa0jSTkd3nn0HF36WnkVDAJ3hsq-J1PAQfYkcjnOd5CUHuYiF0TOtNzOB4LFWJiDZSkXNWFXVAMga88NpLWEdrctnhIjlOe2Cm_g/w300-h400/Ole%20Kristian%20Berg.JPG" width="300" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Ole Kristian Berg in his element</span></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">When I joined our department in
2007 I came to know Ole as a colleague. He was incredibly helpful whenever I
was having questions about how things were done in the department, and with
respect to access to labs and equipment. We quickly initiated collaborations
both with respect to teaching and science, and I have benefited greatly from
his broad knowledge about, ecology, life and basically everything. In 2010 he
invited me to join his expedition to Bear Island, which of course was
excellently organized, well stocked with equipment, food and drinks, and
required very little planning from my side. We also collaborated on our
freshwater ecology course, and the annual field course at remote Lake Snåsa was
always a highlight of the semester. I know Ole also appreciated these trips
with the students, and he continued to participate on the field course after he
retired. There we would teach coming generations of freshwater ecologists
procedures for fish and plankton sampling and processing, water chemistry, and
then at the end of a long day sit around the fire with a beer and watch the
northern lights together. These moments will be deeply missed.</span></p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">A good friend and incredibly
generous and knowledgeable colleague has passed away, much too early. I had
looked forward to further collaborations, and not the least more Christmas
parties where he as usual was supposed to be responsible for the gløgg (mulled
wine), and being the last one to leave the party. That did not happen. Instead,
we will enjoy the good memories he has given us, and those are many! Ole
continues to live on in the hearts of collaborators and students. My deepest
condolences go to the family which has lost an amazing husband, father and
grandfather.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p><b><u><span style="font-family: inherit;">Thomas Quinn</span></u></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5udV2z-M4ex6_GQg9lrfxq2acPRzT2VTWwmVmxktFV70FLSDHp5JxuuJYblbWpy73fYA5-4upLm2AH7bMOJNpacFNAUXVnFDvzKkiSSkVWVL91kKOnrjUmcq1g4pP55yQ-4d4sgyUy7Ia-LsQrGnNGDfdNgUnWvXfvkjHAI-P5fBp1EUGTOtcYd5ofA/s1584/Ole%20and%20Tom.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1072" data-original-width="1584" height="434" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5udV2z-M4ex6_GQg9lrfxq2acPRzT2VTWwmVmxktFV70FLSDHp5JxuuJYblbWpy73fYA5-4upLm2AH7bMOJNpacFNAUXVnFDvzKkiSSkVWVL91kKOnrjUmcq1g4pP55yQ-4d4sgyUy7Ia-LsQrGnNGDfdNgUnWvXfvkjHAI-P5fBp1EUGTOtcYd5ofA/w640-h434/Ole%20and%20Tom.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Ole (left) and Tom (right) in Alaska</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Like
all others who knew Ole Kristian Berg, I was shocked and saddened to hear of
his passing, and extend my deepest sympathy to his family and friends. As sometimes
happens in our profession, we became acquainted when I got an unexpected
communication from him, indicating an interest in coming to meet and
collaborate with me. Thankfully, I encouraged him. One thing led to another and
30 years ago, in the summer of 1993, he visited Seattle, stayed with me, and
joined our field operations on Lake Aleknagik and Iliamna Lake, Alaska. The
attached photo is from that year. I was immediately taken with his personal
openness and friendly attitude, breadth of scientific ideas, and exceptional
work ethic. Then, in 1995 and 1996 he came again, with his wife, children, and field
technician, to work with Andrew Hendry, who was then my doctoral student. I was
fortunate that a house across the street, owned by our neighbors and friends,
Jim and Maxine Hinze, was vacant at the exact period when the Berg’s needed a
place to stay. Otherwise, I am sure I would have squeezed them into my house,
somehow! As always, he was lively, funny, kind, generous, and full of energy,
but also full of mischief and tricks. Ole kindly invited us to a barbeque but
then shocked us by revealing that he had smuggled minke whale meat into the US
and that was what we were eating! Watching them all repacking their great
volume of field gear among their bags to meet the weight requirements for
luggage at the Seattle airport was something I will never forget.</span></p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 107%;">Ole’s
collaboration with Andrew Hendry resulted in a several important papers and a
great boost to Andrew’s career, but it also provided an endless series of
stories. The field camp where the Berg’s and Andrew were working, on Lake
Nerka, was a long distance from the main field camp on Lake Aleknagik, which
was accessible to stores for food, fuel, and other supplies. The Lake Nerka
camp had what seemed like more than adequate food but in short order the
unreliable old radio phone crackled with the news that they were running short
of essentials. How could this be? Well, it seems that they ate in a week the
supply of potatoes that would normally support a crew of that size for the
whole season! Over on Iliamna Lake, the largest lake in Alaska, I will never forget
wallowing in big waves in the middle of the night as we towed nets between two
boats to sample juvenile sockeye salmon and sticklebacks. We barely escaped
with our lives from the experience, but enjoyed a drink at 3 AM to celebrate
our brush with death on the lake. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 107%;">I
raise a glass to a wonderful man – lively, loyal, experienced, wise, and kind.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 107%;"><b><u>Thrond Amundsen</u><o:p></o:p></b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Memories
of Ole Kristian</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 107%;">
</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">It was so
sad to hear that Ole Kristian had passed away so all too early. I’ve known Ole
as an always supportive and friendly colleague ever since I started my job at
NTNU, not so long after Ole was appointed himself, in the early 90s. I first
and foremost think of Ole as a kind man, always interested, always supportive,
always positive. These are qualities that don’t always thrive in modern
academia but they mean a lot, and Ole’s kindness meant a lot to me.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">For many
years, up to Ole’s retirement and for longer than I can remember, I worked
closely with Ole on our first-year course in Ecology, Behaviour and Evolution
(BI1003). This is a special – and especially important – course for our
department: it’s the first course for new NTNU students of biology, including lots
of teachers and teaching assistants, and a large range of pedagogical tools and
activities. In short, a cool course but a logistic nightmare to manage,
requiring dedication ‘way beyond normal’. Ole put in enormous efforts and managed
the course successfully for several years until his retirement two years back,
to make it an enjoyable and successful course for students and teachers alike.
Being the two old-timers of the course, Ole and I had many interesting chats on
the smaller and bigger challenges of getting the course to work. I always felt
that Ole appreciated my input and that of others and did his very best to make
it a great course. Ole would have deserved much more praise for these efforts
than he got. Last year, the course and its teachers were awarded the Teaching
Excellence Award of the Faculty of Natural Sciences. Ole would truly have
deserved to be part of the award-winning team – we who took over built the
course on the foundation he laid down.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Ole was a
true ‘fish person’, with a huge knowledge of fish biology and fish management.
Other ‘fish people’ closer to his research can tell more about that then me.
For me, who started dabbling with fish from a bird background, he was a rich
source of knowledge and advice. And more importantly, he always showed a
genuine interest and appreciation – he always had a kind and supportive word.
I’m sure others can tell the same. To me, that meant more than he probably
realized himself.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">My last
meeting with Ole was by accident, last fall, just outside the Natural Sciences
building. I had only occasionally seen him since his retirement. Ole was in a
good mood as always, and curious to hear about my stuff, including how things
had worked out with my own group’s field work last summer (fortunately, for
once, quite well!). On my part, I was curious how things were for him, and what
he was up to at campus. Turned out he was on his way to talk to BI1003 students
about how to present the projects they were about to complete, contributing as
a ‘volunteer’. That’s typical of him – he loved that course, he loved engaging
with students, and he was a very unselfish man, happy to help out when asked.
On the private side, he told that he and his wife had spent the whole summer
traveling Iceland, enjoying its splendid nature – and I believe culture, too.
It sounded like they had had a great time up there, and we shared memories of
Iceland’s natural riches.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">When Ole
has now so sadly passed away, that last meeting stands fresh in my memory, as
typical of Ole – friendly, supportive, with a true love for nature and for
educating the next generation about the value of nature. It makes me think that
Ole lived his life to the full as a biologist, teacher, nature lover and family
man until the very end. Even if that end came all too early.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinipdVOcdX5TSzAl2puD73Hmg-DZq1dCqWkdhOAYB0nKT7jvnH-nFjzMtMnbmUBLJm9_I_SaZE_z-jXAWJyuzLZLNS2afSrIP0CtKiCbtr-yfNdwmHrvnaqFKGUIGmO26MhhqDR1ikNW5P8yZgqAwDs6C6D7kIiwigvYcHNWsJdcaYi5obupKZC7r3Yg/s1574/f18e079b-c656-4cff-9a2b-908422ae44cb.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="885" data-original-width="1574" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinipdVOcdX5TSzAl2puD73Hmg-DZq1dCqWkdhOAYB0nKT7jvnH-nFjzMtMnbmUBLJm9_I_SaZE_z-jXAWJyuzLZLNS2afSrIP0CtKiCbtr-yfNdwmHrvnaqFKGUIGmO26MhhqDR1ikNW5P8yZgqAwDs6C6D7kIiwigvYcHNWsJdcaYi5obupKZC7r3Yg/w640-h360/f18e079b-c656-4cff-9a2b-908422ae44cb.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Ole (left) was always happy - but never more so than when up to his wrists in fish guts.</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US"><b><u>Gunnbjørn Bremset, </u></b></span></span><b><u>Jan Grimsrud Davidsen, Tor G. Heggberget, Sten Karlsson, Line Elisabeth Sundt-Hansen, and Eva Marita Ulvan</u></b><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span lang="EN-US" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">It is with</span><span lang="EN-US" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;"> great sadness we
learned of Ole Kristian Berg's untimely passing. Most of us knew Ole Kristian
from his time at the Zoological Institute at Rosenborg campus, where he devoted
much of his research on the landlocked salmon (småblank) in River Namsen and
River Mellingselva. It is especially our research collaboration on the småblank
population in Upper Namsen that brought us together, where we mapped the status
and distribution of småblank, as well as its unique genetical and habitat
use. Småblank was a natural study subject since Ole Kristian's father, Magnus
Berg, was the first to describe the special salmon variant </span><span lang="EN-US" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">only found </span><span lang="EN-US" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">in the upper parts of
the Namsen watercourse. Ole Kristian was very keen on preserving the original
name </span><span lang="EN-US" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">of the landlocked
salmon</span><span lang="EN-US" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;"> in Namsen, and it
was therefore a great </span><span lang="EN-US" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">academic </span><span lang="EN-US" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">victory
when "småblank" finally became the official nomenclature a few years
back. Although småblank had a special place in his heart, there were many other
areas of research that Ole Kristian worked on. Already in the 1980s, he focused
on </span><span lang="EN-US" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">juvenile</span><span lang="EN-US" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;"> salmon that resided
in atypical habitats, and together with graduate students, investigations were
made in lakes on the west coast and in Namdalen, before later focusing on
deeper lotic habitats in rivers in Nordmøre and Trøndelag. Ole Kristian was a
pioneer in using modern analytical methods and was the first in Norway to
conduct energetic analyses of juvenile salmonids in rivers such as River Homla
and River Stjørdalselva. Many Norwegian fish researchers became interested in
fish biology after Ole Kristian's lectures, and the number of students who have
had him as a supervisor has gradually become extensive. In terms of personal
qualities, we will especially highlight his good humor, infectious laughter,
and unyielding optimism, and that he was very caring and generous towards his
students and colleagues. His many antics during festive events at Rosenborg and
the Natural Science Building are still being talked about, and we will never
forget his performances with specially made dentures and glasses with special
lenses. Ole Kristian will be deeply missed as a professional, colleague, and
friend - and we will </span><span lang="EN-US" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">forever keep the memory of him in our hearts</span><span lang="EN-US" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">.</span></span><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><br /></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><u><span style="font-family: inherit;">Ole's Most Cited Papers</span></u></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRiZb74-B1XVN41amahOBFxsJH3-ZlZ0AcCmI2-_9CTzi_EYM6cr2KHs1AnbjeWUUClQqi4TwHRLveC4SjaiJ2FREzfKYsAkxHXiEIhehq0xkcH0UNT7ne8XwuCb5KomtqTwe_ls66z1pjOOBpMMB1phc8s6C6lZ5ApMGS0S5k8ysn9tQ2Qs05S5797A/s887/Ole%201a.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="312" data-original-width="887" height="226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRiZb74-B1XVN41amahOBFxsJH3-ZlZ0AcCmI2-_9CTzi_EYM6cr2KHs1AnbjeWUUClQqi4TwHRLveC4SjaiJ2FREzfKYsAkxHXiEIhehq0xkcH0UNT7ne8XwuCb5KomtqTwe_ls66z1pjOOBpMMB1phc8s6C6lZ5ApMGS0S5k8ysn9tQ2Qs05S5797A/w640-h226/Ole%201a.jpg" width="640" /></a></p><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT_OHZJqGA6v-KnNVe7Z06jADl718p5o1FvQS68RTEKj0IFX4xA9eG9DiRm6UY2BzJDUGgrjhRBUiINrvP1sfMfS3OjOON-4U09MmwGc60390W5VaCdVYj8dmfxcOkABUy-16mHAWKKe_39g75SvvuL66wkIItIETBtY0G8FHRzby6m-7uOsbJzBGxfg/s881/Ole%202.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="350" data-original-width="881" height="254" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT_OHZJqGA6v-KnNVe7Z06jADl718p5o1FvQS68RTEKj0IFX4xA9eG9DiRm6UY2BzJDUGgrjhRBUiINrvP1sfMfS3OjOON-4U09MmwGc60390W5VaCdVYj8dmfxcOkABUy-16mHAWKKe_39g75SvvuL66wkIItIETBtY0G8FHRzby6m-7uOsbJzBGxfg/w640-h254/Ole%202.jpg" width="640" /></a><br /><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT_OHZJqGA6v-KnNVe7Z06jADl718p5o1FvQS68RTEKj0IFX4xA9eG9DiRm6UY2BzJDUGgrjhRBUiINrvP1sfMfS3OjOON-4U09MmwGc60390W5VaCdVYj8dmfxcOkABUy-16mHAWKKe_39g75SvvuL66wkIItIETBtY0G8FHRzby6m-7uOsbJzBGxfg/s881/Ole%202.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a></div></blockquote><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0GrtsDuaumZG-DbVUSt_HAD8O8aMklSCWPTVqgYNLBMLgTz8Qj2McpJNTzuC5Z_JLQPC36YgNwPrjRQlenF_jrUuQTm54NUYUrMtB0F74LjsQNwFc5uPV_cKSmWO-CdJgM2ymnTogWnDuz8h4-wrtaTjVbTwsAR67j9BL2tr4jQ_eWM4ApDaKQWxBxg/s893/Ole%203.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="434" data-original-width="893" height="312" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0GrtsDuaumZG-DbVUSt_HAD8O8aMklSCWPTVqgYNLBMLgTz8Qj2McpJNTzuC5Z_JLQPC36YgNwPrjRQlenF_jrUuQTm54NUYUrMtB0F74LjsQNwFc5uPV_cKSmWO-CdJgM2ymnTogWnDuz8h4-wrtaTjVbTwsAR67j9BL2tr4jQ_eWM4ApDaKQWxBxg/w640-h312/Ole%203.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOhRyM1A9Q0vDrC06rygGSDLxjV8Thqq-FejCdPyzhDmkc2oEJC1NGSckLtj6NcCwMsubUPf5pIgR6ScK37pbmbC1Pzu79yEcBxGDhw7Zc37m8a7wej3CgKdiapxnbpwKMdy7bVt5faT0yA-mc3RfhbUKuO5dSMeVGEjkDuGQga0s5MfmB9Xx9D0KWuA/s888/Ole%204.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="460" data-original-width="888" height="332" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOhRyM1A9Q0vDrC06rygGSDLxjV8Thqq-FejCdPyzhDmkc2oEJC1NGSckLtj6NcCwMsubUPf5pIgR6ScK37pbmbC1Pzu79yEcBxGDhw7Zc37m8a7wej3CgKdiapxnbpwKMdy7bVt5faT0yA-mc3RfhbUKuO5dSMeVGEjkDuGQga0s5MfmB9Xx9D0KWuA/w640-h332/Ole%204.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrwbXzTEfy3rjC8YxSluRfOqEWApZlChmaG_zXvfDMaDdUsHKovoh9soQdulzdWBIOsFyM5mR82-OTySGO4ppFogVMsMo4ki99u4B9eJW9zy21VeDxogpA2LNmy7kXCnKXdzK-pMrBC4JcOVg7ac_-U4MCu56wAr7gGHwRaWUy7a5Szgym0rT_b7BihA/s896/Ole%205.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="310" data-original-width="896" height="222" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrwbXzTEfy3rjC8YxSluRfOqEWApZlChmaG_zXvfDMaDdUsHKovoh9soQdulzdWBIOsFyM5mR82-OTySGO4ppFogVMsMo4ki99u4B9eJW9zy21VeDxogpA2LNmy7kXCnKXdzK-pMrBC4JcOVg7ac_-U4MCu56wAr7gGHwRaWUy7a5Szgym0rT_b7BihA/w640-h222/Ole%205.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwldwdDalHC176IajKZ-q-6X4M29fd-oT9MP8Tdvmz8S7Eb6_4LD1mVhRS-5zSu3o7qGOGOlq3OOREH8G1lCEglTu4bJ1Y_L_q-7Ege4rS133cFvwYb_BZTKMpKdoDQoTYmgoKFzGIIGL1efsokaaBila1HMDJUlwx_hWnU8xhY-FFLWvrXdVpdiMWcg/s839/Ole%206.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="839" data-original-width="631" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwldwdDalHC176IajKZ-q-6X4M29fd-oT9MP8Tdvmz8S7Eb6_4LD1mVhRS-5zSu3o7qGOGOlq3OOREH8G1lCEglTu4bJ1Y_L_q-7Ege4rS133cFvwYb_BZTKMpKdoDQoTYmgoKFzGIIGL1efsokaaBila1HMDJUlwx_hWnU8xhY-FFLWvrXdVpdiMWcg/w482-h640/Ole%206.jpg" width="482" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHGvTUirLePohfiek0L2sqvM_rWlD3VatWb7eIBKvG3QNdnd1102tBnZQhEU7Zuy8LoHjSzvtWHpYTND9Pt_IRfoNAJ6t1Uy-YDh2M9UGpqia6irczjqXOjHHk7jbeYzJOF81abuqjwl3ICTeQLQh1aL7Ay3VOAXr_xL3Z1HeYeHMhx2B-o-A3r3QSIQ/s889/Ole%208-10.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="679" data-original-width="889" height="488" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHGvTUirLePohfiek0L2sqvM_rWlD3VatWb7eIBKvG3QNdnd1102tBnZQhEU7Zuy8LoHjSzvtWHpYTND9Pt_IRfoNAJ6t1Uy-YDh2M9UGpqia6irczjqXOjHHk7jbeYzJOF81abuqjwl3ICTeQLQh1aL7Ay3VOAXr_xL3Z1HeYeHMhx2B-o-A3r3QSIQ/w640-h488/Ole%208-10.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />Andrew Hendryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03653724437118653645noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4456348657596914237.post-70211242893794298192022-12-27T15:01:00.000-05:002022-12-27T15:01:31.588-05:00Cuentos-Contos Week 3<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">For the final week of <i>Cuentos/Contos</i>, I present Dr. Bryan Juarez, Dr. Stepfanie Aguillon, Dr. Raul Diaz, Kiersten Formoso and a special interview with Dr. Melissa Guzman. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><img border="0" data-original-height="439" data-original-width="426" height="243" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUXtqsUZBpe5jEqGg_K6wxnxMg6stQ2SVSbXB5SrWqNDuOUcWjHiX5ZP17FgCUNTB718wdzY3w015ovOVCmuwwm1AntslA6F4DumcpxrQkZpB84kIU-w4IyCJFzTvTxACrkDcMkoS-2Qr3L0fhPm-L7TwWLm3quB3AeZhHK6rL7Agw2eQXLsIlI_LicQ/w236-h243/Bryan.png" width="236" />Southeast LA and San Bernadino born and raised, Bryan, describes how his low-income background drove him to design novel mathematical approximations to tackle complex science problems (jumping in frogs), as an alternative to using expensive equipment that may have been financially inaccessible. He also explains how his Latinx background prepared him to spot genuine mentors and allies, which have now blossomed into solid friendship. Finally, Bryan touches on experiencing culture shock as a Latino in academia and how EEB departments can support their fellow Latinx academics. </div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUrJ3lzff2BEjzOzCE7yfpKhmPgWGnJuVRJBlAiJ6COmU-oNMyuUZ6mfwnAlJPSlYCq9KQO9escnVVHD7IYyAKm3IFX7gDXM1KiC_o5KeUzh5qnXfS-wdxuYFso9EyamPA8NVPAv_TFdg53e1Wjq0HMky4IcVTVF8JJMWOlSRQ948VvW1iSSgvk7_eKg/s495/Stepfanie.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="494" data-original-width="495" height="319" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUrJ3lzff2BEjzOzCE7yfpKhmPgWGnJuVRJBlAiJ6COmU-oNMyuUZ6mfwnAlJPSlYCq9KQO9escnVVHD7IYyAKm3IFX7gDXM1KiC_o5KeUzh5qnXfS-wdxuYFso9EyamPA8NVPAv_TFdg53e1Wjq0HMky4IcVTVF8JJMWOlSRQ948VvW1iSSgvk7_eKg/s320/Stepfanie.png" width="320" /></a></div>Stepfanie, a Texas-born, but Arizona-raised evolutionary biologist, tells us about how her immigrant roots influenced her work and school ethic. The importance of building community is discussed, especially with allies that understand DEI issues and the type of mentor she strives to be. Lastly, Stepfanie offers three important recommendations for making academic cultures more inclusive for Latinx students. <p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6dONtX34ogmDwsq91TXJSzFivBQFpS8OCDZC1at3_zJ65UJSQ31UaV1LBHUQn4lAAuHAvNS3RwIDrwECQThypVlBo5JtYTDIju6KGge08KMGwgcUqS79bIU1AadELEwQ1-Vm1bUz89cf_HGRG8Uehb3ah3E4BufjWtHToGD6CTtq3v9OvqyPpDf0wXA/s482/Raul.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="470" data-original-width="482" height="312" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6dONtX34ogmDwsq91TXJSzFivBQFpS8OCDZC1at3_zJ65UJSQ31UaV1LBHUQn4lAAuHAvNS3RwIDrwECQThypVlBo5JtYTDIju6KGge08KMGwgcUqS79bIU1AadELEwQ1-Vm1bUz89cf_HGRG8Uehb3ah3E4BufjWtHToGD6CTtq3v9OvqyPpDf0wXA/s320/Raul.png" width="320" /></a></div>Fervent herpetologist, Raul, remembers reading books on amphibians and reptiles at the local public library and knowing from childhood that her has going to pursue a career in herpetology. He also explains how his parents paved the way for success and supported him, despite not understanding his research interests. Lastly, Rauul argues that a diverse faculty team is th best way to attract Latinx students. <p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1PUas9xfCiE_KT9ybFs5wnc9GUbrV0Ixj5EnnRoKzy9DsA7vUuCKncv8ufb4nGF0mabp0IK2Gqzkf69bcDhb7W3gfv6AxMrY-1j0faLmxwVbb3P4ypBBHciFNKQO5KXIAU1YKld-7Y0RYPHNQJegR83vAAURRNwX5BgsjXFfPAwtKFnMY39yhoX78lA/s443/Kiersten%20.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="443" data-original-width="332" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1PUas9xfCiE_KT9ybFs5wnc9GUbrV0Ixj5EnnRoKzy9DsA7vUuCKncv8ufb4nGF0mabp0IK2Gqzkf69bcDhb7W3gfv6AxMrY-1j0faLmxwVbb3P4ypBBHciFNKQO5KXIAU1YKld-7Y0RYPHNQJegR83vAAURRNwX5BgsjXFfPAwtKFnMY39yhoX78lA/s320/Kiersten%20.png" width="240" /></a></div><br />Kiersten, a New York born but Jersey-raised vertebrate paleontologist passionately describes her reserach exploring land to sea [not sea to land!] evolutionary transformations. She tells us how she shakes off heightened self-awareness (as one of the few Latinx in academic spaces) and addresses barriers that keep Latinx from pursuing science careers. Despites these setbacks, Kiersten has also had many positive expereinces and ramains inspires to pursue a career as a tenure-track professor. <p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsYx_So1QwSxdr0vdEdgPGpcnTls6VK0dZ10syqhucVYHOnIUx8REn-EtbN75DahYzxxvQt4WZu8PZn9vpTKftkt_CaMsGVvj3SDMTpUIt6xlCmy6rR1jABibSEpujqwoL8tJEtSLNEKJjM8fOa6pEP8qObgQ-JocPGfr_yB_lLeXAu-q3FbBB8UG61Q/s478/Melissa.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="478" data-original-width="478" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsYx_So1QwSxdr0vdEdgPGpcnTls6VK0dZ10syqhucVYHOnIUx8REn-EtbN75DahYzxxvQt4WZu8PZn9vpTKftkt_CaMsGVvj3SDMTpUIt6xlCmy6rR1jABibSEpujqwoL8tJEtSLNEKJjM8fOa6pEP8qObgQ-JocPGfr_yB_lLeXAu-q3FbBB8UG61Q/w265-h265/Melissa.png" width="265" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Check out this <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hh1SNzfK23U">special interview</a> with Dr. Melissa Guzman!</div><br /><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">To learn more about the featured scientists reach out via their emails or websites,</span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">Bryan - </span><a href="https://bhjuarez.github.io/">Bryan H Juarez (bhjuarez.github.io)</a> </div><div>Stepfanie - <a href="https://stepfanieaguillon.com/">Stepfanie M. Aguillon, PhD – Stanford Science Fellow (stepfanieaguillon.com)</a></div><div>Raul - <a href="https://reptile-embryos.com/">The Diaz Laboratory – "We Study Weird" – Evolutionary Developmental Morphology of Reptiles (reptile-embryos.com)</a></div><div>Kiersten - <a href="https://www.formorphology.com/">Home & Blog | Formorphology</a></div><div>Dr. Melissa Guzman - <a href="https://www.edslab.org/">Melissa Guzman |Ecological Data Science Lab (edslab.org)</a></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">To check out the full versions of all the C<i>uentos-Contos</i>, follow this <a href="https://26e2911f-0b52-493a-b4fd-f6ca68f725a4.filesusr.com/ugd/c576d6_9eb0c5529fa14d7db7e3e2f30edde4d4.pdf">link</a>. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">I hope you all can take away something from reading the <i>cuentos/contos</i> of so many brilliant scholars and people. Although I only shared the <i>cuentos/contos</i> of 13 Latino/a/x scholars, remember to share your own and tell your <i>cuento/conto</i>. You never know who is reading, and who will be the next, Ecologist, Developmental Biologist, Evolutionary Biologist, Astrobiologist, Microbiologist, Marine Biologist, Paleontologist, etc inspired by your <i>cuento/conto</i>. </span></div>Daniel Olivares Zambranohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14329646674606965784noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4456348657596914237.post-14699421355365227452022-12-16T20:11:00.001-05:002022-12-19T21:41:18.303-05:00Cuentos-Contos Week 2<p><span style="font-family: georgia;">In week 2 of the <i>Cuentos/Contos</i>, I am pleased to share the <i>cuentos</i> of Daisy Flores, Eduardo Tassoni Tsuchida, Alonso Delgado and Maya Yanez. </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><p style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgHnRUDudQCIsm4C--fZmg83LiiMK1YwyvS5gaPl-Z9t2IygWDKxbb1cF8BhHzI1FsJEbFM0_QKUmeUQ2cDlB8Wb53DWSs9r83cr6U8J2lL6bJjbvGfSm7PltKRXq-lYvtoQpKsG954-FQxuRv0qZmvM0Xsmrt36B4CAGKAySvldsceawU4JgNRIK5KLA" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img alt="" data-original-height="453" data-original-width="453" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgHnRUDudQCIsm4C--fZmg83LiiMK1YwyvS5gaPl-Z9t2IygWDKxbb1cF8BhHzI1FsJEbFM0_QKUmeUQ2cDlB8Wb53DWSs9r83cr6U8J2lL6bJjbvGfSm7PltKRXq-lYvtoQpKsG954-FQxuRv0qZmvM0Xsmrt36B4CAGKAySvldsceawU4JgNRIK5KLA" width="240" /></a>Daisy Flores, a San Diego local and marine biologist, tells us how her Latinx identity has influenced the way she approaches education in the US and abroad. Additionally, Daisy emphasizes how a strong support system encourages her to preserve in academia, even during tough times. Lastly, she provides a few suggestions to increase inclusivity in universities and departments. </p><p style="text-align: left;"></p></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh_IUZTdEq-zJHbu6zQwvyXzsauPAPjCkg3aJojqligCJo_pWC6zXXHwYwct1CRKuokjtgqvN5Kqobl9kycAZmyT0qHiY49JwL7roPQOzzvDPi91QdhDkQa5oKCas3A9aQSJUyCFIST7Pr8PM_Q8TYK-sAOtom9usOD5yYp9lQ4DgRhDHlZw5e_TPdFew" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="484" data-original-width="484" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh_IUZTdEq-zJHbu6zQwvyXzsauPAPjCkg3aJojqligCJo_pWC6zXXHwYwct1CRKuokjtgqvN5Kqobl9kycAZmyT0qHiY49JwL7roPQOzzvDPi91QdhDkQa5oKCas3A9aQSJUyCFIST7Pr8PM_Q8TYK-sAOtom9usOD5yYp9lQ4DgRhDHlZw5e_TPdFew" width="240" /></a><span style="text-align: left;">Eduardo, a biologist studying cell response to stress, reflects on how his Brazilian background has shaped his grad school experience. He touches on the importance of therapy and keeping up with family during the COVID-19 pandemic. Eduardo believes he is doing his part to increase Latinx representation by mentoring Latinx student and working in various programs and committers to promote inclusivity and community. </span></div><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj1CNsS4Sd9UMXH-ZJQN7vdbW5cvo5EILW-SMC-SjqnLFGGMf9CicBirqPDnoy-9B_NSc47LrUGO8qTQLc94sZkRxgU_PuD9PSJl-APXD8YjeIIqu01qo0rTWkKDU4roD5Jmrca53e7aoax0x-IZ7hyOd1lDl59pr56tC6at0fKU08fy-Pxb1rEKt9h3g" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="403" data-original-width="402" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj1CNsS4Sd9UMXH-ZJQN7vdbW5cvo5EILW-SMC-SjqnLFGGMf9CicBirqPDnoy-9B_NSc47LrUGO8qTQLc94sZkRxgU_PuD9PSJl-APXD8YjeIIqu01qo0rTWkKDU4roD5Jmrca53e7aoax0x-IZ7hyOd1lDl59pr56tC6at0fKU08fy-Pxb1rEKt9h3g" width="239" /></a></div><br />Alonso (originally hailing from the San Fernando Valley), shares his academic evolution: from pursuing an aviation adminstration degree in community college to obtaining a BSc. to currently researching venom changes in off-sea anemones! He also discusses the hidden curriculum, mentorship in academia and why he started organization, "Latinx in Marine Sciences".<p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhSrTrBIhh4yATXF2ok-Q-D6Vy9ODYoWTDl6SDH5cGqOBk1kYkZ6ZaWpOI-xKOkEETDUGcK2IHIx96_WvZSJ-9JQL5VrYz6vwIszaoFV_RbREPV5R6Re6Y_jxKSnl2DszkkqrsOlE6OSlQdW8P-L1hAnAyDislVG1LBYY78wA4eZIE3R3EVkUqo0x2Lfg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="473" data-original-width="473" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhSrTrBIhh4yATXF2ok-Q-D6Vy9ODYoWTDl6SDH5cGqOBk1kYkZ6ZaWpOI-xKOkEETDUGcK2IHIx96_WvZSJ-9JQL5VrYz6vwIszaoFV_RbREPV5R6Re6Y_jxKSnl2DszkkqrsOlE6OSlQdW8P-L1hAnAyDislVG1LBYY78wA4eZIE3R3EVkUqo0x2Lfg" width="240" /></a></div>Geobiologist and Los Angeles local, Maya Yanez, recounts navigating academia as a first-generation scholar, including the terrifying moments when she found out her loans were denied and how the problem was resolved! She explains how acknowledging and embracing her identity as a Latina has shaped her academic career. Maya candidly addresses her plans for the future, the reasons why she is not considering a career in academia and suggestions on welcoming and retaining Latin students. <p></p><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">To learn more about the featured scientists reach out via their emails or websites, Eduardo Tassoni Tsuchida - </span><span face="Source Sans Pro, sans-serif">etassoni@stanford.edu</span><span style="font-family: georgia;">, Maya Yanez - Mdyanez@usc.edu, Daisy Flores </span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span>- </span>dmflores@utexas.edu, and Alonso Delgado</span> - <a href="https://delgado73.wixsite.com/alonsodelgado">Home | Alonso Delgado (delgado73.wixsite.com)</a>.</div><div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">To check out the full versions of all the <i>Cuentos-Contos</i>, follow this <a href="https://26e2911f-0b52-493a-b4fd-f6ca68f725a4.filesusr.com/ugd/c576d6_9eb0c5529fa14d7db7e3e2f30edde4d4.pdf">link</a>. Don't forget to view last week's <i><a href="http://ecoevoevoeco.blogspot.com/2022/12/cuentos-contos-week-1.html">cuentos/contos</a></i>. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">And for now, <i>Hasta luego! </i></span></div></div>Daniel Olivares Zambranohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14329646674606965784noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4456348657596914237.post-42243643595833818802022-12-09T13:20:00.006-05:002022-12-19T21:42:50.898-05:00Cuentos-Contos Week 1<p> <span style="font-family: georgia;">In the Fall of 2021, I sought out to highlight the stories of Latino/a/x researchers generally in "Ecology and Evolution". With the support of Dr. Carly Kenkel, Dr. Oliver Rizk and Emily Aguirre, we were able to put on a series titled "Cuentos-Contos" (short stories in Spanish and Portuguese) to be shared to our Marine and Environmental Biology section at the University of Southern California. Now I am sharing these short stories to Ecoevoevoevo to share with a wider research community as I believe it is important to highlight researchers from similar backgrounds in academia as this space is often isolating. Throughout the next couple of weeks, I hope you feel inspiration, empathy and joy as every person details how their career, passion and aspirations intersect with their culture and identity. To start off, I highlight several talented scientists: Emily Aguirre, Ivan Moreno, Melody Aleman, and Dr. Suzana Leles.</span></p><p style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><img border="0" data-original-height="362" data-original-width="362" height="255" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4b3QBcr4s2UYf9LnDHHq5GDNQdKd_-5Kjh38JxZ-6kOxu2DsEQlKhX1Me18fJ0qzWkgLbuMITvM0vAK8RMG19MhF0vUgtcr7BfFniQ6czSsEAPWUnE-zQH4n2CKfERdXKq0ILBEp11wa1Jm0KSV4vVKuSCQoPxdtBCttGZ6RPWVMo7B288qefBjtSYw/w255-h255/Emily.png" style="text-align: justify;" width="255" /><span>Angeleno microbial ecologist, Emily, studies algal-bacterial symbiosis in the emerging cnidarian system, </span><i>Aiptasia pallida</i><span>, using genomic, culturing and microscopy techniques. In this <i>cuento</i>, she highlights her support system as a "non-traditional" student and discusses inefficient, outdated and harmful academic structures. Emily concludes by suggesting solutions for improving the academy, and transforming it into a space that truly supports talent, ingenuity and diversity. </span></span></p><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><img alt="" data-original-height="182" data-original-width="212" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjqVjK-FwUCo1ZoxOFQQPqAYvTL1_QII_CMPMuOaPd8sQGpW6a7mVelPJnJL5w5OCemE7Sp2ktKerynBfcgNIWoSgejy0j5Sal4r8PDd7wdOt9W2lgkS5RtyeHryjX7wvlInEoa55onN_3grZPuilIelS0lflxYS5_fAZ3dWG1TBJXDQw804AO5eN_lJg" width="280" /> <span style="text-align: center;">Long Beach raised microbial ecologist, Ivan, studies microbes in extreme environments via genomics. He discusses the importance of a work-life balance as an underrepresented student (soccer and video games!) and how this keeps him grounded. Ultimately, Ivan believes that if he strives to be the best scientist and researcher now, he will be able to provide those same opportunities for others once he's an established academic.</span></span></div><div style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: georgia; text-align: center;"><br /></span></div><div style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: georgia; text-align: center;"><br /></span></div><div style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><img border="0" data-original-height="491" data-original-width="489" height="272" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZZtWKW584Ap2CfgRU3VWJI0liKx3LSPgpde3ybyRRWEzx6-k81Kt0mUwf6tY8LF_Fg-ufeebsPq9qm00tJrSeNrHWMgMEnSr3wDR3q8DJJ8eOXMGnbjGHZXg-2b0ih_mQsQ3rmUJMxfsnnx0DCRlGfOuV4Mf9n2OQgmhpOUuZy5Ii7mGw1kswgsq9-Q/w271-h272/Melody.png" width="271" /><span>Pennsylvanian marine microbial ecologist, Melody, breaks down the racial, social and class obstacles she faced as a Latina, on her way to grad school. She addresses the importance of utilizing the university's mental health resources, and how this has helped her cope with the global pandemic and anxiety. Lastly, Melody gives a shout out to her former/current mentors and encourages departments to support their Latinx students through more funding opportunities and access to genuine mentorship.</span></span></div><div style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><img border="0" data-original-height="492" data-original-width="492" height="276" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipC5lKRwOYOyguRjY6_NUmas_HHsFv4T4lyA9IBVx16TYeNRzF-r8sYRYLGRAUpqdC1k0cWPoY_eesVmVQ4sRMt6yyE5eNQvcEkagvAPov1-cDgA7ZOP30iaUHgzQimj0CwqxuYMYlrNe4frz9-2DrGx3BaEN9YTiJdA4moJAMyxBIgX3Lwl7Bm1HdGg/w276-h276/Suzana.png" width="276" /><span><span>Brazilian oceanographer, Suzana, discusses he</span><span> academic trajectory across the globe, and how she ended up building mathematical querying microbial food webs in Los Angeles, California. She addresses the supporting factors (and discouraging aspects) that allowed her to succeed and become a Ph.D., despite enduring hurtful experiences and how she continued on an academic track. Finally, Suzana provides helpful tips on building welcoming spaces for non-native English speakers!</span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span><br /></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span><br /></span></span></div><p style="text-align: left;"><span><span style="font-family: georgia;">To learn more about the featured scientists reach out via their emails or websites. Ivan - imoreno[at]ucsd.edu, Melody - maleman[at]usc.edu, Suzana - </span><span style="background-color: #eff3f4; color: #0f1419; font-family: TwitterChirp, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="background-color: #eff3f4; color: #0f1419; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">suzanaleles[@]gmail.com</span></span><span style="font-family: georgia;">, Emily - </span><a href="https://emilygaguirre.weebly.com/" style="font-family: georgia;">Emily Aguirre (weebly.com)</a><span style="font-family: georgia;">. </span></span></p><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">To check out the full versions of all the <i>Cuentos-Contos</i>, follow this <a href="https://26e2911f-0b52-493a-b4fd-f6ca68f725a4.filesusr.com/ugd/c576d6_9eb0c5529fa14d7db7e3e2f30edde4d4.pdf">link</a>. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">And for now, <i>Hasta luego! </i></span></div>Daniel Olivares Zambranohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14329646674606965784noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4456348657596914237.post-11069374309927483142022-12-04T20:18:00.001-05:002022-12-04T20:18:54.594-05:00Within, among, or between?<p>I was recently surprised to learn from my students (I really appreciate that they spoke up about it) that some phrases I had been using were confusing - most specifically <u>among-population variation</u>.* This led to a discussion of the meaning of within, among, and between and how these terms are used in ecology and evolution (a microcosm of how they are used more generally). As the confusion appears to be more common than I thought, perhaps it is worth explaining the situation here.</p><p>To make this explanation clear, first imagine that you are analyzing a number of separate populations (e.g., humans in different populations) and that you have measured a particular trait (let's say body size) in a number of individuals in each of those populations. Note: this is not a random example, it is precisely what we did in a paper some years ago - McKellar et al. (<a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/authors?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0006876" target="_blank">2009</a>). Below is a figure from that paper providing compilation of within-population variation (y-axis) and among-population variation (x-axis) measures (here the "coefficient of variation" - CV) within a large number of animal populations.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn27r9tYHbigzGrY0HUX5Ivdw4Mj275vMrnIm0mr-ZGAV4TxHztn55Z4eGlcjswyqRkoYF4dnIZzDjyL1IHgifGAXTr_dZlrvO3c9Bdejgc0IYMTQsYpDlRwcI8NtRbdCgyzV7iKLyCy7rbAL5fZMGhRl6Jcohqyzt90PnlGY0r0PyaYu29EQMFclh_Q/s756/mckellar%202.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="756" data-original-width="491" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn27r9tYHbigzGrY0HUX5Ivdw4Mj275vMrnIm0mr-ZGAV4TxHztn55Z4eGlcjswyqRkoYF4dnIZzDjyL1IHgifGAXTr_dZlrvO3c9Bdejgc0IYMTQsYpDlRwcI8NtRbdCgyzV7iKLyCy7rbAL5fZMGhRl6Jcohqyzt90PnlGY0r0PyaYu29EQMFclh_Q/w416-h640/mckellar%202.jpg" width="416" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><b>Within</b> <p></p><p>If you report a descriptive statistic for each population separately, those measures are <u>within-population</u> summary statistics. Thus, within-population variation is a measure of variation within each of those populations - as might be indexed in a variance or standard deviation or coefficient of variation of body size for each of those populations separately. You can then also calculate the average or variation (across populations) of those within-populations measurements. In this case, you use the various within-population measures you have calculated (e.g., the variance within each population) as data to calculate another set of descriptive statistics, such as the mean (across populations) of the within-population variance. </p><p>I should note that, in some cases, one wishes to assume that these within-population measures are all estimating the same global (that is, shared across populations) within-population variance (or mean or whatever). In such cases, it can be assumed that populations with larger sample sizes (more individuals measured) are providing better estimates of that shared (common across populations) within-population parameter - and so the estimated average (across populations) of the within-population parameter is calculated by weighting the within-population estimates by their sample sizes. This is precisely what is done when one calculates a "pooled standard deviation." Of course, variation among the within-population estimates of the parameter are a measure of how much variation might exist among populations in those within-population parameters.</p><p><b><br /></b></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiTvVUY2Ifh6QWIDH5Sqnol3xVQk5TF_GPRMkv9MubY-r9WJjX5Fd8u-nvyUqCbF9JhqmJHWSI0ubrVaBOHgzFWtfoDD04AzdKWIjSzHQiQCSQJpN16lspi1cUu6kLX6U_JpiMHx6Btg1UhlbGJMNtQNzLdFVx0xdUSbNBZZeslkrDP8rW2VAXDxMqFA/s1302/within%20among%20between.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="721" data-original-width="1302" height="354" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiTvVUY2Ifh6QWIDH5Sqnol3xVQk5TF_GPRMkv9MubY-r9WJjX5Fd8u-nvyUqCbF9JhqmJHWSI0ubrVaBOHgzFWtfoDD04AzdKWIjSzHQiQCSQJpN16lspi1cUu6kLX6U_JpiMHx6Btg1UhlbGJMNtQNzLdFVx0xdUSbNBZZeslkrDP8rW2VAXDxMqFA/w640-h354/within%20among%20between.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><b><p><b><br /></b></p>Between and Among</b><p></p><p>If you next report a descriptive statistic that examines trait variation across the populations, then you are in the world of <u>between-population</u> (if across only two of the populations) or <u>among-population</u> (if across three or more populations) estimates.** Typically, these estimates do NOT include variation within those populations. That is, you don't simply pool all of the individuals across all of your populations and calculate a single mean or variance - because this approach mixes within and among population variation.***</p><p>So, instead, the simplest approach is to take the within-population parameter estimates, such as the within-population means and variances of trait values for each of populations you measured, and use them as data points to calculate a new mean and variance. The first of these (the mean of the means) was mentioned above as it is the mean of the within-population means - and thus the "best" estimate of the trait mean within populations (assuming they are the same - or near enough as to make no difference). The second of these (the variance of the means) is a measure of among-population variation - that is, it is the variance among population means. It is the among-population variance.</p><p>Of course, the within and between population contributions to variation can be estimated together from an appropriate statistical model (e.g., nested analysis of variance) that appropriate partitions the variance between the different levels. Further, uncertainty associated within lower levels of the hierarchy (e.g.. variance within populations) can be propagated in some models (e.g., Bayesian) up to higher levels of the analysis (e.g., variance among populations).</p><p>I above noted that estimates of among-population variance should not include within-population variance. However, some analysis are interested in scaling the among-population variation by the within-population variation. The simplest way to do this is to divide the among-population variance by the within-population variance - and versions of this are seen in the estimation of parameters such as FST, QST, and PST.</p><p><br /></p><p>--------------------------------------------------------------</p><p>* When used as an adjective preceding the noun, you want to use a hyphen (e.g., within-population variation) but, in other situations, you don't want to use a hyphen (e.g., the variation within populations). </p><p>** The terms "between" and "among" are also used more generally in writing when you are discussing analyses that are contrasting only two populations (between) or when you are contrasting more than two populations (among).</p><p>*** As an aside, this is one of the issues encountered when performing PCA on data from multiple populations simultaneously. That is, PCA (as opposed to DFA) ignores population identity and thus generates axes that combine within-population and among-population variation, which can generate considerable biases. Note: I am not saying PCA can't be used in such instances - but rather that it should be used with caution.</p><p><br /></p>Andrew Hendryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03653724437118653645noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4456348657596914237.post-30298544415758835582022-12-01T11:05:00.004-05:002022-12-01T14:18:30.622-05:00SLiM 4: Multispecies eco-evolutionary modeling (a personal history)<p>Once upon a time, I did my PhD with Andrew Hendry at McGill. My PhD involved writing individual-based evolutionary models of various sorts, to look at things like local adaptation, adaptive divergence between environments, and speciation. Each model I wrote for my PhD was bespoke – a custom model, with custom C code to simulate what I wanted to look at for a given project. (I did write a general-purpose modeling environment within which I implemented each of these bespoke models, which provided graphical visualization of the running models for me; but the models themselves were each coded by hand.) Each model would have its own parameters, governing things like population sizes and migration rates; each would have its own implementation of some sort of genetic architecture; each would have its own approach to selection and fitness.</p><p>But now and then, Andrew would get a gleam in his eye, akin to the gleam in Gandalf's eye when he smoked his pipe and talked of strange lands and great heroes.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUQK_8fDWzHea8qrbXIjsJ7SgpbpnomaZ6GL-XmAjdWdlPfqdDWWiJtsdHYBUXy4fh2itc2uKfy746zrLsNymRbXs3S5uD_SI-jzBSTYjBZOEZY_ja1FMvTzEep1KEIzYzx3zbAaC-Zhhj5y5Y5bNblg78yNfFfW_AfOFO_vfTosnOfzwwzsJ9Oqc/s1440/what-was-gandalf-smoking-the-lord-of-the-rings.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="1440" height="166" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUQK_8fDWzHea8qrbXIjsJ7SgpbpnomaZ6GL-XmAjdWdlPfqdDWWiJtsdHYBUXy4fh2itc2uKfy746zrLsNymRbXs3S5uD_SI-jzBSTYjBZOEZY_ja1FMvTzEep1KEIzYzx3zbAaC-Zhhj5y5Y5bNblg78yNfFfW_AfOFO_vfTosnOfzwwzsJ9Oqc/w400-h166/what-was-gandalf-smoking-the-lord-of-the-rings.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p style="text-align: center;"><i>Gandalf's gleam in the eye</i></p><p>Of course Andrew would be sipping whiskey, not smoking a pipe! And when Andrew was lost in these distant thoughts, he would sometimes speak of "One Model to rule them all". One Model to rule them all, One Model to find them, One Model to bring them all, and in the cluster... <i>simulate</i> them.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjhq8cjYqTmTwcTcCPQzGAcPfd-Bz3gYd9lQz-BOOJQBeM8g66Z_Zt9mfd3RNKkdjAdJvHhGXOjjVZLseRMrQRrhXcXaZgYXyQFgp-jsVsmcdjNnXZ1DN0rOrtonQH2nlfNwR1m90_9s-dlQqRK6E-ZoK3n-9XE0zr1vJ-KHV4C72VBcimmacsyMc8" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1024" height="188" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjhq8cjYqTmTwcTcCPQzGAcPfd-Bz3gYd9lQz-BOOJQBeM8g66Z_Zt9mfd3RNKkdjAdJvHhGXOjjVZLseRMrQRrhXcXaZgYXyQFgp-jsVsmcdjNnXZ1DN0rOrtonQH2nlfNwR1m90_9s-dlQqRK6E-ZoK3n-9XE0zr1vJ-KHV4C72VBcimmacsyMc8=w200-h188" width="200" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: center;"><i>The One <strike>Ring</strike> Model</i></p><p>What he meant, of course, was that it would be great not to need to write each new model from scratch; it would be great to have one "uber-model" which could do everything, and then each particular model that one wanted to explore would just be a particular parameterization of that uber-model. Concepts like "migration", "selection", "population structure", and "genetic architecture" are – one could argue – general concepts that you would like to be able to code once and reuse, over and over. Once the uber-model was written, you would never need to write a model again.</p><p>In its pure form, this idea is obviously a pipe dream; one could never write an uber-model that is so flexible, so general-purpose, so <i>Platonic</i>, that every other model one could imagine is just a shadow cast by the uber-model upon the cave wall. It's an attractive vision, but there's no way it could ever be real.</p><p>And yet the idea stayed with me. Perhaps not an uber-model, as such... but perhaps a <i>modeling framework</i>. Perhaps one could write a modeling framework that would provide lots of tools and utilities, building blocks for model-building. Writing any particular model could then just be a matter of glueing together the provided building blocks.</p><p>After my PhD, I started working with Philipp Messer at Cornell University. Philipp had written a population-genetics simulator that he named SLiM, and he wanted somebody to improve it and maintain it. Since 2015, I've been chugging away at improving SLiM, step by step. It now provides a cornucopia of building blocks, for everything from genetics to spatial modeling; it provides a scripting language called Eidos with which you can glue those building blocks together in whatever way you wish; and it provides a graphical modeling environment in which you can write your Eidos scripts, run them, and see the resulting evolutionary dynamics visually as the model runs. It's pretty widely used in population genetics (<a href="https://scholar.google.ca/scholar?cites=4867420366220772834" target="_blank">SLiM 3</a>, <a href="https://scholar.google.ca/scholar?cites=14894419384699764074" target="_blank">SLiM 2</a>, <a href="https://scholar.google.ca/scholar?cites=7369482630784579263" target="_blank">SLiM 1</a>), and has enabled a lot of cool research.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiDn6HPIc2NWBuDteA8vZiVnQVCoVL5O5SRz-j-fJ_5RErZFTAL8qDGDfd-ALTLmtlyyQyKdYUs2bYdW8nJetyB5W-saxH9tWJsvUilTaQKklG5Py8UMnyp_A3BZqozdPUPUcDDjvBUyw0ICkHWkujIRC0fD1CU8Kge67kVz1Xr7olXgLs-5aiia9o" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="1024" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiDn6HPIc2NWBuDteA8vZiVnQVCoVL5O5SRz-j-fJ_5RErZFTAL8qDGDfd-ALTLmtlyyQyKdYUs2bYdW8nJetyB5W-saxH9tWJsvUilTaQKklG5Py8UMnyp_A3BZqozdPUPUcDDjvBUyw0ICkHWkujIRC0fD1CU8Kge67kVz1Xr7olXgLs-5aiia9o=w200-h200" width="200" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><i>SLiM's icon, with a tip of the hat to Piet Mondrian</i></div><p></p><p>But SLiM hasn't really been used as much as it could by people interested in evolutionary ecology, in eco-evolutionary dynamics, in predator–prey systems and host–parasite systems and things of that sort. The reason is that SLiM didn't really have much <i>ecology</i>. It started out as a population-genetics simulator and it stayed in that world for a long time. You could simulate a biological system from the level of mutations, to genes, to chromosomes, to individuals, to subpopulations, to a whole species; but you couldn't really model <i>more than one species</i>, and the <i>interactions</i> between those species, and the <i>coevolutionary feedbacks</i> driven by those interactions. So it remained a tool mostly for population genetics.</p><p>I am very pleased to announce that that era is over! SLiM can now model evolutionary ecology: multiple species, interspecies interactions, coevolutionary dynamics, and eco-evolutionary dynamics. It now spans the biological hierarchy from individual mutations up to not just a species, but a whole ecosystem or even a community. I'm really, really excited to see what folks do with this; for me, this is the realization of more than a decade of dreams.</p><p>Support for multiple species was added to SLiM 4, which was released on 12 August 2022, so it has actually been available for a little while now. I put off writing a blog post about it here until the corresponding paper was in the publication pipeline... and now it is, in the American Naturalist. The title is "SLiM 4: Multispecies eco-evolutionary modeling". At present you can download the paper in its "just accepted" form; it hasn't been typeset yet. Here's the DOI: <a href="https://doi.org/10.1086/723601" target="_blank">https://doi.org/10.1086/723601</a>.</p><p>I'm not going to say anything more about SLiM 4 and multispecies modeling, because, well, that's what the paper is for. Of course this is not the end of the journey. I'm sure there are lots more building blocks that will need to be written to make multispecies modeling as flexible and general as we want it to be; and there are lots of other projects too, from improving and generalizing SLiM's genetics to making SLiM run faster by utilizing multiple processors. But ever since I started working on SLiM, my primary end goal for it has been to turn it into an ecosystem simulator – really, to try to bridge the gap between population genetics and evolutionary ecology by making it possible to simulate both in the same model.</p><p>And if this obsession with the dream of the One Model has consumed my life a bit, and turned me into a troglodyte that flinches away from the sun, well... it has all been worth it for <i>my preciousss</i>.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgAG7rQUtXdcuhMhi4RdX4WDA15NfBNg7YYvVjOSdM1Dn3XsxTD5Y6EmGfCJb29fR7XkGBZ0vPjtKAfqYXj_gi6PavQlmb76T9Bnp2BHhIN31jxxE0UiEvYEt2vq5P-Jag0A_KtojnVue87OJhDvzkrAtkyS5WYAJQmB43DVKayWFQ-t51ZEyQBs8U" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2500" data-original-width="1863" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgAG7rQUtXdcuhMhi4RdX4WDA15NfBNg7YYvVjOSdM1Dn3XsxTD5Y6EmGfCJb29fR7XkGBZ0vPjtKAfqYXj_gi6PavQlmb76T9Bnp2BHhIN31jxxE0UiEvYEt2vq5P-Jag0A_KtojnVue87OJhDvzkrAtkyS5WYAJQmB43DVKayWFQ-t51ZEyQBs8U" width="179" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><i>The author, with a fish.</i></div><p></p>Ben Hallerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17875404974157070805noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4456348657596914237.post-83370077684888250002022-11-27T12:40:00.004-05:002022-11-28T16:50:44.713-05:00Grammar tips/rules for scientific writingIn my roles as supervisor, collaborator, reviewer, and editor, I read many scientific papers in draft (pre-publication) form. When reading, my hope is always to concentrate on the science itself - and how well it is communicated. Sometimes, however, I get stuck on particular grammatical errors and find myself repeating again and again and again various grammar "rules." I provide a listing of them here in hopes that they are picked up, used, and propagated just a bit more than at present.<div><br /><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">1. </span><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">Avoid long, complicated compound sentences. These are often very difficult to follow.</span><br /><span lang="EN-US" style="text-indent: -18pt;"><br /></span><div><span lang="EN-US" style="text-indent: -18pt;">2.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="text-indent: -18pt;">Use “which” and “that”
properly. “That” should be used for restrictive clauses (“This is the fish THAT
Jack caught.) whereas “which” should be used for nonrestrictive clauses (“This
fish, WHICH Jack caught, is a salmon.”) Most people use “which” in many cases
where “that” is more appropriate. </span><br /><span lang="EN-US" style="text-indent: -18pt;"><br /></span></div><div><span lang="EN-US" style="text-indent: -18pt;">3.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="text-indent: -18pt;">Avoid all use of “there is”,
“there was”, “there are”, and “there were”, particularly at the start of
sentences. Use of these terms can make the subject of the sentence unclear.</span><br /><span lang="EN-US" style="text-indent: -18pt;"><br /></span></div><div><span lang="EN-US" style="text-indent: -18pt;">4.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="text-indent: -18pt;">Avoid unnecessary amplification
of text. For example, say “sneaky mating is successful” rather than “sneaky
mating has been found to be successful”. </span><br /><span lang="EN-US" style="text-indent: -18pt;"><br /></span></div><div><span lang="EN-US" style="text-indent: -18pt;">5.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="text-indent: -18pt;">Avoid the use of “while”,
except when the intended meaning is “during the time that.” In other contexts, “whereas”
or “although” are usually better.</span><br /><span lang="EN-US" style="text-indent: -18pt;"><br /></span></div><div><span lang="EN-US" style="text-indent: -18pt;">6.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="text-indent: -18pt;">Write out all numbers less than
10 (i.e., one, two), unless the number is followed by a unit, such as m, mg,
min, h, etc.</span><br /><span lang="EN-US" style="text-indent: -18pt;"><br /></span></div><div><span lang="EN-US" style="text-indent: -18pt;">7.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="text-indent: -18pt;">“Data” are plural. That is, you don't say: "the data is", you say "the data are." Datum would be the singular version.</span><br /><span lang="EN-US" style="text-indent: -18pt;"><br /></span></div><div><span lang="EN-US" style="text-indent: -18pt;">8.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="text-indent: -18pt;">“Between” is used in reference to two things.
“Among” is used in reference to more than two things. That is, you study the differences between two populations, but the differences among three populations.</span><br /><span lang="EN-US" style="text-indent: -18pt;"><br /></span></div><div><span lang="EN-US" style="text-indent: -18pt;">9.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="text-indent: -18pt;">Never use “etc.”</span><br /><span lang="EN-US" style="text-indent: -18pt;"><br /></span></div><div><span lang="EN-US" style="text-indent: -18pt;">10.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="text-indent: -18pt;">Never use “unique” unless you truly mean “one of a kind.” People
often say: “Our system represents a unique opportunity to test the theory
that…” Instead, say: “Our system represents an excellent opportunity
to test the theory that…” Similarly, never use “ideal” or “perfect” in this
same context.</span><br /><span lang="EN-US" style="text-indent: -18pt;"><br /></span></div><div><span lang="EN-US" style="text-indent: -18pt;">11.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="text-indent: -18pt;">My Mom (a grammar expert of sorts) tells me that only God “creates”
things (and she isn’t even religious). So, in short, don't use the term create unless you are invoking God.</span><br /><span lang="EN-US" style="text-indent: -18pt;"><br /></span></div><div><span lang="EN-US" style="text-indent: -18pt;">12.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="text-indent: -18pt;">Strive for parallelism between related sentences that appear close
to each other. As a simple example, use “Low predation sites are characterized
by few fish predators. High predation sites are characterized by many fish
predators.”, instead of “Low predation sites are characterized by few fish
predators. Many fish predators are found at high predation sites.”</span><br /><span lang="EN-US" style="text-indent: -18pt;"><br /></span></div><div><span lang="EN-US" style="text-indent: -18pt;">13.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="text-indent: -18pt;">Beware of misplaced modifiers. For example, “We measured body depth
using calipers.” Body depth does not use calipers, as this sentence implies.
Instead, use “We used calipers to measure body depth.” Sometimes it is
difficult to avoid misplaced modifiers without otherwise destroying the
sentence. In such cases, it is forgivable.</span><br /><span lang="EN-US" style="text-indent: -18pt;"><br /></span></div><div><span lang="EN-US" style="text-indent: -18pt;">14.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="text-indent: -18pt;">Use the active voice (“We measured body depth.”), rather than the
passive voice (“Body depth was measured.”), whenever reasonable and when not
explicitly disallowed by a journal. Be careful to not use it too much though.
Six sentences in a row, all starting with “we”, are very awkward.</span><br /><span lang="EN-US" style="text-indent: -18pt;"><br /></span></div><div><span lang="EN-US" style="text-indent: -18pt;">15.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="text-indent: -18pt;">Although many would disagree with me, I believe in the power of
punctuation. As one small example, I believe the second last phrase in a list
of phrases should have a comma before the “and.” For example, “Speciation can
occur by genetic drift, mutation, and natural selection.” rather than
“Speciation can occur by genetic drift, mutation and natural selection.” Using
the latter often introduces confusion when the phrases themselves are longer
and contain “and” within them. The cartoon gives another example:</span><br /><span lang="EN-US" style="text-indent: -18pt;"><br /></span></div><div><span lang="EN-US" style="text-indent: -18pt;">16.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="text-indent: -18pt;">Always use a single space between sentences. All journals do this
anyway, and it makes editing difficult if one person (me) uses single spaces
and other people (you) use double spaces.</span><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 18.0pt; text-indent: -18pt;"><span lang="EN-US">17.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-US">Try not to use “may” unless you are implying permission. Instead
consider “might” or “can”.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 18.0pt; text-indent: -18pt;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv7TTrtBW2SAKCQ8XvXt_a9YtKWSvjlaaF6yFtS8WGNz7YgKOQUe76pXJY9jakdIbKJzmXg05pO2o0Fd9HjdD6LRUAhxL7Y3Sh3Mk5DX17i5slArbriObqxlz_mv7x6UgSFNinAOevH8VFTkNiAZtgvNwN0TVXP9OgPSnxjIXKyhRTE4Q79u6Z2gi9ag/s1500/the-oxford-comma_52c855ed979ed_w1500.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="1500" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv7TTrtBW2SAKCQ8XvXt_a9YtKWSvjlaaF6yFtS8WGNz7YgKOQUe76pXJY9jakdIbKJzmXg05pO2o0Fd9HjdD6LRUAhxL7Y3Sh3Mk5DX17i5slArbriObqxlz_mv7x6UgSFNinAOevH8VFTkNiAZtgvNwN0TVXP9OgPSnxjIXKyhRTE4Q79u6Z2gi9ag/w400-h400/the-oxford-comma_52c855ed979ed_w1500.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><span lang="EN-US"><br /></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 18.0pt; text-indent: -18pt;"><span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></p>
<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div></div>Andrew Hendryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03653724437118653645noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4456348657596914237.post-49015086677452959482022-09-07T12:02:00.001-04:002022-09-07T12:02:32.884-04:00NSF Postdoc FellowshipsThe following is a guest post by Dr. Alli Cramer, at the University of Washington. <span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666984558105px; white-space: pre-wrap;">@AlliNCramer</span><div><br /></div><div><span id="docs-internal-guid-1096524f-7fff-1927-f535-fd9ff400445d"><h2 dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 6pt; margin-top: 18pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">How do NSF postdoc proposals work, anyways? </span></h2><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Since the Ocean Sciences Postdoctoral Research Fellowship (OCE-PRF) has just been announced, it seems like a good time for a quick discussion of how to apply, or how to begin thinking of applying for NSF postdoc fellowships! Many of these are due in early November so as of September prospective postdocs have about 10 weeks to refine their projects. This is a modification of a twitter thread I wrote a year or so ago, but it does have some extra information if you’ve already seen it. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">My experience applying for PRFs comes from applying for the ‘Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Biology”, PRFB, in 2019 and 2020, and applying for the OCE-PRF in 2021. With that as my background, some of this advice will be program specific, but much of it is some of the ‘unwritten rules’ of NSF so hopefully it can be helpful to other fellowships as well. Ultimately, I was funded on my 3rd attempt at an NSF postdoc and getting to that point was quite a learning curve. In particular, I didn’t know what to expect regarding timeline or paperwork.</span></p><h3 dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 4pt; margin-top: 16pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #434343; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Proposal Preparation</span></h3><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">First, and definitely the most important - </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">connect with Program officers</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> (or Program Directors - seems to vary by division). Do this as early as you can, and feel free to check in with them multiple times: their names are listed on the NSF website for your specific proposal. As a graduate student it can be intimidating to reach out to Program officers, but you should 100% email them and discuss your proposal idea. It is the job of Program Officers to help you make sure your proposal fits the brief of the solicitation before you submit it. They can also answer questions you have about formatting or paperwork. For proposals due in November, contact them </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">now</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> to start refining project ideas.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">While drafting the proposal </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">attend the Q & A session(s)</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. These are important to clarify solicitation language and answer questions you didn't know you had - You don't want a proposal rejected because of a formatting error! Make sure to go to the session or get detailed notes from someone who did. The Q & A session dates are listed on the NSF page for your proposal. </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Sometimes</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> these are also listed on the solicitation (the hella long HTML page with all the specific language) but not always. They’re normally listed as important dates on the website that links you to the solicitation itself. As of this blog, some programs now offer Office hours - these are great places to get questions answered and connect with the Program Officers (double whammy!). </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Like the Program Officers, the IT at NSF is an excellent resource for you. Proposals are submitted through an online portal (currently Fastlane, though that is changing). If you have questions </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">or if something isn’t working, reach out to IT</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. I had computer issues uploading a proposal and they responded fast and fixed the problem.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Because of the jankiness of the upload portal, </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">upload drafts of your proposal early</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. Like, two or three days early. Every time that I submitted proposals I tweaked files up until the deadline, but I made sure I had a good enough copy of each file uploaded a few days before. This was useful because it let me see what wasn't working (and led me to contact IT). </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">When you’re writing your proposal, in addition to the description of your project and the budget etc., you will need to have letters of support from your potential mentors. </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Make drafts of support letters for mentors that they can work from.</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Mentors can use your draft as a springboard and rewrite it, but your draft will help them understand the role they have in your project more clearly. Writing it out for them not only saves time, but forces you to be explicit about your mentorship goals and needs. </span></p><h3 dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 4pt; margin-top: 16pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #434343; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">After submission </span></h3><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">After you submit your proposal the earliest you can</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> expect to hear back is ~ 3 months</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. If your proposal is recommended or declined, you should hear around the same time. If you haven’t heard anything by then it doesn’t mean you weren’t funded, but it doesn’t mean you were. There is always a batch of proposals that NSF would </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">like</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> to fund, but that are low on the priority list. If you can resist, avoid constantly refreshing the status page 😛If you haven’t heard back & have deadlines looming (accepting job offers, etc.), reach out to the Program Officer. They are super helpful & responsive - they helped advise me when my proposal was in limbo, even when everything was a mess due to COVID shutdowns. They can’t tell you if your proposal will be funded, but they can give you insight into timelines, etc. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">If your proposal is selected, </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">you will hear back over email - make sure to check those spam folders.</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> You will need to send back paperwork to accept the award. In my experience, this has a tight deadline (less than business 5 days) so you will need to work fast.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The paperwork involves coordinating with your host institution and NSF. You might need to get a version of your proposal through the institution’s research grant office. </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Get in contact with your host institution’s department’s coordinator/grant manager/director </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">because they are the experts. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">For my proposal I also needed to draft a </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">letter “concurring with the transfer of the award</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> to the host institution.” I couldn’t find any examples of those online, but I drafted one up using the standard business style letterhead. My letter went like this: </span></p><br /><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin: 0pt 36pt 0pt 324pt; text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Dr. Allison Cramer</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin: 0pt 36pt 0pt 324pt; text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">[</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Home address]</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin: 0pt 36pt 0pt 324pt; text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">[Phone number]</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin: 0pt 36pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">[Program Director]</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin: 0pt 36pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">[Fellowship title]</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin: 0pt 36pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">National Science Foundation</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin: 0pt 36pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">2415 Eisenhower Avenue, </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin: 0pt 36pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Alexandria VA 22314</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin: 0pt 36pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">[date] </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin: 0pt 36pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">To the [fellowship name] Program, </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin: 0pt 36pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This letter concurs with the transfer of Proposal ID ##### [proposal title] to the primary host organization, [institution name]. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin: 0pt 36pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Sincerely, </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin: 0pt 36pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">[signature block]</span></p><br /><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">After the letter and all the other paperwork is sent back there is another batch of waiting. During this time your proposal status page might not change, and the only “proof” you have that you got funded is re-checking your email compulsively. After a few weeks the proposal status shifts to Recommended & a few days later you will receive emails that your proposal is being funded and the status changes to Awarded. Some of these emails are auto generated so have weird subject lines (so check spam folders).</span></p><h3 dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 4pt; margin-top: 16pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #434343; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Proposal Feedback </span></h3><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Whether it was funded or not, after you hear back you will get feedback from proposal reviewers. This feedback includes a summary and individual reviewer thoughts about your proposal. </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The summary of proposal reviews is most important</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> - it synthesizes individual feedback to highlight what matters. For example, one reviewer for my funded proposal found aspects of my proposal unclear in their written feedback; in the summary however this wasn’t mentioned at all. The other two reviewers understood that part of my proposal, so it was hashed out among the reviewers in the in person discussions they had. In contrast, on one of my unfunded proposals two reviewers highlighted a gap, and that gap was again emphasized in the summary feedback. This let me know to focus on it for my next attempt (the successful one!).</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Here I am going to plug Program Officers once again. You can contact them about these reviews and they can help you make sense of the feedback. They are ‘in the room’ when the discussions happen, so can help identify what to prioritize for revisions should you resubmit. In general, postdoc proposal or not, </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">contacting program officers is good practice for any researcher looking for NSF funding</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. It is essential for connecting with NSF programs, and for parsing solicitations. NSF </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">wants</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> to fund good science. The Program Officers help researchers frame their questions and put their best proposals forward. </span></p><br /><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">All of the above info is my experience with NSF. If you have questions about being in this strange postdoc stage, feel free to connect with me on twitter @AlliNCramer. You can DM me and I can point you in the right direction. Good luck to all of you writing those postdoc proposals!</span></p></span><br class="Apple-interchange-newline" /></div>Dan Bolnickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05181664810897127126noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4456348657596914237.post-91413308351973598072022-08-23T22:46:00.003-04:002022-08-23T22:46:38.881-04:00Collaboration: a how-to guide<h1 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"> <span style="font-weight: 700; text-align: center; white-space: pre-wrap;">Collaboration: a how-to guide</span></span></h1><span id="docs-internal-guid-be7b6e9a-7fff-18e5-f243-a75ab8c8af54"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Authors:</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Dan Bolnick (University of Connecticut)</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Stacy Krueger-Hadfield (University of Alabama at Birmingham</span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">)</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Alli Cramer (University of Washington Friday Harbor Laboratories)</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">James Pringle (University of New Hampshire)</span></span></p><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">While on the Isle of Shoals at the </span><a href="https://github.com/RCN-ECS/2022_TrainingIntegrationWorkshop/blob/main/README.md" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Training and Integration Workshop</span></a><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> for the Evolution in Changing Seas Research Coordination Network, we were asked to serve on a panel about the </span><span style="background-color: white; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Challenges of integration - importance of language and frameworks in interdisciplinary collaborations. </span><span style="background-color: white; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We received interesting questions from the audience (mostly students and postdocs) that revealed </span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">to us some general concerns about how to collaborate, that might benefit from a summary available to a broader audience, hence this post. Here, we begin by describing some of our interdisciplinary collaborations as examples. Then we provide a general how-to guide, beginning with how to start by finding collaborators, how to set up agreements to manage expectations, and how to avoid common pitfalls.</span></span></p><h2 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-weight: 400; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgt4rN_b78GNZ16Ybm--9oozoGJhnJtVIESTBwPP_u_xU0l9hxTW-xSk03tPiGSpA_Yi2-LRomY6bPAyo_me-cM6KOgry4iffh77w8m1RdtCz3a1kzQqZmtw8-ldVfTDNw729VWU2iNJRL_rbcYGm0tBYkZq5j_c4ad85JM1yRuxjbPWNuj7SkHfXDV" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="346" data-original-width="348" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgt4rN_b78GNZ16Ybm--9oozoGJhnJtVIESTBwPP_u_xU0l9hxTW-xSk03tPiGSpA_Yi2-LRomY6bPAyo_me-cM6KOgry4iffh77w8m1RdtCz3a1kzQqZmtw8-ldVfTDNw729VWU2iNJRL_rbcYGm0tBYkZq5j_c4ad85JM1yRuxjbPWNuj7SkHfXDV" width="241" /></a></div><br /><br /></span></h2><h2 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-weight: 400; white-space: pre-wrap;">What do we mean by ‘interdisciplinary collaboration’?</span></h2><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">It is possible to have endless debates on the true nature of interdisciplinarity. Perhaps it is best to say collaboration with people who can provide skills or perspectives that lie outside your core competency. It is collaboration with folks not just for their individual insights alone, but for their broad background. As a means of introduction, the panel discussed their collaborative projects. </span></span></p><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><span style="background-color: white; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Dan:</span><span style="background-color: white; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> My PhD and postdoctoral training were very much focused on core topics in evolutionary ecology, touching on subjects like speciation, maintenance of genetic variation, selection arising from species interactions. I liked the idea of interdisciplinary collaboration, and I was able to observe some from a distance (my PhD mentor, Peter Wainwright, hired a postdoctoral researcher with a fluid dynamics engineering background to work on fish feeding). But I didn’t know where to begin: who to reach out to, and how to bridge fields. I had many collaborations, but most were with people in similar departments to my own. In the past decade I’ve tried to hire a more intellectually diverse set of postdocs, bringing together evolutionary biologists with geneticists, immunologists, and cell biologists, to try to generate some synergy. But recently I’ve established a few collaborations that have really stretched my boundaries. A couple years ago I received a Moore Foundation grant to collaborate with an engineer and an immunologist (the latter a former postdoc from my lab) on studying host-microbe interactions using microfluidic chip artificial guts. The visit to Dr. Rebecca Carrier’s lab in engineering was a genuine thrill, to see how engineers approached a problem. Then last year I received a grant with a computer scientist (Dr. Tina Eliassi-Rad) and statistician (Dr. Miaoyan Wang) to study the evolution of transcriptomic networks. These collaborations are fantastic because I really get to branch out and learn a little bit about entirely new fields, expanding my own horizons. And hopefully the projects will yield exciting insights that wouldn’t have been possible had I tried to tackle this on my own. </span></span></p><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Stacy:</span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> I was trained as an evolutionary ecologist. To a certain extent, working at the interface of ecology and evolution necessitates some level of interdisciplinarity and collaboration. I’ve been smitten with algae since a phycology course as a senior at Cal State Northridge. My two PhD supervisors - Myriam Valero and Juan Correa - taught me a lot about collaboration and a more holistic approach to a rather fundamental question in biology - how and why did sex evolve. While I was part of several projects that were interdisciplinary in nature, I really began to explore ‘interdisciplinary’ collaboration and working with colleagues with distinctly different skill sets as an Assistant Professor at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. For example, I have had the opportunity to be part of an ANR-funded group called </span><a href="https://anr.fr/Project-ANR-18-CE32-0001" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">CLONIX-2D</span></a><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. While the threads of partial clonality connect everyone in CLONIX, we’re combining researchers with very different skill sets and focal taxa. This approach has the opportunity to yield breakthroughs, but presents challenges with language. What does one group mean by such and such? How do we define the jargon that is inherent to different taxonomic groups? Are we separated by a common language? Funnily enough, the CLONIX group is mostly French, with the exception of myself and Maria Orive as the North American delegation. So, we are, to a certain extent, separated by language before we even delve into biological vernacular. As an extension of CLONIX, the coordinator, Solenn Stoeckel, and I started talking about better methods and descriptive statistics for haploid-diploid taxa. Our musings occurred at a small conference - in another lifetime before COVID - and in thinking back as I help write parts of this post, such impromptu, serendipitous chats can lead to brilliant collaborations. Nevertheless, Solenn’s theoretical population genetic doodles were and are nothing if not daunting. I had to first conquer that feeling of intimidation and figure out a way to communicate where existing tools fell short for my day to day data analyses. Not only did we have to cross a barrier between French and English, but also in scientific terms and concepts (red algal life cycles are not for the faint of heart). Bridging our linguistic gaps isn’t something that we figured out overnight and is still a work in progress. I think a good collaboration - whether in your specific field or in a totally different discipline - will continue to grow with time. Solenn and I have produced two papers (</span><a href="https://academic.oup.com/jhered/article/112/1/78/6168936" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">here</span></a><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> and </span><a href="https://academic.oup.com/jhered/article/112/1/92/6123561" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">here</span></a><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">), with a few more in the pipeline - all started from idle musings over coffee. Clear precise language is worth its weight in gold - from the outset of a collaboration to the point where you begin to see your work to fruition (i.e., a paper).</span></span></p><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Alli:</span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> My Masters and PhD training were interdisciplinary as a matter of course. As a PhD student in an inland environmental science department, incorporating management and societal concerns were the norm and, moreover, I was the only marine ecologist in my department - in nearly the entire university. This interdisciplinary environment worked well with my research focus: ecoinformatics and integrative ecology. My specialty involves synthesizing disparate data sources to ask new questions, or test old questions in new ways. While a PhD student my peers were limnologists, hydrologists, data scientists and engineers. Discussions with them about data sets and the ubiquity (or not) of lakes shrinking led to an interdisciplinary project synthesizing data from over 1.4 million lakes into a publicly available data set - the Global Lake, Climate, and Population data set. Other interdisciplinary projects I pursued were founded through the EcoDAS Symposium; a workshop aimed at connecting early career researchers in the aquatic sciences. Through this workshop I worked on an integrative ecology paper testing Grunbaum’s (2012) scaling predictions and a social-ecological frameworks paper discussing marine no-take zone management. My current research for both my postdoc and the RCN are both interdisciplinary - one at the intersection of community ecology, geology, and hydrology and the other connecting genetic and spatial aspects of population connectivity. In my experience, interdisciplinary collaborations are where new and exciting questions lie. To find them, seek out existing frameworks which connect researchers across disciplinary lines, such as EcoDAS or an RCN. </span></span></p><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><span style="background-color: white; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jamie</span><span style="background-color: white; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: </span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In my case, I am trained as a physical oceanographer and have approached biologists to satisfy my curiosity about how species can persist at a place in the face of currents that sweep their offspring away. In turn, I have attracted the attention and collaboration of biologists and chemists who are curious how ocean circulation affects the things they study. Once you are known for broad interests and attain a reputation for putting effort into collaborations, it is easy to attract more collaborators. Before then, you will have to initiate collaborations and then follow through on what you have started. My best collaborations have been with other scientists who are genuinely interested in how the ocean affects their system, as opposed to those who want to figure out how to set up controls or systems which effectively eliminate the impacts of the ocean’s flow on the system they want to study. There is nothing wrong with the latter strategy – but it is less intellectually interesting for me. </span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><h2 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; white-space: pre-wrap;">Benefits of collaboration</span></h2><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Some of the themes that emerge above (and from our group discussion) are that collaboration outside of your own area of expertise brings quite a few benefits. From a strictly intellectual standpoint, merging distinct perspectives and skills provides synergistic insights that can lead to new ideas, or to conclusions you might otherwise miss. Or, collaboration may provide a new combination of technical know-how to acquire or analyze data in new ways. Financially, collaboration can enable access to a more diverse set of funding opportunities by making it possible to apply for research grants from multiple agencies (e.g., NSF and NOAA) or different divisions within NSF. Within NSF for instance there are programs like the </span><a href="https://beta.nsf.gov/funding/opportunities/understanding-rules-life-emergent-networks-urolen" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Rules of Life</span></a><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> that specifically require interdisciplinary collaborations (defined as having co-PIs who are normally funded by entirely different directorates within NSF). Lastly, setting aside the utilitarian issues, collaboration can be great fun. It is a chance to make interesting new friends and learn from each other. If the collaborators are from far-flung places, you then may get to convene group meetings at interesting places. Collaborations that begin with curiosity and continue to produce joy are much more likely to lead to interesting results than those that are put together for purely utilitarian reasons.</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgnuAA-mkPvLX18WsxIYHRr_RNCYlz6e1K0b3NeZbTwza_UmlG6-0JnJn5IWEBpHj6HxUN9L3Z3lTLnDYX5c1rUitakQBQIR2P9yJlQSiVwOqk8aqFZRx_waM_MlbZF3qkuDXJQR2vFAI_vXv34-Cplvi01RoWdGpIUl1d6f3jv53nVSuTJXLCQlC5o" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="780" data-original-width="1024" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgnuAA-mkPvLX18WsxIYHRr_RNCYlz6e1K0b3NeZbTwza_UmlG6-0JnJn5IWEBpHj6HxUN9L3Z3lTLnDYX5c1rUitakQBQIR2P9yJlQSiVwOqk8aqFZRx_waM_MlbZF3qkuDXJQR2vFAI_vXv34-Cplvi01RoWdGpIUl1d6f3jv53nVSuTJXLCQlC5o" width="315" /></a></div><br /><br /><p></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><h2 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; white-space: pre-wrap;">Some risks</span></h2><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Collaboration is not always good, whether interdisciplinary or not. Luckily all four of us have been blessed with many excellent collaborators; this is more a response to an audience question than a commentary on our own direct collaboration experiences. Collaborators may turn out to be uncooperative, unresponsive, or unpleasant. Many of these risks depend on your career stage. As a student, big collaborations may not be ideal as this is the time to build </span><span style="font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">your</span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> foundational area. Rushing to collaborate may stretch you too thin, when you need to be establishing your name as </span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">the go-to</span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> person on a particular subject. Moreover, large collaborative efforts often take time to produce products. These might not align with a student’s degree progression and milestones. Let’s say you start a collaboration that relies on another lab to generate some key data that you need to interpret your own results, or to build some piece of technology. If they don’t deliver quickly, you may be left waiting a long time for their product before you can proceed. That’s time that faculty can often spare, especially once tenured, but can be awful for a time-constrained fifth year graduate student. Some of these concerns likely also apply to post-docs, fresh out of their PhDs that need papers and maybe can’t wait years for products. Similarly, for assistant professors, too much collaboration may not be seen as ‘independent enough’, posing problems for promotion and tenure review. As the P&T season begins anew, there are some interesting social media posts on tenure packets (e.g., </span><a href="https://twitter.com/hollybik/status/1561778160672378885" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Holly Bik’s thread</span></a><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">). One piece of advice I (Stacy) received when putting together my dossier last year was to have a table where you and your lab members’ contributions to each paper were clearly outlined and described. A table like this makes such information, especially if you are not a first, last, and/or corresponding author abundantly clear. An added bonus when the table is completed is to see just how much you and your lab have accomplished in the last few years!</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><h2 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; white-space: pre-wrap;">How to get started</span></h2><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEivJ2vq_7ig42hndh3aUQBFdqyycj5MQil6lNWrdS450KRdRUceOYlETBsDN08ysbv3yj-y2f23mHxUwHjl62Gq0cMqY75OkEeJfwbbNEwzI7uqkm6NGk3SLH9ogjOaEtLXIrV5uXto8GbC2KByJnr9Y0NEK84CtdGzAx37NeEQCrbYefeSClhLQBym" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="456" data-original-width="526" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEivJ2vq_7ig42hndh3aUQBFdqyycj5MQil6lNWrdS450KRdRUceOYlETBsDN08ysbv3yj-y2f23mHxUwHjl62Gq0cMqY75OkEeJfwbbNEwzI7uqkm6NGk3SLH9ogjOaEtLXIrV5uXto8GbC2KByJnr9Y0NEK84CtdGzAx37NeEQCrbYefeSClhLQBym" width="277" /></a></div><br /><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">The hardest part of starting a collaboration is finding committed collaborators. You can find potential collaborators at conferences: making a connection is certainly easier when we’re in the same venue and can chat at a poster session or over a meal. If you are proactively interested in starting a collaboration you might even consider going to a meeting outside your core discipline (e.g., Jamie, an oceanographer, coming to a meeting of biologists and geneticists). Other options include word of mouth, Google searches for key words, reading the literature in the area in which you wish to expand, or asking a colleague in that field. You might even use social media to put out a call for collaborators in a topic. Serendipity can play a role too, chance meetings outside of normal academic settings, or incidental connections between third parties. As a specific example, Dan’s collaboration with a computer scientist (Tina Eliassi-Rad) and statistician (Miaoyan Wang) began with a couple of these. A former student (Sam Scarpino) was new faculty at Northeastern University in the same Network Science institute as Tina, and in a zoom call to brainstorm a NSF Rules of Life proposal Sam suggested Tina would be a great addition to the team (and she is!). Then looking for a statistician, Dan used some google scholar and google searches to figure out who was doing cutting-edge, well-cited work on statistical analyses of networks, and found Miaoyan’s name. Serendipitously, a former postdoc had just met Miaoyan (both being recent hires at Wisconsin) and recommended her. A couple of emails later and we had some zoom meetings arranged, and six months later had the grant funded!</span></span></p><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">One key consideration is making sure your new collaborator(s) has the time and resources to hold up their part of the bargain. You are asking someone to step outside of their day-to-day role, and that takes effort and commitment, and may not be strategically in the best interest of their career. So don’t be offended if they don’t have time for you, but neither should you collaborate with someone who won’t be responsive, </span><span style="font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">or if you will not have time to be responsive</span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. (NOTE: we aren’t implying any of our collaborators are an issue in this regard, this is in response to a question from the panel audience). A simple test is to be sure that this new collaborator puts some skin in the game. A good way to start is with a proposal of some sort – if they do not contribute to both their part of the proposal </span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">and</span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> communicating to improve other parts of the proposal, they are unlikely to be good collaborators in the long run. If writing a grant proposal together, require real text contributions and editorial effort. If that doesn’t materialize, heed the warning that red flag is sending and maybe find someone else. If that new and also unknown collaborator isn’t putting time in now at the grant writing stage, they maybe aren’t really committed. This is a hard pill to swallow and a tough lesson to learn down the road when there are more entanglements and it becomes harder to get out unscathed. Do not hesitate to say no to requests for collaboration if you do not have the bandwidth to contribute fully or if the other person has a likelihood of not contributing fully. And if someone isn’t contributing, move on to find a new collaborator. Better to “dump” someone on the first date, so to speak, than to commit and change your mind once you are funded. A caveat here is that grant writing is a great litmus test for faculty, but not always an option for graduate students.</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><h2 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; white-space: pre-wrap;">You're in the same r(z)oom ... now what? </span></h2><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The contract</span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: One strategy to ensure collaborations will be successful is to start, from the outset, with collaboration agreements, outlining participants’ roles and expectations. Initial meetings of course will identify what each person is expected to do, but often these are done informally leading to verbal agreements that can later be forgotten. Even if it seems overly formal, we cannot stress enough the value of written agreements. It keeps everyone honest. In one multi-PI project Dan is involved in, which spans over a dozen PI’s lab groups, each PI on the team contributes a </span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Scope of Work</span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> document (a template can be found at the end of this post), that specifically outlines each person’s obligations - what data or tools or written products will be delivered, to who, and when, with what funding. That way each person’s role is on paper, and if someone else tries to join in you can check their proposed scope of work against the many existing scope documents to make sure there’s no redundancy / conflict. It’s a great way to avoid the “I thought you were doing that” conversation later in the game. Note, each collaborator provides their own unique scope of work document detailing their particular contribution. This can be supplemented with a Collaborative Agreement, again a formal written text, that lays out more universal (rather than lab-specific) expectations. This is </span><span style="font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">especially</span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> important for interdisciplinary collaborations where you are bringing together people from different fields who therefore have different cultural traditions about things like authorship, ‘good journals’, etc.. Things to put in a collaborative agreement may include:</span></span></p><ul style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-inline-start: 48px;"><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Rules for who does/does not get authorship and how authorship order is determined.</span></span></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">A list of expected papers to be written, with lead authors designated in advance, if possible. Collaborations are fluid and may change over time, so regular updating of expected papers is a good idea.</span></span></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Target journals - your interdisciplinary collaborators may have never heard of your favorite journal, and may not gain career benefits from publishing there (e.g., will a physicist’s tenure committee say “</span><span style="font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The American Naturalist</span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, what is that, some kind of naturist newsletter?”)</span></span></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Expectations for data storage as it is generated - is it shared with everyone on a server as the data are produced, or only when complete?</span></span></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Data archiving</span></span></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">What are the procedures for conflict resolution (whether intellectual or interpersonal), who adjudicates disagreements about authorship, interpretation of results, or even harassment</span></span></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">What if someone does not deliver on their task in a timely manner - at what point (and how) are they to be replaced by a new collaborator who will deliver?</span></span></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Who can use what data, once it is generated?</span></span></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Who is writing what grants and when</span></span></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Code of conduct, field safety, lab safety,</span></span></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">When a manuscript is almost ready, does everyone need to sign off to approve submission (yes, good idea), and what happens if someone takes months to do so, or refuses to?</span></span></p></li></ul><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Language barriers:</span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> In any collaboration, it is important to clearly and precisely explain terminology. Language is the means of communicating the information and lack of precision can lead to confusion. When you try to cross intellectual boundaries, whether they be across biomes or disciplines, language is critical. In a </span><a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12229-008-9012-x" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">paper</span></a><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> about the origin of the alternation of generations, David Haig elegantly described this challenge: “vocabulary … can be deceptively familiar: familiar because we use many of the same terms; deceptive because these terms are used with different connotations, arising from different conceptual and theoretical assumptions”. Striving for useful and precise definitions is not only essential for research, but also successful collaborative projects. It is a feature, not a bug, of collaborative science. Often, the most novel and innovative aspects of a collaboration lie in the space where our assumptions differ.</span></span></p><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">As an example, the ‘Selection across the life cycle’ group from the 2019 Evolution in Changing Seas workshop encountered barriers to easy communication from the get-go. What did we even mean by a ‘complex life cycle’? A life cycle? A life history? Were life cycles and life histories merely synonyms? Were we tying ourselves up in knots over a semantic argument? We couldn’t make sufficient headway in our broader questions about selection across the life cycle if we didn’t all agree on what a life cycle was, let alone a complex one. We discussed what ultimately became Box 1 in </span><a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/full/10.1098/rspb.2021.2122?af=R" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Albecker et al. (2021</span></a><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">) while on Shoals and in subsequent Zoom meetings. This certainly helped Stacy argue the point that life cycles and life history traits are not the same thing more broadly beyond the scope of our working group! And, these discussions were invigorating if not sometimes frustrating when you are limited by words that inadequately describe what you think makes sense in your own head.</span></span></p><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Semantic confusion abounds. Even evolutionary ecologists, of which most at the recent workshop on Shoals identify as, one word may mean many things. Semantic stress becomes even more acute when you cross into entirely new disciplines. For example, biologists speak entirely different languages to computer scientists - so how do you learn to communicate? For instance, Dan’s Rules of Life award has him collaborating with Tina Eliassi-Rad at Northeastern. Tina hasn’t had a biology class since high school, and Dan’s never had a computer science class nor a class in network science. Starting the collaboration included Dan having to learn a lot of basic network science terms, and in many cases this involves biologists and computer scientists using different words for the same thing. Think about a gene expression database with individual animals as rows, different genes as columns. Dan might use terms like “individuals” or “replicates” for the rows, and “genes” or “dependent variables” as the columns, plus “independent variables” in the metadata, but a computer scientist might use “instances” and “features”. It has taken some practice getting comfortable with each other’s terminology. Meanwhile Tina asked for some basic introduction to genetics and RNA.</span></span></p><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Not only is common terminology essential for collaborative research, but so is a common framework. As another example from the Evolution in Changing Seas RCN, the ‘Connectivity’ working group Alli is a part of had to tackle different frameworks about how populations are connected. In this group, much of the language was the same but even when terminology was reconciled fundamental differences between how evolutionary, genetic-focused researchers saw populations vs how spatial, ecology focused researchers saw them required us to develop a new temporal framework to effectively communicate. By having a guiding structure for how our points of view connected with one another we were able to make progress on our larger goal of using data to test connectivity assumptions. In this case the confusion arose in closely related fields of ecology and evolution. In interdisciplinary collaborations, where intellectual frameworks differ almost by definition, taking the time to develop a clear theoretical outline for hypotheses helps develop research questions and facilitates group member communication. </span></span></p><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Sometimes in collaborations conflicts can arise. Often, not surprisingly, conflicts center around terminology, while shared frameworks are being developed. It helps for all team members to expect some tension and have some expectations for how to deal with it. When developing collaboration agreements it helps to set expectations for a minimum level of participation. Setting this clear from the get-go lets group members play on the same level. When conflicts arise between group members, it helps to focus on the group as a whole, rather than the individual members. Some phrases to use might be things like “how does our group feel about [blank definition]?” or “Is this something the project can resolve, or is this a larger issue within your disciplines?” These kinds of questions can refocus group participants. These questions are also useful to ask yourself, if you ever find yourself planting your flag on a semantic hill. (Of course, once you have developed your common vocabulary, it is important to explain it in your publications – remember your confusions and conflicts, for they are what you must explain later and will often be some of your most valuable contributions.)</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><h2 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; white-space: pre-wrap;">Off to the races... or off the rails </span></h2><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Interdisciplinary collaboration comes with a series of logistical challenges and considerations. For example, money is ALWAYS an issue. We need money for travel, meetings, and salaries. While COVID might have necessitated comfort with virtual meetings, there isn’t really a replacement for being in the same place at the same time.</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: white; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"> </span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Like any relationship, collaborations take time and work to be successful. The biggest factor is that everyone involved meets regularly to stay engaged. The more time you commit, the more connected you are intellectually and the more you feel you need to succeed in generating a product. So, frequent meetings are crucial, weekly or monthly. These will likely usually occur via zoom, if you are in far-flung places. In the case of Dan’s Rules of Life collaboration, this hinges on a weekly reading club about network analysis of biological data, reading papers from biology and CS and statistics. This zoom meeting began with just the core team but grew to include more people as we found it helpful to bring more conversationalists to the table. We preserve one week a month for project-specific discussion.</span></span></p><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">The weekly meetings should be supplemented by periodic (once or twice a year) in-person meetings. These help develop personal connections and friendships that cement the motivation to help each other. They make you focused for a few solid days just on the group’s goals and progress, which is often more efficient than the hour-per-week that is easily missed or forgotten. And there are huge benefits from the creative and more free-wheeling conversations that may happen after the official work day ends. These meetings are especially valuable to students and postdocs; it will provide them more of a network to rely on in the future and people to seek help from in their current work.</span></span></p><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Pay people for work they do. Academics are notorious for unpaid labor because it is culturally expected and because it yields later benefits in terms of promotion. We often see scientific publications as a reward in and of themselves, because this is the currency that builds our reputation and career to advance to the next step of the academic ladder. But, this is a position of privilege to be able to devote that time and whenever feasible it is best to pay people for work done. This can be challenging though because the collaboration may not have funding or barely enough to just collect the data. Moreover, expectations for pay vary by fields: computer scientists with extensive options in the private sector tend to be better paid than many other scientists (though ecology and evolution students are waking up to the fact that their statistical programming skills are marketable outside academia).</span></span></p><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Fields may differ also in expectations for data sharing and archiving. Some fields require public data repository archives to publish, others view these as suspect, a way for ‘data parasites’ to pirate information and scoop authors of hard-won results (note, this is a very very rare thing; far more common is the lab or agency with too much data who would be happy to help someone do more with their collected data, especially if given appropriate credit).</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><h2 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; white-space: pre-wrap;">Exiting a bad collaboration</span></h2><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Sometimes collaborations fizzle out. Maybe a grant is declined or a research direction fails to yield results that keep members of the collaboration invigorated and enthusiastic. Other times, collaborations may sour. There is no easy way of extricating oneself from a bad collaboration. Walking away may not be a choice for an early career scientist, but do you stay or do you go? While hindsight is 20/20, having an agreement about data sharing, the scope of work, and the collaboration philosophy may prevent problems arising or provide a mechanism to deal with problems. </span></span></p><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">So, what if a collaboration really does go deeply wrong and you realize this isn’t working, then what? How do you extricate yourself? If this is simply a matter of your losing interest, then we’d say you should bite the bullet and deliver on the things you promised to your collaborators or find someone to replace yourself who will be faster and more eager. But sometimes you start a collaboration and then discover that someone isn’t contributing their share. Or, they are too unpleasant. Or there’s sexual or racial harassment, or bullying. There’s no single answer here, as this depends on such a delicate balance of the specifics of the severity and nature of the problems, the benefits to persisting in the collaboration, and the career risks of pulling out (e.g., funding lost, people in power offended, etc). But, if you find yourself in a troubled collaboration, first talk to someone you trust for advice. If you decide you’d rather walk away from the collaboration, the best thing to do is to (1) do it sooner rather than later, (2) be firm but polite, (3) offer a solution to the folks left behind. For instance, finding someone in your field with similar expertise who is willing and able to put up with whatever drove you out, so you don’t leave a gap in the team you exit. This helps reduce any resentment that might ricochet back to you later. Then you need to negotiate whether you have done enough to retain some authorship later, and whether you want it, and how to financially extricate yourself.</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><h2 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; white-space: pre-wrap;">Who publishes this stuff anyway? </span></h2><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">One of the challenges with interdisciplinary collaborations is identifying useful products of any project. For example, even if all participants are academics the meaningful and useful journals for group members in which to publish may be different. The publishing and peer review norms may be at odds - in mathematics, for example, proofs are often published on personal blogs, or in small notes. There is no formal peer review for these projects and citing this work in journals can be difficult. Yet the longer timeline of evolution and ecology fields can be stifling for many collaborators who are used to faster turn-around. To a computer scientist used to writing a paper a month with new software, the time-line for field work and RNA extraction and transcriptome sequencing and data filtering and read calling may seem puzzlingly slow. </span></span></p><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Selecting the correct journal should be discussed early within collaborations, and function as a dialogue as the project progresses. Since collaborations take time, professional goals may change and the “best” journal at the end may not be the initial journal selected. Of course, one hope is that by doing interdisciplinary work, one generates more innovative scientific results that are publishable in interdisciplinary journals that transcend any one field, which can be good for everyone (if successful).</span></span></p><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">If collaborators are outside of the academy, mutually beneficial collaborations may require creating more than one product. For many agency collaborators products like publicly available data sets, or data papers, can be a good alternative to traditional academic papers. Many agencies have specific rules on journals and data repositories, so following these procedures for data papers and data sets gives agency collaborators more control over their output. In a recent project, </span><a href="http://www.nuigalway.ie/zoology/research/kelpres/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">KelpRes</span></a><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, in addition to traditional peer-reviewed papers, the team also made an infographic documenting subtidal kelp forest habitat in Ireland. The types of products at one’s disposal are somewhat limitless and collaborations that go beyond the academy may open your mind to other ways of science communication. </span></span></p><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /><br />__________________________________________________________________________________<br /><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Scope of work template</span></span></p><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">This serves as a document to resolve any future disagreements. The more detail you fill in concerning methods and data collected, the better we can ensure non-redundant / competing work.</span></span></p><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Newcomers to the project should fill in a SoW for their proposed contribution, which should be reconciled with prior SoWs.</span></span></p><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">If you are doing more than one distinct project that require different samples, file separate SoWs for each question/topic.</span></span></p><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Replace red text below with your own information.</span></span></p><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Some collaborative ethics comments: </span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Carving off more than you can chew is uncool; other members of the group may be counting on you to complete your SoW to get data to interpret their own work. So please propose to do only that which you honestly think you can complete. </span></span></p><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">That said, it is okay to distinguish between what you </span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">definitely</span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> will do (a commitment to other team members), versus what you aspire to do. The latter may depend on funding and time availability. But, the aspirational part is just hypothetical and so your prior claim to that work is less strongly established than the core part of your SoW. If it becomes clear you are unable to follow through (e.g., a grant isn’t funded), it behooves you to tell collaborators in case someone else can do it or can help you with funding.</span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="display: inline-block; position: relative; width: 100px;"></span></span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Scope of Work</span></span></p><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">YOUR_NAME</span></span></p><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">DATE</span></span></p><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">DESCRIPTIVE TITLE</span></span></p><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">1. Question / Hypothesis:</span></span></p><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">2. Brief explanation of context: </span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">WHAT IS NOVEL, RELATIVE TO THE LITERATURE THAT EXISTS. WHY IS THIS INTERESTING</span></span></p><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">3. Specific Aim # 1: </span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">i) Rationale/Goals </span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">BRIEF SUMMARY; Distinguish between what you are committing to do, versus what you aspire to do.</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">ii) Methods</span></span></p><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span><div align="left" dir="ltr" style="margin-left: -45pt;"><table style="border-collapse: collapse; border: none;"><colgroup><col width="78"></col><col width="113"></col><col width="125"></col><col width="104"></col><col width="89"></col><col width="110"></col><col width="88"></col></colgroup><tbody><tr style="height: 0pt;"><td colspan="2" style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Fish Sampling summary</span></span></p></td><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td></tr><tr style="height: 0pt;"><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"># fish per sample</span></span></p></td><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Which populations?</span></span></p></td><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Sample frequency (#/yr)</span></span></p></td><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Sample duration (# years)</span></span></p></td><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Lethal sampling?</span></span></p></td><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Preservation method</span></span></p></td><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Traits measured</span></span></p></td></tr><tr style="height: 0pt;"><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td></tr><tr style="height: 0pt;"><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td></tr><tr style="height: 0pt;"><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td></tr></tbody></table></div><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">iii) Analysis/Interpretation </span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">BRIEF</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">iv) Publication plan</span></span></p><ol style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-inline-start: 48px;"><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; list-style-type: lower-alpha; margin-left: 54pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">What/when</span></span></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; list-style-type: lower-alpha; margin-left: 54pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Authorship:</span></span></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; list-style-type: lower-alpha; margin-left: 54pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Additional data required from others:</span></span></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; list-style-type: lower-alpha; margin-left: 54pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Must wait on other papers’ prior publication?</span></span></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; list-style-type: lower-alpha; margin-left: 54pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Must be published before other papers?</span></span></p></li></ol><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">v) Ballpark budget. Note, enumerating these can help identify redundancy/efficiency and also forces us each to be more realistic about what we can (afford) to do</span></span></p><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span><div align="left" dir="ltr" style="margin-left: -45pt;"><table style="border-collapse: collapse; border: none;"><colgroup><col width="97"></col><col width="112"></col><col width="120"></col><col width="102"></col><col width="88"></col><col width="106"></col><col width="82"></col></colgroup><tbody><tr style="height: 0pt;"><td colspan="3" style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Salaries to pay personnel</span></span></p></td><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td></tr><tr style="height: 0pt;"><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Position</span></span></p></td><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"># months/yr</span></span></p></td><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"># years</span></span></p></td><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Cost </span></span></p></td><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Duties</span></span></p></td><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td></tr><tr style="height: 0pt;"><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td></tr><tr style="height: 0pt;"><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td></tr><tr style="height: 0pt;"><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td><td style="border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: solid; border-width: 0.5pt 0.5pt 4.5pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td><td style="border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: solid; border-width: 0.5pt 0.5pt 4.5pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td></tr><tr style="height: 0pt;"><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td><td style="border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: solid; border-width: 0.5pt 4.5pt 0.5pt 0.5pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td><td style="border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: solid; border-width: 4.5pt 0.5pt 4.5pt 4.5pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Total salary costs:</span></span></p></td><td style="border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: solid; border-width: 4.5pt 4.5pt 4.5pt 0.5pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td></tr><tr style="height: 0pt;"><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Travel</span></span></p></td><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td><td style="border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: solid; border-width: 4.5pt 0.5pt 0.5pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td><td style="border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: solid; border-width: 4.5pt 0.5pt 0.5pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td></tr><tr style="height: 0pt;"><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"># of trips per year</span></span></p></td><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"># of years</span></span></p></td><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"># people per trip</span></span></p></td><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Duration</span></span></p></td><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Cost per person</span></span></p></td><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td></tr><tr style="height: 0pt;"><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td></tr><tr style="height: 0pt;"><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td></tr><tr style="height: 0pt;"><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td><td style="border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: solid; border-width: 0.5pt 0.5pt 4.5pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td><td style="border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: solid; border-width: 0.5pt 0.5pt 4.5pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td></tr><tr style="height: 0pt;"><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td><td style="border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: solid; border-width: 0.5pt 4.5pt 0.5pt 0.5pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td><td style="border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: solid; border-width: 4.5pt 0.5pt 4.5pt 4.5pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Total travel costs:</span></span></p></td><td style="border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: solid; border-width: 4.5pt 4.5pt 4.5pt 0.5pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td></tr><tr style="height: 0pt;"><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td><td style="border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: solid; border-width: 4.5pt 0.5pt 0.5pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td><td style="border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: solid; border-width: 4.5pt 0.5pt 0.5pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td></tr><tr style="height: 0pt;"><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Field supplies</span></span></p></td><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td></tr><tr style="height: 0pt;"><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Item</span></span></p></td><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Quantity</span></span></p></td><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Cost each</span></span></p></td><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td></tr><tr style="height: 0pt;"><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td></tr><tr style="height: 0pt;"><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td><td style="border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: solid; border-width: 0.5pt 0.5pt 4.5pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td><td style="border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: solid; border-width: 0.5pt 0.5pt 4.5pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td></tr><tr style="height: 0pt;"><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td><td style="border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: solid; border-width: 0.5pt 4.5pt 0.5pt 0.5pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td><td style="border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: solid; border-width: 4.5pt 0.5pt 4.5pt 4.5pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Total field costs:</span></span></p></td><td style="border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: solid; border-width: 4.5pt 4.5pt 4.5pt 0.5pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td></tr><tr style="height: 0pt;"><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Equipment needed</span></span></p></td><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td><td style="border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: solid; border-width: 4.5pt 0.5pt 0.5pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td><td style="border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: solid; border-width: 4.5pt 0.5pt 0.5pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td></tr><tr style="height: 0pt;"><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Item</span></span></p></td><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Quantity</span></span></p></td><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Cost each</span></span></p></td><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td></tr><tr style="height: 0pt;"><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td></tr><tr style="height: 0pt;"><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td><td style="border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: solid; border-width: 0.5pt 0.5pt 4.5pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td><td style="border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: solid; border-width: 0.5pt 0.5pt 4.5pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td></tr><tr style="height: 0pt;"><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td><td style="border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: solid; border-width: 0.5pt 4.5pt 0.5pt 0.5pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td><td style="border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: solid; border-width: 4.5pt 0.5pt 4.5pt 4.5pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Total equipment cost</span></span></p></td><td style="border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: solid; border-width: 4.5pt 4.5pt 4.5pt 0.5pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td></tr><tr style="height: 0pt;"><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td><td style="border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: solid; border-width: 4.5pt 0.5pt 0.5pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td><td style="border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: solid; border-width: 4.5pt 0.5pt 0.5pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td></tr><tr style="height: 0pt;"><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Laboratory costs</span></span></p></td><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td></tr><tr style="height: 0pt;"><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Activity</span></span></p></td><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"># samples per year</span></span></p></td><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"># samples total</span></span></p></td><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Cost per sample </span></span></p></td><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Cost per year</span></span></p></td><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Cost total</span></span></p></td><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td></tr><tr style="height: 0pt;"><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td></tr><tr style="height: 0pt;"><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td></tr><tr style="height: 0pt;"><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td></tr><tr style="height: 0pt;"><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td></tr><tr style="height: 0pt;"><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td><td style="border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: solid; border-width: 0.5pt 0.5pt 4.5pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td><td style="border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: solid; border-width: 0.5pt 0.5pt 4.5pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td></tr><tr style="height: 0pt;"><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td><td style="border: 0.5pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td><td style="border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: solid; border-width: 0.5pt 4.5pt 0.5pt 0.5pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td><td style="border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: solid; border-width: 4.5pt 0.5pt 4.5pt 4.5pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Total Lab cost</span></span></p></td><td style="border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: solid; border-width: 4.5pt 4.5pt 4.5pt 0.5pt; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></td></tr></tbody></table></div><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">vi) Existing funds:</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">vii) Plan to acquire funds</span></span></p><h1 dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.3800000000000001; margin-bottom: 6pt; margin-top: 20pt;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></h1><h1 dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.3800000000000001; margin-bottom: 6pt; margin-top: 20pt;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium; white-space: normal;">__________________________________________________________________________________</span></span></h1><h1 dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.3800000000000001; margin-bottom: 6pt; margin-top: 20pt;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium; font-weight: 400; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></h1><h1 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-weight: 400; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: large;">Publication and data sharing agreement (example)</span></span></h1><h1 dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.3800000000000001; margin-bottom: 6pt; margin-top: 20pt;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium; font-weight: 400; white-space: pre-wrap;">1. Preface </span></h1><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.3800000000000001; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">We are on this project together because we know and trust and like each other. That mutual respect is the core of the collaboration and is essential to the project’s success. In light of this mutual trust, a set of written agreements may feel awkward and overly formal. It may appear to imply a lack of trust. We think of these agreements more as a form of open and explicit communication, where we lay out our respective aims, aspirations, rights and responsibilities clearly to each other. In so doing we help avoid miscommunications and misunderstandings that can be the downfall of large collaborative projects.</span></span></p><h1 dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.3800000000000001; margin-bottom: 6pt; margin-top: 20pt;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: small;">2. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhkctRg-mrnKBbziMf_XV_jfQr_dCi2WcYGWFbfFJN3mJfmc6kQviow_ThCtKxAQssWTIJM6cB3YWKE5qoRc1pvnFytcCdQsHSaZVHdmbhhtGi7MYdH_nxMlEK3Zhl6osNU705qdWaIQXBJ83F-jVgeUzrRnuuWIzXp1yxCCxhbWWS9HjuQuHS6Bal1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="346" data-original-width="348" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhkctRg-mrnKBbziMf_XV_jfQr_dCi2WcYGWFbfFJN3mJfmc6kQviow_ThCtKxAQssWTIJM6cB3YWKE5qoRc1pvnFytcCdQsHSaZVHdmbhhtGi7MYdH_nxMlEK3Zhl6osNU705qdWaIQXBJ83F-jVgeUzrRnuuWIzXp1yxCCxhbWWS9HjuQuHS6Bal1" width="241" /></a></div><br /> Organization</span></span></h1><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.3800000000000001; margin-bottom: 15pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><span style="font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">2.1 Fundamental Commitment of participating researchers:</span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Our project is an</span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">inclusive network of researchers that agree to these basic ground rules: (1) to collect data accurately and in a timely fashion, (2) to ensure the data are collected as laid out in the Project’s protocols and Scopes of Work, (3) to openly share data associated with the project, and (4) to publish high-quality collaborative papers.</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.3800000000000001; margin-bottom: 15pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><span style="font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">2.2 Administration:</span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> The project is currently administered by a committee chaired by ____ with _____ (___ team representative), ____ (_____ team representatives), and _ (____ team representative), with input from all PIs with approved Scopes of Work.</span></span></p><h1 dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.3800000000000001; margin-bottom: 15pt; margin-top: 20pt;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: small;">3. Code of Conduct</span></span></h1><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.3800000000000001; margin-bottom: 15pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><span style="font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">3.1 Data collection:</span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> All participants agree to collect data accurately, following WGEE protocols to ensure that resulting data can be merged among labs. If you wish to collect additional data that is fine, please add that to your Scope of Work (see below) and a clear protocol. If you wish to suggest changes or improvements please feel free to contact the project coordinators. Data should be collected in a timely manner so that other researchers relying on your data products can proceed with their own work.</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.3800000000000001; margin-bottom: 15pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><span style="font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">3.2 Data storage. </span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Data collected for the project will be archived as hard copy paper or as original files (e.g., photographs) to ensure against file corruption. Data files will be stored in backed-up and version-controlled systems such as GitHub, and shared with group members. Data storage will follow best practices (e.g., https://library.stanford.edu/blogs/stanford-libraries-blog/2020/04/ten-tips-better-data-while-you-shelter-place).</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.3800000000000001; margin-bottom: 15pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><span style="font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">3.3 Data use: </span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Data will be available to registered project members once reviewed and uploaded to the archive by the project managers. Data will be made publicly available upon publication. Requests for access to data prior to their public release will be reviewed by the coordinators and the relevant data collectors to ensure the proposed use does not conflict with ongoing analyses, publications, or proposals as laid out in Scopes of Work (below).</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.3800000000000001; margin-bottom: 15pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><span style="font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">3.4. Data citation:</span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Any participant is free to use WGEE data for publications, courses, presentation, etc. if they follow guidelines for co-authorship listed below, and if their publication does not undermine another participant’s publication goals as laid out in the Scopes of Work.</span></span></p><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /><br /></span><h1 dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.3800000000000001; margin-bottom: 6pt; margin-top: 20pt;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: small;">4. Scopes of Work</span></span></h1><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.3800000000000001; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">4.1 The goal of the Scope of Work </span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">is to clearly define what each person’s scientific and logistical role in the project is. This is a document where you indicate what samples you will collect, what data you intend to generate, and what paper(s) you intend to publish, and how these goals will intersect with other people. It is wise to include specific biological questions, and specific publication plans where feasible. This description, once reviewed by the rest of the group, is a time-stamped reflection of your plans, which both represents a set of rights (nobody else should publish the papers you plan on doing), and responsibilities ( you should to the best of your ability follow through on your SoW). </span></span></p><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.3800000000000001; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">It is important that you keep this reasonably achievable; if any one person claims more than they are able to deliver then this creates a gap that undercuts the overall team. If you fail to deliver on a dataset you planned to generate, after a reasonable time (TBD) it is possible for the group as a whole to consider assigning this to another participant. This will only be done in exceptional circumstances, when the group determines that the data are necessary for the collective goal, and you have not made a good faith effort to make sufficient and timely progress towards generating the data. </span></span></p><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.3800000000000001; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">4.2 You may revise the SoW as project goals evolve</span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, but please do so using track changes / comments at first, so relevant team members can review and comment on your updates to the SoW. When you make changes, please notify the overall group and save the original to an archive folder. Team members will be asked to update their scopes of work at least annually, or as changes arise.</span></span></p><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.3800000000000001; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">4.3 New team members</span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> will be expected to submit SoWs of their own, which need to be approved by the group, with a particular eye to ensure we are not generating excessive overlap with existing SoW plans by someone else on the team. The exception is if someone with an existing aim is willing to remove that from their own SoW.</span></span></p><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.3800000000000001; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">4.4 The SoWs are kept here: </span></span></p><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.3800000000000001; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">These include:</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.3800000000000001; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">PI</span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Topic with link to SoW</span></span></p><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /><br /></span><h1 dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.3800000000000001; margin-bottom: 6pt; margin-top: 20pt;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: small;">5. Data sharing and publication standards</span></span></h1><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.3800000000000001; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">________________</span></span></p><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.3800000000000001; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Data Sharing and Publication Agreement:</span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Many of our projects are going to yield papers that use multiple lines of data generated by different labs. The goal of a Data Sharing & Publication Agreement is to formally define expectations for who can publish what data, when, and who has a right to authorship. These are sometimes used by Editors to adjudicate publication disagreements, so having one worked out and digitally signed in advance, and archived, can prove valuable later, though we all hope this proves unnecessary. Participation in WGEE and use of WGEE data implies a willingness to abide by the following norms.</span></span></p><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.3800000000000001; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><span style="font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">5.1 Co-authorship of articles using unpublished data:</span><span style="background-color: white; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> If you contribute data to the WGEE Project, you will automatically be included as a co-author on any papers using your data prior until such time as the data are made publicly available. We encourage true collaboration – authors should actively seek engagement from those who collected data they are using from the start of the project, and data collectors should provide feedback and insights. Final authorship assignment is the responsibility of the lead author. Of course you may opt-out of co-authorship at any time by informing the lead author.</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.3800000000000001; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><span style="background-color: white; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Authorship order: The first author will typically be the researcher who has done the most to analyze the data and write the text of the manuscript. The last authors will typically be PIs who have been involved in conceiving and overseeing the overall project. Middle authors will be people who contributed minority shares of time to data collection, analysis, or writing. Within these three categories, the order will be determined by discussion in advance of submission. Disagreements will be adjudicated by the group of PIs. Where people have equal claim to authorship roles, the order may be determined by (1) randomization, or (2) a staring contest, or (3) other fair procedure agreed upon in advance by all parties.</span></span></p><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.3800000000000001; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><span style="font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">5.2 Co-authorship of articles using publicly available data:</span><span style="background-color: white; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> We</span><span style="font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> s</span><span style="background-color: white; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">trongly encourage authors who re-use archived data sets to include as fully engaged collaborators the researchers who originally collected them. We believe this could greatly enhance the quality and impact of the resulting research because it draws on the insights of those immersed in a particular field.</span></span></p><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.3800000000000001; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><span style="background-color: white; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">5.3. Informing participants of intent to write an article: </span><span style="background-color: white; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">If you wish to write a paper using Gatekeeper data, a working title and abstract should be submitted to the Project Coordinators prior to drafting the manuscript. This will be shared with other project participants for review. Individuals interested in becoming contributing authors of the proposed paper must contact the lead author directly. As stated above, we strongly encourage active engagement of project participants.</span></span></p><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.3800000000000001; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">5.5. The Scopes of Work define expected publications, and the PI responsible for a given publication topic has the right of first refusal to write the relevant paper. They may designate a student or other lab member to take on the data collection, analysis, and authorship tasks. They may waive that right for a member of another lab to take on that topic, or a closely related one. </span><span style="font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">If a manuscript is proposed and subsequently abandoned for > 6 months, interested Gatekeeper participants are encouraged to discuss with the lead author about taking over the development of the manuscript.</span></span></p><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.3800000000000001; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">5.6 Each data file will have a Readme.txt file linked to it, with relevant metadata, and who collected and curated the data (“data owners”). The data owners have the right to be included as a co-author on any paper(s) using that data file. This right may be waived after them data file becomes public (e.g., after first posting on a public repository associated with a publication), but it will remain preferable to include the data owners as co-authors when the data they are responsible for represents a significant contribution to the results of a given manuscript. </span></span></p><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.3800000000000001; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">5.7 Co-authors are expected to give constructive and thorough comments on analyses, interpretation, and writing. This is especially pertinent after a dataset is first published (e.g., for later papers, generating already-public data is a weaker claim to authorship that should be bolstered by active intellectual participation in the writing).</span></span></p><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.3800000000000001; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">5.8 Co-authors must be given reasonable time to read and comment on a paper before it is submitted for review, and it should not be submitted to a journal without their consent. If a co-author fails to respond to comments within a reasonable time frame (to be agreed upon during manuscript preparation), the remaining co-authors may (depending on the context) remove the non-contributing co-author from the authorship list. Or, if (for instance) they contributed extensively to data collection, for example, the manuscript’s author contribution statement may indicate that the person in question only contributed to data collection.</span></span></p><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.3800000000000001; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">5.8 Authors on papers should be able to explain the main findings and how they were arrived at, and vouch for the results insofar as they contributed to them via (a) conceiving of the research question(s), (b) sample acquisition, (c) data generation, (d) data analysis and interpretation, (e) writing. We will use Author Contribution Statements on articles to clearly identify participant’s roles without overstating: when an author is listed as contributing to a particular task in generating a paper, they are vouching for and responsible for the accuracy of that element of the paper.</span></span></p><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.3800000000000001; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">5.9 Data will not be shared with outside parties without the full group’s consent, and especially not without consent of the data owner(s).</span></span></p><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.3800000000000001; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">6. Disputes: if someone is not listed as a co-author, who believes they have a right to be co-author, may appeal to the group of PIs, or to the journal Editor in question. Participation in the project implies consent to abide by the above rules, and add co-authors as expected, but also to contribute to manuscripts to earn and retain authorship rights.</span></span></p><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.3800000000000001; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">7. The entire collaborative team operates on a position of trust that (a) the other team members are respectful of their expertise, contributions, and career goals, and (b) data contributed by team members are accurate and correct.</span></span></p><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.3800000000000001; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">SIGNATURE PAGE:</span></span></p><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.3800000000000001; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: white; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">By typing your name below, you indicate that you have read the above document and relevant Scopes of Work, and agree to abide by the terms of this document.</span></span></p><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.3800000000000001; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><span style="background-color: white; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Name:</span><span style="background-color: white; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Date read</span></span></p><br /></span>Dan Bolnickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05181664810897127126noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4456348657596914237.post-68822139150934090972022-08-02T15:29:00.002-04:002022-08-02T15:29:44.895-04:00The Scientific Value of Animal Injuries - And Family Science Projects<p>This story is at the confluence of two beginnings. The first beginning was the purchase – in 1975 – by my uncle, Paul Hooker, of the Corral Creek cabins on the Kispiox River north of Hazelton (BC), the most northerly town on highway 16 (the Yellowhead Trail), about 75 km northwest of Smithers. It is a truly picturesque place, with cabins situated on a raised narrow tongue of land that the river flows up to, then around, and the away from. Look west from the cabin window and you can see the river coming directly toward you from the northwest in a long stretch maybe 50 m directly below. Then walk out behind the cabin to the outhouse, just 10 m away, and you can see the long stretch of river flowing away to the southeast.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilPy9WTdOSnwVnkLDkCQvxQRVCPHkvOHT7a7weolNFiExcgCrmq2i4OjhQOeDRC1QBEdsgX1CMqBsBeRBxhFFM4G14f5mBhc2kksTWDMO00A6o7PiHjfpMmUTa2JAh0ZB8hmpP5ze6fvMTEl8W_vVuqwtMHfmXdU6fC-43WQAvP7WxdMYE6e71oKU3qw/s799/51587026819_98cfeb4899_c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="554" data-original-width="799" height="445" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilPy9WTdOSnwVnkLDkCQvxQRVCPHkvOHT7a7weolNFiExcgCrmq2i4OjhQOeDRC1QBEdsgX1CMqBsBeRBxhFFM4G14f5mBhc2kksTWDMO00A6o7PiHjfpMmUTa2JAh0ZB8hmpP5ze6fvMTEl8W_vVuqwtMHfmXdU6fC-43WQAvP7WxdMYE6e71oKU3qw/w640-h445/51587026819_98cfeb4899_c.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p>For the subsequent 50 years, we have used the cabin for rest, relaxation, nature watching, adventure, and – above all – for fishing. First we fished for salmon and then (and now) for their close relative the steelhead, of which the Kispiox River is justifiably famous. We come every year – often multiple times – and ownership has transitioned over the years from Paul, to Paul and my father (Andy), and then to their various children – including my brother Mike and I. It was Mike that introduced the use of camera traps.</p><p>The idea behind camera traps is that you can observe animals year-round without actually being present to see them “in the flesh.” You simply set up your camera and walk away. The camera is then triggered by infrared light (heat) moving across a sensor array and it turns on to record an image or video. Then, maybe a year later, you can come back, download the camera, and scan the videos and photos on your computer.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibmYE3nz_i2DKmPAoiwKLi9M6zKyXY-v--l3vXWYCe7MLulBob2CE50DuRbCwRBwwj4MSkrsqNqp5a_hX0CWbswDSil7J7_2UPTbYVtkSGwj6Yo3-90gGTvqKXBIdlDIBXy2Auv9G0zQ9mMOtnemHR1wOtNo8GGQiUx5tFSOeb5we6qYk0NAzQ88Zx6A/s2048/8095891205_b15f231089_k.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1363" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibmYE3nz_i2DKmPAoiwKLi9M6zKyXY-v--l3vXWYCe7MLulBob2CE50DuRbCwRBwwj4MSkrsqNqp5a_hX0CWbswDSil7J7_2UPTbYVtkSGwj6Yo3-90gGTvqKXBIdlDIBXy2Auv9G0zQ9mMOtnemHR1wOtNo8GGQiUx5tFSOeb5we6qYk0NAzQ88Zx6A/w640-h426/8095891205_b15f231089_k.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mike - camping on a camera trap/fishing trip.</td></tr></tbody></table><p>The first cameras that Mike deployed did not really impress me. The quality of the images was just so poor that, while I could see a bear was there (or not), I couldn’t really get excited about it from a nature photography perspective. But, as the years passed, Mike got better and better cameras and the potential became more apparent – especially for videos, where low image quality is smoothed over by the excitement of action. So I decided to get into the act, buying a high-quality (for the time) Browning camera that I placed on a salmon spawning stream. Sometimes it worked and sometimes it didn’t but, in the former cases, the videos were sometimes transcendent. I needed to do more with this.</p><p>The second beginning to this story was on my family’s vineyard in Napa, California. I have told this part of the story in a previous post HERE but, in essence, I conducted a research project with my kids – Aspen and Cedar – where we studied the stickleback found in the creek running alongside the vineyard and in the reservoirs on the vineyard. I hadn’t planned to do this study but the kids spotted the stickleback on our walks around the vineyard and it was just too much – I studied stickleback in lakes (here reservoirs) versus creeks and I also studied rapid evolution (the stickleback populations couldn’t be more than 35 years old).</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRr4ENmnUZK4hCiu0qKNy7CnFiJhVoCoRKMDngsOrmGYRxmgFnqwBLNYLUSg4cNCp-tf1F4hk33O7bo1KRmLuBEXg4r4dn91Z9UJHZTiYSw0AG9tIqYMaZKL-FYciEE-Qbqmh1v4qXGgZDuRqk8g6yk-x_h5FaV2K701pQgKf4VnWV3RQCq89Acz9X9g/s960/Screenshot%202022-08-02%20145636.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="721" data-original-width="960" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRr4ENmnUZK4hCiu0qKNy7CnFiJhVoCoRKMDngsOrmGYRxmgFnqwBLNYLUSg4cNCp-tf1F4hk33O7bo1KRmLuBEXg4r4dn91Z9UJHZTiYSw0AG9tIqYMaZKL-FYciEE-Qbqmh1v4qXGgZDuRqk8g6yk-x_h5FaV2K701pQgKf4VnWV3RQCq89Acz9X9g/w640-h480/Screenshot%202022-08-02%20145636.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Aspen and Cedar doing stickleback research.</td></tr></tbody></table></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p>So, with Aspen (then six) and Cedar (then three), we collected stickleback and then – back in Montreal after sabbatical – used my Mom’s microscope to manually measure the traits I knew were important for adaptation to lakes versus streams. Finally, with input from everyone, I wrote up a paper and published it in the journal Evolutionary Ecology Research. Cedar and Aspen were full partners in the work and so were co-authors on the paper. The experience left us hoping for another family research project.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0H-3A0ZVh5Xn4jTEm0hbagFDebYULmteKkzNk-F3KkhAayEbi7j3wJkyhpVXkPMnMEV5QqQnmFeDrQphGaQkH9KqMe2LjCiY65lxasC3LIFRIbCGvIP_ETMPNIRq7Q7pMePoXh1-SBxzex9_6QLhgEj3I3QKDCJQk6P7d5N_LYiyaT9mJN6JPuSQNAg/s540/Screenshot%202022-08-02%20150047.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="230" data-original-width="540" height="170" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0H-3A0ZVh5Xn4jTEm0hbagFDebYULmteKkzNk-F3KkhAayEbi7j3wJkyhpVXkPMnMEV5QqQnmFeDrQphGaQkH9KqMe2LjCiY65lxasC3LIFRIbCGvIP_ETMPNIRq7Q7pMePoXh1-SBxzex9_6QLhgEj3I3QKDCJQk6P7d5N_LYiyaT9mJN6JPuSQNAg/w400-h170/Screenshot%202022-08-02%20150047.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p><b>Walk This Way</b></p><p>These two beginnings coalesced after I wrote a research grant to obtain high-quality cameras for remote observation in various locations. Most of the cameras were designed to take only images, which is the typical standard for research – yet a subset were designed to also take video. These were destined for deployment at our cabin and formed the basis for our next family research project.*</p><p>In recent years, nearly all of our camera traps have been deployed in a remote area near our cabin where animals use a 3.3 km ridge trail to navigate along a ridge. The trail is so defined that it looks like a hiking trail in some (modestly) popular area. Curiously, however, the trail occasionally splits and then comes back together again 10-100 m later. Walking this trail with my wife Heather, my brother Mike, and the kids, I would often speculate as to why these splits occurred. Were they because one type of animal (e.g., bears) preferred one path and another type of animal (e.g., moose) found it easier to navigate another? Or was it because moose with antlers had trouble navigating a route that was easier for moose without antlers? Or perhaps one branch looked easier (or more obvious) when travelling one direction (northwest) but the other branch looked easier when travelling the other direction. Or maybe some individuals were just right handed and others left handed, applying those biases to splits. Musing on these various options, we decided to pace our first set of the new camera traps on those splits. A year later, the entire trail had 10 camera traps deployed, six on various splits and four at various other locations.</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqD7qWNr1U4p0hoObXKj4DB2LZCasXmzvvRsRfsrwdUktCCR14Mh-VZOMAmOIzbBVPYcuGHWF1t2t7EbYODo4QEUcx8gwszqBDhvlj1VPAEfbwEbD06INJ6YA9kECxtGaBCaYzwKpCADxB-0lGzOHCy_xqXIjS0aUDYcGcOYX2XA0TrYZpswV61mTEng/s994/Screenshot%202022-08-02%20151722.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="531" data-original-width="994" height="342" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqD7qWNr1U4p0hoObXKj4DB2LZCasXmzvvRsRfsrwdUktCCR14Mh-VZOMAmOIzbBVPYcuGHWF1t2t7EbYODo4QEUcx8gwszqBDhvlj1VPAEfbwEbD06INJ6YA9kECxtGaBCaYzwKpCADxB-0lGzOHCy_xqXIjS0aUDYcGcOYX2XA0TrYZpswV61mTEng/w640-h342/Screenshot%202022-08-02%20151722.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><p></p><p>We left the camera traps out all year for three years – downloading data and replacing batteries as needed every year. Then COVID hit and we were spending way more time at home than before – providing an opportunity to finally analyze the data. Weekends – especially in winter - became a ritual. We would sit in front of my computer for a few hours each day, watching each video and recording the species of animal and various other attributes. For the three years of camera trap deployment we ended up with 3770 observations, consisting mostly of moose (2966), wolves (476), and brown bears (224) – with additional observations of at least 12 other mammal species (lumping the various weasels – apart from wolverines – together).</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7qQSL90k2vYxCLcyOr9FKi31_pzfHfzYhX_VN0sFhSceAZbjlHRquPi8RVpaFU-BfJeLr8noqDP1FHiK-gTj4tiGM6LUtgA1juOiD4Jgb76kGWDLmjzKqE55wokHP-Jj6DICN5lhbL1ZJKG3w1yzJu0itiCyvlEBIzxGUFEgaYhZZ4D_Hu9YsjKe9kA/s1115/Screenshot%202022-08-02%20150426.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="1115" height="230" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7qQSL90k2vYxCLcyOr9FKi31_pzfHfzYhX_VN0sFhSceAZbjlHRquPi8RVpaFU-BfJeLr8noqDP1FHiK-gTj4tiGM6LUtgA1juOiD4Jgb76kGWDLmjzKqE55wokHP-Jj6DICN5lhbL1ZJKG3w1yzJu0itiCyvlEBIzxGUFEgaYhZZ4D_Hu9YsjKe9kA/w640-h230/Screenshot%202022-08-02%20150426.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p>But what should be the focus of our first paper based on these data? Although we might logically have decided to start with the above question about trail splits, something else jumped out right away – injured moose. In a number of the videos, moose could be seen limping through the field of view, with obvious angular displacements of their limbs – that is, a bending outward or inward at the carpus (equivalent to our ankle). These injuries would be so dramatic and obvious that they would seem incompatible with survival. Indeed, one of the images that will be forever burned into my retina is that of a moose trying to run along a gravel bar on three good legs, the other flopping around behind. The injuries on these camera traps, however, seemed to have at least partially healed – presumably because they never got as bad as the “floppy” stage.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjilRpvyoGb_oFqEnGiyGhSXY7raceO7isWwSuIJRBJzuT6IawPNwpGkGTaEkA8kdu5DIZDThcKSx1QGWroTuWnk8YQUhnR3RQeiTlRdiiI9yEOlxTemuOsm6ITFyb6FzMWsdKE0Oub88qrxug0aj-38Ij95hxxM5b5Ea8AnCJWBEV4wNMLZqcf72w6sA/s827/Screenshot%202022-08-02%20150537.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="827" data-original-width="727" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjilRpvyoGb_oFqEnGiyGhSXY7raceO7isWwSuIJRBJzuT6IawPNwpGkGTaEkA8kdu5DIZDThcKSx1QGWroTuWnk8YQUhnR3RQeiTlRdiiI9yEOlxTemuOsm6ITFyb6FzMWsdKE0Oub88qrxug0aj-38Ij95hxxM5b5Ea8AnCJWBEV4wNMLZqcf72w6sA/w562-h640/Screenshot%202022-08-02%20150537.JPG" width="562" /></a></div><br /><p>Was it possible that the moose had simply healed enough to “deal” with these injuries – and now were not too severely compromised in their movement? Perhaps we could test that by comparing their movement patterns to those of uninjured moose. Indeed, even before this most recent camera trap deployment, we had seen moose with injuries on the older camera traps – and though perhaps that some of them (one anyway) was the same moose in multiple years. What would these new and better recordings reveal? We had 12 injured moose to work with – although (perhaps) some of those 12 were actually the same moose recorded in different years.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ly1jVA6w5WM" width="320" youtube-src-id="ly1jVA6w5WM"></iframe></div><br /><p>We first set out to ask if injured moose showed gross differences in their time of movement. We had previously noted – based on our older camera traps – that moose seemed to move upstream in the spring and downstream in the late fall and early winter. That pattern was confirmed with the three-year deployment of our new camera traps. The injured moose were no different in this respect.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU6ZgttEf_zpvXa25hOdfhliZ0RO2S3DFrx_sCNKgOPopRMj9w0G7wZUeXwv9wmRMfn0AB0xIczG0KsUxKMjRBLIAbCBUi7c25zsq8hBDjn-yjFeMdw3ZKkqcfG7QMB6IjyuiSlM1tGGizUIABxdtdfR0OxA2Usk3RBraFoqOYIzclrC9U1oLkRCgceg/s1269/Screenshot%202022-08-02%20150741.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="553" data-original-width="1269" height="278" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU6ZgttEf_zpvXa25hOdfhliZ0RO2S3DFrx_sCNKgOPopRMj9w0G7wZUeXwv9wmRMfn0AB0xIczG0KsUxKMjRBLIAbCBUi7c25zsq8hBDjn-yjFeMdw3ZKkqcfG7QMB6IjyuiSlM1tGGizUIABxdtdfR0OxA2Usk3RBraFoqOYIzclrC9U1oLkRCgceg/w640-h278/Screenshot%202022-08-02%20150741.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p>We next examined more fine scale patterns of movement. For instance, moose tend to use the trail in a “contagious” or clustered fashion, with many moose passing the camera traps on one day, then several days with no moose passing, and then many moose passing again a few days later. Again, injured moose were no different. The typically moved along the trail on roughly the same days as most other moose were using the trail.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAR98rLVHNaUJHvAVTY_D4FPi0Wyy7vfHfNjGhNWjT80pV9HeNqWgH1u8YWX7AnyM6NmerGviA_LU8Sgg6KObDbdET-A-h0ZhXohE4GD9GnObwLlFXmQJV9pxsrXkMZBbL4cUcgiuvRi5VMC0ABAl97vs6HX_-hgbPF8wrBCJVco1mI38S3mmsqm8t6A/s971/Screenshot%202022-08-02%20150835.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="642" data-original-width="971" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAR98rLVHNaUJHvAVTY_D4FPi0Wyy7vfHfNjGhNWjT80pV9HeNqWgH1u8YWX7AnyM6NmerGviA_LU8Sgg6KObDbdET-A-h0ZhXohE4GD9GnObwLlFXmQJV9pxsrXkMZBbL4cUcgiuvRi5VMC0ABAl97vs6HX_-hgbPF8wrBCJVco1mI38S3mmsqm8t6A/w640-h424/Screenshot%202022-08-02%20150835.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p>Finally, we examined the pace of movement – by measuring the time taken between the two most widely-separated traps on the trail on which a given injured moose was recorded. These estimates indicated that the speed of injured moose on the trail was 0.28 m/s to 1.33 m/s – with the first estimate (0.28 m/s) being an outlier. Were these speeds atypical? To answer this question, we needed to estimate the speed of uninjured moose across the trail – but uninjured moose were hard to identify. So we searched for individual uninjured moose that could be reliably identified across multiple camera traps in a paired design. That is, for each injured moose that transited the trail, we searched the surrounding days for an uninjured moose to which it could be compared – and we were successful for 11 of the 12 cases. Calculating speeds for these uninjured moose revealed no difference from the injured moose – they were all moving about the same speed.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFcuSDLt4l-B31lJZ93yxGPYAzMm1xEMCnQE26mIinY2zkkjEgjs8nbUZpFdJR5OclHQqErgeKiNLaibjodbR6Rzi-ziIgNO2koVVNaUW4QCd-TyOIyQlvhz4XYvYhTZO69n-2lkVdqT3Zcbkn6Goe5GOlTeArxcL6LhruzNw_tkdrsRmuSI2nUmbB8Q/s961/Screenshot%202022-08-02%20150938.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="486" data-original-width="961" height="324" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFcuSDLt4l-B31lJZ93yxGPYAzMm1xEMCnQE26mIinY2zkkjEgjs8nbUZpFdJR5OclHQqErgeKiNLaibjodbR6Rzi-ziIgNO2koVVNaUW4QCd-TyOIyQlvhz4XYvYhTZO69n-2lkVdqT3Zcbkn6Goe5GOlTeArxcL6LhruzNw_tkdrsRmuSI2nUmbB8Q/w640-h324/Screenshot%202022-08-02%20150938.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p>In the rest of the paper, we speculate on the reasons for the apparent non-effect of obvious injuries on movement. In short, the key point is that probably only moose that could still get along well – even with the injury – would live long enough to be recorded on our camera traps. This is kind of like the old observation that bullet marks on war planes returning to base mysteriously seem to be absent from the engines and cockpits. Of course, we also discuss in the paper how these findings have broader implications – especially in relation to how natural selection works on organismal traits.</p><p><b><u>What’s next?</u></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/44bKuUDPiqs" width="320" youtube-src-id="44bKuUDPiqs"></iframe></div><br /><p>I am writing this on a rainy day at my cabin while on sabbatical. Tomorrow I will start to go out and pick up the camera traps that have been recording the past year. We will do the rest when the kids arrive in a few weeks. We now have two more years of data – beyond those already published – and we have a lot of observations I haven’t discussed here. What will be the next family paper? Maybe it will be about the splits. Or maybe about how various animals “use” the bear-marking trees. Or maybe the injured wolves, which in inordinately common. Whatever it is, the rewards of family research will continue to accrue.</p><p>Or I could just focus on posting TikTok videos on @cameratrapclassics.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmK0jth5dJHGFxp7ktLRLPdn3d1uq0IDGmChANB4zaXgqFuGVS6OPiW5PRQZe3pwy7GtDoLsUxMB8XPIlvU7AcPgQaNqmurKIzrndLe0LHi-e_Eqp64yO-0XC6J0WtbqKLEi6yPoteNfGTSKAGqPJQuoYaO1RpDpRj-0Z6-WRAjqXwZqpLR1GZjgfqag/s2280/Screenshot_20220802-151334_TikTok.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2280" data-original-width="1080" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmK0jth5dJHGFxp7ktLRLPdn3d1uq0IDGmChANB4zaXgqFuGVS6OPiW5PRQZe3pwy7GtDoLsUxMB8XPIlvU7AcPgQaNqmurKIzrndLe0LHi-e_Eqp64yO-0XC6J0WtbqKLEi6yPoteNfGTSKAGqPJQuoYaO1RpDpRj-0Z6-WRAjqXwZqpLR1GZjgfqag/w304-h640/Screenshot_20220802-151334_TikTok.jpg" width="304" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p>* I suppose it is worth noting that – beyond purchase of the cameras – no research funds were used for any travel or remuneration of myself or my family. In short, neither I nor my family have received any monetary benefits from the work – quite the contrary, in fact, as we have invested a lot of our own personal funds in implementation of the project</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><br /><br /><br />Andrew Hendryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03653724437118653645noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4456348657596914237.post-58456673089342623652022-07-20T20:30:00.001-04:002022-07-20T20:30:26.049-04:00The Inertia Fallacy - saved by stickleback?<p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">In ecology
and evolution, we often keep doing what we have always done – not the least
because we really value long-term datasets and detailed understanding of a
given system. As such, for the first 20 years of my career as a Professor, I
carried out annual research on Darwin’s finches (and the plants they eat) in
Galapagos, guppies (and their parasites) in Trinidad, and threespine stickleback
along the west coast of North America. Nearly every year, we mounted a huge
field expedition to each of those places – sometimes several trips in a given
year – each with multiple students. And each of these systems has certainly
yielded excellent papers and useful insights. Moreover, I have always valued
the complementary insights that can be leverage by considering similarities and
differences across the systems – a fact I always touted in my NSERC Discovery
program grant applications. Here is an example from 2011.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i>My research seeks to advance our fundamental
understanding of eco-evolutionary dynamics through research on three natural
systems: Trinidadian guppies (Poecilia reticulata), threespine stickleback
(Gasterosteus aculeatus), and Darwin’s finches (Geospiza spp.). Results from
these systems are then to flesh out the [general framework] for interactions
between ecology and evolution. The impact of this work will be an increased
integration of evolutionary principles into ecology, conservation, and
biodiversity science …<o:p></o:p></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I can’t say the grant reviewers always liked this attempt to
integrate work on three systems – perhaps because I couldn’t give enough detail
about any one of them in the course of 5-page NSERC Discovery proposal. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Meanwhile, I have supported student-led intensive field
research on snails and fishes and dolphins in Panama, fishes in Uganda, howler
monkeys in Argentina, lemon sharks in Bahamas, native fishes in Chile, and
more. For each of these extra systems (save one – sorry Joey), I made sure to
take at least one personal field trip to help out – two trips in some cases. Although
it all came off, it was a bit much at times – with each project suffering to
some extent from limited money and time that I was able to invest. A bit “like
butter scraped over too much bread,” as Bilbo might say.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">And then COVID upended all of it – with McGill University
taking the uber-conservative approach of forbidding all international research
for two years. In the spring 2020, I had to prematurely uproot students doing
field seasons in Trinidad and Galapagos – leaving them with insufficient data
for the projects they had planned. And I had to completely cancel stickleback
field work in Alaska, thankfully then carried forward to our AK-resident
collaborators (thanks Kat and Jesse). Of course, the idea then was to pick up
all of these long-term research projects immediately in 2021 so as to not
really compromise their data sets. But then various COVID surges completely
nixed all three field season in 2021. Now, with two years of zero data for all
three long-term research projects, the introspection began. Should we bother to
continue with finches, guppies, and stickleback? Or should we just stop with
some of those systems, thereby redirecting optimal effort to the others – or
should we start something new? <o:p></o:p></p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dxX94hsL0oWGbmCjssrYYtT01JeiLR6xO1gsiyxVs-Kmeid_90grDZGge2I7u31DXVIHFQ6vUfCn2bcJIPDVg' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><br /><p class="MsoNormal">I reflected on this fork in the road for many months and eventually
realized that, although everything was fine with how things had been going, I
was perhaps caught in a fallacy that only the two-year COVID induced break
would allow me to escape. Perhaps the best-known fallacy is The Concord Fallacy
– named after the famous plane. The fallacy was that the Concord had always
lost money, yet governments and companies kept investing in it simply because
they had already invested so much already. As soon as they stopped investing
money, the thought was that their existing investment would be forever lost and
could never be recovered. So they just kept throwing good money after bad, or
is it the other way around. After way too long, they eventually broke out of
the fallacy and simply stopped the program.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The fallacy in which I was caught was a bit different.
Specifically, I kept research projects going partly just because I had always kept
them going. Every year, I would mounted field expeditions for finches, guppies,
and stickleback – with huge investments, complicated logistics, and insane
beaurocracy (VISAs, travel documents, animal care approvals, animal care
training, collection permits, export permits, import permits, genetic resource
permits, park use permits, ecological reserve permits, Species At Risk Act
permits, fish transfer permits, Canadian Food Inspection Agency permits). Yes –
no kidding – all of those things and much more, nearly every year.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Yes, we did good work in all three systems, and enjoyed it;
but was that WHY we kept doing it? What were the prospects for BIG innovations
in each system: conceptually and practically? Or were we just “filling in the
corners” as Pippin might have put it? Maybe we could call it the Nikon Fallacy (I
keep using Nikon simply because it is always what I have used and I have tons
of Nikon equipment already) or the PC Fallacy (I keep using a PC simply because
it is what I have always done); or, more generally, the Inertia Fallacy (I keep
doing stuff mostly because I have always done it).<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Once the two-year long COVID/McGill-imposed field work hiatus
allowed me to see how my research program could be falling into the Inertia
Fallacy, I decided to re-evaluate the situation and, in the end, drop intensive
field research on finches in Galapagos and guppies in Trinidad – thus
redirecting all efforts toward stickleback (and other emerging projects). Why?<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin-left: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: 0cm;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">1.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Research in Galapagos is extremely expensive
(e.g., we have to take a cab [currently $50+ USD] every single day to the field
site – often two cabs), limited (e.g., we have to work on an “open” population that
is part of a larger island population – as opposed to the “closed” population
of Daphne Major), and prone to insane beaurocratic hurdles (e.g., we often have
to wait years to get our blood samples out – and sometimes the samples are lost
by the authorities – yes, really!). The pay-off-per-dollar simply isn’t there
for the marginal improvements that can be made over what we have already
collected. Further, every student working on the systems is becomes frustrated
when what they planned is wrecked through indifference from the authorities. Perhaps
most importantly, it is completely impossible to do any sort of experimental
manipulations with finches – and we can’t hold them in captivity either. (I am
not saying that we should be allowed to do these things – only that it is
impossible regardless.)<span lang="EN-CA" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXOJawRLjlZuMPpsHe83QVcM2csZTI0wMKmAlxLyHfr8K2ZS3zocPbHdRcbEitdECv99gGiqtEYceYQw5173EGGOyJpfYj-9GpoIjQAPnricd87CaSS67pKW-lha96Du8F8E4aL-XDj50LTbOW-VqFJX5Hjuxe-2VhzsEVO7ffhRAax_IXxAfgRMV5mA/s800/7605105490_eef17a9f52_c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="579" data-original-width="800" height="290" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXOJawRLjlZuMPpsHe83QVcM2csZTI0wMKmAlxLyHfr8K2ZS3zocPbHdRcbEitdECv99gGiqtEYceYQw5173EGGOyJpfYj-9GpoIjQAPnricd87CaSS67pKW-lha96Du8F8E4aL-XDj50LTbOW-VqFJX5Hjuxe-2VhzsEVO7ffhRAax_IXxAfgRMV5mA/w400-h290/7605105490_eef17a9f52_c.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin-left: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-CA"><o:p> </o:p></span><span lang="EN-CA" style="text-indent: 0cm;">2.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><span style="text-indent: 0cm;">Research in Trinidad is very crowded. Many many
research groups are using the same small set of research sites to answer
similar questions – and those groups don’t always get along. It is stressful
for the students – and even for the PIs. Also, for 5 years, the Canadian Food
Inspection Agency (CFIA) inexplicably prevented us from bringing guppies back
from Trinidad to Canada. (OK, they kind of allowed it at some level but the
hurdles were beyond the pale – including large cash outlays and the killing of
a huge fraction of the fish we brought back.) It seems they have recently
removed guppies from their “list” but whose to say they won’t put it back. Perhaps
most critical, however, Trinidad is the least safe of the places we work, with
students sometimes having very negative interactions with local people. (One
year, a person was shot and their body dumped in our driveway – this had
nothing to do with us – it just happened where we were.) I should note though
that we also have had truly outstanding interactions with many local people who
have helped us out. But that doesn’t change the fact that it is definitely the
most dangerous of our field sites – especially if we also throw in snakes (we
see many Fer-de-Lance, although no one has yet been bitten) and diseases (many
guppy researchers have had Dengue Fever – including myself). I love Trinidad –
I really do. There is nothing quite so pleasant as walking along a pristine
stream in perfect temperatures, and camping under a high canopy while
Bellbirds, Oropendulas, Oil Birds, and Manakins make the forest around you come
alive. But does this enjoyment off-set the difficulties – some years floods (or
droughts) completely scupper student plans.</span></p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-fid66jT19rWUJf13j9nhDevozFlCNFhs1TaRhqLv1t-Vc88ae2WyE84aBvtMFv-n6DMD7S_iRHeYgADcCObk52BueMRFYLIr_yphSXwgTMHjxJfES1PB4-hiEvWz7Jq7xpyb_ml1qjdWiDLVDv-eYautaGjYlGs5ksRIGl5UA8kRaMu1NOXjuQKXdQ/s800/7604145474_a47690a878_c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="532" data-original-width="800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-fid66jT19rWUJf13j9nhDevozFlCNFhs1TaRhqLv1t-Vc88ae2WyE84aBvtMFv-n6DMD7S_iRHeYgADcCObk52BueMRFYLIr_yphSXwgTMHjxJfES1PB4-hiEvWz7Jq7xpyb_ml1qjdWiDLVDv-eYautaGjYlGs5ksRIGl5UA8kRaMu1NOXjuQKXdQ/w400-h266/7604145474_a47690a878_c.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p class="MsoNormal">This isn’t
to say that my lab will stop working on these systems. Indeed, we have many
papers on finches and guppies in the pipeline, and our long-term data and
samples can be leveraged for years (probably my entire career and beyond). And
some students will mount more focused and simple field expeditions to Trinidad
and Galapagos – often in collaboration with local researchers.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Also, this
post is not to discourage others from working on finches or guppies – they
really are fantastic in many ways. Rather, I am just trying to explain the
thought process that played out for me after we were completely unable to
continue our research in Galapagos or Trinidad for two years, thus breaking the
continuity of our long-term data sets.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">So, why
should I focus most future research toward stickleback – well, to a point, they
are just the best:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrKvZ8A8nYsV0HaRMjpWFJgamxeS3GjRpbf8la9PK_d9fcWEcAvOGkaPJvrS410S0wIQZ_fGlLcKWGe80jwlfzpRC7y4q3_bH8LEc2m8Zl9mhNtZK-miinqF5QV98jrrt8TPro1njxFQPFOhDK4CTE9K6ugGXpVeoZUuZ6Km2_O7kHhW9Cc5m2Fp2G6w/s960/stickle%20traps.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="718" data-original-width="960" height="299" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrKvZ8A8nYsV0HaRMjpWFJgamxeS3GjRpbf8la9PK_d9fcWEcAvOGkaPJvrS410S0wIQZ_fGlLcKWGe80jwlfzpRC7y4q3_bH8LEc2m8Zl9mhNtZK-miinqF5QV98jrrt8TPro1njxFQPFOhDK4CTE9K6ugGXpVeoZUuZ6Km2_O7kHhW9Cc5m2Fp2G6w/w400-h299/stickle%20traps.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p class="MsoNormal">0. Of the
three systems, I have longest history of
working with guppies – starting in 1998. My finch and guppy work started in
2001.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">1. Genomic
resources for stickleback are vastly better than those for finches or guppies
or, indeed, pretty much any other “natural” model out there. We don’t do the
genomic work in my lab; but rather have a network of truly outstanding (the
best, really) stickleback genomic collaborators (ping Rowan Barrett, Katie
Peichel, Dan Bolnick, Daniel Berner).<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal">2. Stickleback
have a massive distribution; they occur naturally across the entire northern
hemisphere, within a few hundred meters elevation of the ocean. We have already
written papers combining samples from Vancouver Island (BC), Nova Scotia,
Alaska, Iceland, Germany, Norway, and Switzerland. And we have additional stickleback
research projects in California, Haida Gwaii, Quebec, and Russia – along with
pending collaborations in Japan, Greenland, and beyond.</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/cz5dy2Bptas" width="320" youtube-src-id="cz5dy2Bptas"></iframe></div><br /><p class="MsoNormal">3. Stickleback
have evolutionary replication<span style="background-color: white;"> <span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">nonpareil</span>. Stickleback in different watersheds have
independently evolved adaptations to their local environments fo</span>llowing
separate colonization by marine (anadromous) ancestors. This allows researchers
to have virtually unlimited replication of whatever ecological contrast they
care about: benthic versus limnetic (although the lakes with species pairs are
few and very localized), lake versus stream, marine versus freshwater, different
predator communities, different parasite communities, and so on.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">4. Stickleback
are also adapters nonpareil. They show incredibly dramatic divergence in numerous
traits (plates, spines, gill rakers, shape, etc.) among freshwater habitats –
and many of those traits are readily visible to the eye and have a known
genetic basis. Further, the develop massive genome differences on very small
spatial scales – for example, numerous (nearly) fixed allele frequency
differences over a 100 m habitat transition in Misty Lake versus Inlet Stream
fish.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dzlAveZGx7Ba3ZoXjctnaQes9RyTFlHtmuKaljJS79pKvLB9I3avIVqe_CVZbb5E7RFxAFB6ivH87BLohi6Sg' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><br /><p class="MsoNormal">5. Many
instances are known where stickleback populations have recently (last 50 years)
undergone dramatic habitat shifts either naturally or artificially (human
introduced) – allowing an unprecedent opportunity to study contemporary (rapid)
evolution in natural settings.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">6. Many
opportunities are available for controlled replicated experimental
introductions in nature. Indeed, we just introduced 10 new populations to help
restore lakes that had been treated by managers with Rotenone to remove
invasive species. The stickleback had to go back in – and the agencies were
happy to let us do it. #WorldsGreatestEcoEvoExperiment<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dyVWB5ivHCGPClBxD72UgQFSEqBf2k4wscFL5ze6uuYIyRofN2S9NaUqEowfRtcsYxYw5SwnSr42-eWxPuILA' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>7. Stickleback
are incredibly important mid-trophic level species in their ecosystems – not
officially a “keystone species” (too abundant), an ecosystem engineer (too
small), or a foundation species (too small again); but most definitely an
“ecologically-important species.”<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">8. Stickleback
have relatively short generation times (as short as one year) and are
relatively easy to rear in the laboratory.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">9. Stickleback
researchers are – for the most part – super nice and collaborative.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">I should
note that I have a longer history with salmon, starting in 1991, and have continued
to work with that group ever since. They also share some of the above qualities
– along with the same habitats – and they have direct interactions with humans.
Hence, I envision also continuing with – and expanding – my research projects
on salmon.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">I could go
on but maybe that is enough. Now that I see my research program was subject to
the Inertia Fallacy, I can break out of it and go all-in on stickleback (and
salmon?) for the rest of my career. Wanna join? Just send me a message – we
have many cool new projects clamoring for new students.<o:p></o:p></span></p><br /><p></p>Andrew Hendryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03653724437118653645noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4456348657596914237.post-45111761595980604362022-05-20T13:28:00.004-04:002022-05-20T13:28:58.464-04:00Not by vaults and locks: To archive code, or not?<p> <b style="font-family: Optima; font-size: 13px;">The cases for and against archiving code</b></p>
<p style="font-family: Optima; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">by, Bob Montgomerie (Queen’s University)</p>
<p style="font-family: Optima; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Data Editor—The American Naturalist</p>
<p style="font-family: Optima; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><br /></p>
<p style="font-family: Optima; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">As of the beginning of this year, The American Naturalist required all authors of submitted manuscripts to upload to their data repository all of the code they used for analysis and modelling. About 80% of authors were already doing that by the time their paper was published, so it seemed like a general requirement for code at the reviewing stage would be useful for reviewers and editors, and especially end users once the paper was published. Note that this requirement only applies if code was used; authors using drag-and-drop GUI software for analyses can generate code reports documenting their steps, but rarely do so. </p><p style="font-family: Optima; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: Optima; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">As data editor, I have now looked at about 100 scripts of R and Python code provided by authors. Based on that experience and my own coding practices for the past 55 years(!), I am not so sure that requiring code in data repositories is such a good idea. To that end, Dan Bolnick (current EIC), Volker Rudolf (incoming EIC), and I will hold a discussion session about this issue, and data repositories in general, at the Asilomar meeting of The American Society of Naturalists in January 2023 at Asilomar.</p><p style="font-family: Optima; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: Optima; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg_DzLdyn6yK8N9gBSKruaebEkH9gT0x-AuZwb2BNhrE8-lmqHzfqarZcwUT0yuh94u4W6VicGDdB6wNvr9ih9E3qSvwU0P7pwu2vj1aj9xdqFYoIRM0KUFGNwtXsJrpsGezYaRfEMH6s7L-GuZafHqNWR_xjMB0jop0_Zf0u15PbqKZhBytDUsBg89" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="383" data-original-width="651" height="188" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg_DzLdyn6yK8N9gBSKruaebEkH9gT0x-AuZwb2BNhrE8-lmqHzfqarZcwUT0yuh94u4W6VicGDdB6wNvr9ih9E3qSvwU0P7pwu2vj1aj9xdqFYoIRM0KUFGNwtXsJrpsGezYaRfEMH6s7L-GuZafHqNWR_xjMB0jop0_Zf0u15PbqKZhBytDUsBg89" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br /><p></p>
<p style="font-family: Optima; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><br /></p>
<p style="font-family: Optima; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">To provide a basis for that discussion, here are what I see as the cases for and against providing code, staring with the cons:</p>
<p style="font-family: Optima; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><br /></p>
<p style="font-family: Optima; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><b>A1. Workload: </b>For most of us, cleaning up the code that you used for analysis or modelling can be a ton of work—organizing, deleting extraneous material, annotating, checking that results match what is reported, providing workflow information. It can also be a bit daunting to think that someone is going to look at your crappy coding practices—I know that it took me a month of work and deliberation before I posted my first code script in a public repository. Even now, having done this a couple of dozen times, I know that I am looking at a full day’s work to bring my code up to my rather minimal standards of usability and transparency.</p>
<p style="font-family: Optima; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><br /></p>
<p style="font-family: Optima; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Let me allay one fear right here—none of the 100+ code scripts I have looked at so far have been horrible. Everyone using R and Python seems to have adopted reasonable coding—though not necessarily reasonable statistical—practices. One person wrote code that was so compact and so elegant that it took me hours to figure out what the author had done. Normally I would not spend more than a few minute looking at code submitted with a manuscript, but I thought I might learn something useful, which I did. While I appreciated that author’s expertise, I would rather read and use code that is a little more friendly to the average user like me. My guess is that nobody cares how inelegant your code is as long as it’s well annotated and gets the job done.</p>
<p style="font-family: Optima; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><br /></p>
<p style="font-family: Optima; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">On requiring code for papers submitted to The American Naturalist, Dan Bolnick (EIC at The American Naturalist) was a little worried that the extra work, and exposure to mediocre coding practices, would reduce submissions to The American Naturalist. At first there appeared to be a little downturn in submission rates t the start of 2022 but there are other potential causes for that (pandemic burnout, gearing up for a potential renewal of field work, etc). Even so, if this requirement discourages authors who are unwilling to be transparent about their analyses, then the journal and science benefit.</p>
<p style="font-family: Optima; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><br /></p>
<p style="font-family: Optima; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><b>A2. Usefulness:</b> One purpose, ostensibly, of published code is transparency, allowing reviewers, editors and readers to replicate what is reported in the manuscript and eventual publication. But my experience, so far is that hardly anybody does this. Reviewers and editors rarely seem to comment on the code that authors provide. Even the data editors do not check to see if the code produces the output that matches what is in the manuscript, nor even that all of the reported results are dealt with in the code. We do look at the code but only to address some formatting and accessibility issues (see A3 below).</p>
<p style="font-family: Optima; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><br /></p>
<p style="font-family: Optima; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">As a user of published data, I much prefer to write my own code to see if the results that I get match those reported by the authors. If there is a mismatch it might be interesting—but rather tedious—to figure out where the authors went wrong, but I am not sure that their advantages of such forensic work unless scientific misconduct is suspected. A disturbing proportion of authors’ code that I have looked at so far contains what I would call statistical, rather than coding, errors, especially with respect to violating important assumptions or ignoring without comment any errors thrown up by the code. Checking for those errors should really be the job of reviewers and editors but is probably considered to be far too time-consuming.</p>
<p style="font-family: Optima; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><br /></p>
<p style="font-family: Optima; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><b>A3. Accessibility: </b>The vast majority of R and Python scripts that I have looked at so far will not run ‘as is’ on my computer. The most common reasons for this are that authors write scripts that (i) try to load files on the author’s hard drive, or even to files that do not exist in their data repository, (ii) are so poorly annotated that the purpose is far from clear, (iii) use packages that are not on CRAN etc with no information as to where to get them, (iv) throw up error messages with no comments as to why those errors were ignored, (v) use deprecated functions and packages from versions much earlier than the current version (often with no package version info provided), or (vi) require a specific, and unspecified, work flow. I have enough experience that I can usually deal with those deficiencies in minutes but I worry about other users just throwing up their hands when code does not work, or not willing to put in the time and effort to fix the code. Moreover, code written today will not necessarily run ‘as is’ in a few months or years, as the coding environments, packages, and functions evolve and often become deprecated. Unlike well documented datasets, saved in a universal simple format like csv, code has the potential to become obsolete and almost unusable in the future. Can anyone open my VisiCalc files—my go-to spreadsheet app in the late 1970s? </p>
<p style="font-family: Optima; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><br /></p>
<p style="font-family: Optima; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">The data editors at The American Naturalist ask authors to fix their code when they identify those deficiencies, but we simply do not have the time or inclination to work with authors to make their code completely transparent and usable. We take a fairly light touch on this to help, rather than discourage authors, and presumably practices will improve as everyone gets used to submitting code to journals. Most journal editors and reviewers probably do not have the time or expertise to deal with code in addition to handling manuscripts.</p>
<p style="font-family: Optima; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><br /></p>
<p style="font-family: Optima; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">And the advantages, as a counterpoint to the disadvantages listed above:</p>
<p style="font-family: Optima; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><br /></p>
<p style="font-family: Optima; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><b>F1. Workload:</b> This is work you should really be doing whether or not you make your code publicly available in a data repository. Your future self will thank you when it comes to revising your manuscript, or at some later date needing to reanalyze those data. Reusing well-annotated code is also just standard practice among coders, rather than re-inventing the wheel every time you repeat an analysis or a modelling exercise. When developing analyses in R or Python, for example, it can be tremendously time-saving to (i) use versioning, (ii) comment extensively to explain what you are doing and why, (iii) use R or jupyter (or other) notebooks to keep a running commentary of the purpose of chunks of code and the conclusions that you draw from analyses</p>
<p style="font-family: Optima; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><br /></p>
<p style="font-family: Optima; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><b>F2. Usefulness:</b> Code is undoubtedly extremely useful for modelling exercises, where little or no empirical data are used, and the research depends entirely on the code. Presumably reviewers and editors handling such manuscripts take a close look at the code to make sure that the authors have not made any obvious mistakes that would lead to incorrect conclusions.</p>
<p style="font-family: Optima; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><br /></p>
<p style="font-family: Optima; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">For research based on data analyses, published code can be very useful for training students, as well as researchers beginning to do some coding. I often use published code in my own work especially when learning new analytical procedures. Especially in my graduate and undergraduate statistics courses, students seem to appreciate those real-world examples. As I mentioned above, re-using code is standard practice although most of us probably get the most useful code from blog posts, online manuals, and stack overflow. Despite that usable code associated with a publication can help you to replicate the authors’ methods in your own work.</p>
<p style="font-family: Optima; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><br /></p>
<p style="font-family: Optima; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><b>F3. Accessibility: </b>With R and Python, at least, previous language and package versions are available on the internet so that users can recreate the environment used by the original coder. There are also sites online that can facilitate this. As authors get into the practice of providing version information, and adequately commenting their code, the problems of accessibility should largely be alleviated as the analysis software evolves.</p>
<p style="font-family: Optima; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><br /></p>
<p style="font-family: Optima; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><b>Food for Thought</b></p>
<p style="font-family: Optima; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">As the scientific publishing environment evolved over the past 250 years, and especially in the last two decades, we have all more-or-less seamlessly adapted to the new environments. The requirement to provide data and code in a public repository, however, has been a sea change that not everyone is comfortable with, yet. I am all-in for providing raw data but wonder whether the requirement for providing code has enough benefits that it is worth pursuing at least in the short term. We have identified errors and deficiencies in more than 75% of the datasets archived with manuscripts from The American Naturalist in the past year, and I would like to see that problem solved first. To that end, I feel that undergraduate and graduate student education needs to focus as much on data management as on any other aspect of doing good science. </p><p style="font-family: Optima; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: Optima; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: Optima; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: Optima; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">“Since the first satellites had been orbited, almost fifty years earlier, trillions and quadrillions of pulses of information had been pouring down from space, to be stored against the day when they might contribute to the advance of knowledge. Only a minute fraction of all this raw material would ever be processed; but there was no way of telling what observation some scientist might wish to consult, ten, or fifty, or a hundred years from now. So everything had to be kept on file, stacked in endless airconditioned galleries, triplicated at the [data] centers against the possibility of accidental loss. It was part of the real treasure of mankind, more valuable than all the gold locked uselessly away in bank vaults.” </span><br style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">― </span><span class="authorOrTitle" style="color: #333333; font-family: Lato, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold;">Arthur C. Clarke</span></p><p style="font-family: Optima; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: Optima; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">“Let us save what remains: not by vaults and locks which fence them from the public eye and use in consigning them to the waste of time, but by such a multiplication of copies, as shall place them beyond the reach of accident.” </span><br style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">― </span><span class="authorOrTitle" style="color: #333333; font-family: Lato, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold;">Thomas Jefferson*</span></p><div>*Jefferson is a divisive figure because of his defense of, and involvement in, slavery. </div>Dan Bolnickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05181664810897127126noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4456348657596914237.post-13357408721301799622022-05-09T16:06:00.003-04:002022-05-09T16:10:44.827-04:00The Spine of the Stickleback<p><i>How an first-year undergrad drove more than 15,000 km to brave mosquitoes and forest fires en route to photographing, fin clipping, and releasing more than 10,000 stickleback in the #WorldsGreatestEcoEvoExperiment. </i>By Ismail Ameen</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg53q6tlSyyd_LeTwPOcjnkplogIfPEJCYsgyNqBDSBGhFGbAcZAbAW5jYXmqasuyEMIxbzHX-LGl882FiP2wj4LtVBl_4yqmIKcpyVb5HvVQEeNZNf9TvyrGhntXcLXdmoP2dTE624-LYcxYu3BbT-uU5Rvmot2KW2fqWbcqPhj2bLdxvTo6WwDRLkuw/s275/alaska1.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="206" data-original-width="275" height="206" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg53q6tlSyyd_LeTwPOcjnkplogIfPEJCYsgyNqBDSBGhFGbAcZAbAW5jYXmqasuyEMIxbzHX-LGl882FiP2wj4LtVBl_4yqmIKcpyVb5HvVQEeNZNf9TvyrGhntXcLXdmoP2dTE624-LYcxYu3BbT-uU5Rvmot2KW2fqWbcqPhj2bLdxvTo6WwDRLkuw/s1600/alaska1.png" width="275" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Left to Right: Ismail Ameen, Hillary Poore, and Victor Frankel somewhere in the Kenai Peninsula</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="text-indent: 36pt;"><br /></span><div><span style="text-indent: 36pt;">With the bustle of Calgary fading
behind me, and the rolling green hills of Alberta’s countryside flanking me
from either side, the golden sun mid July exposed the enormity of the country I
was passing through. I had just completed a month of ecological field work in
Kenai Alaska, and was trekking back to Montreal with 3 fellow researchers. We
were carrying a valuable cargo. Countless samples detailing key features of
lake ecosystems primed for an evolutionary journey.</span><div><span style="text-indent: 36pt;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="text-indent: 36pt;">I first became exposed to the field of Eco-Evolutionary Dynamics
(eco-evo) after reading Jonathan Weiner’s book “The Beak of the Finch” which
covers the groundbreaking research of Peter and Rosemary Grant. The Grant’s
research concerned the finches of Daphne Major in the Galapagos, where they
found that natural selection was not just limited to being a slow process as
Darwin described, but could also act at rapid timescales. In the span of a few
generations, selection could impose significant changes on a population.
Instilled with a newfound curiosity, I reached out to Professor Andrew Hendry
who was teaching my introductory biology course. Following his recommendation,
I read his book on Eco-Evolutionary Dynamics (2017 – Princeton University
Press) to gain a somewhat better idea of the field and its goals. Essentially,
eco-evo studies the following feedback loop:</span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDqc4MHxNax03RROkmXsyJXnXuUiP3U-JsHRPdwPn-MjmXBZyEVVNqqGkkcFXUJGrI3IssySI57pbOvuu6DMyWLb0sqdvJk2K7Wfs68bjFKC0nqTJMhF5NT0qn9_wlIs2S5e3QH89B3VsQpkWjWzP07MEzW669fnbCci82nrtjqiktWsAeQpaevPPZ0g/s617/alaska2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="617" data-original-width="400" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDqc4MHxNax03RROkmXsyJXnXuUiP3U-JsHRPdwPn-MjmXBZyEVVNqqGkkcFXUJGrI3IssySI57pbOvuu6DMyWLb0sqdvJk2K7Wfs68bjFKC0nqTJMhF5NT0qn9_wlIs2S5e3QH89B3VsQpkWjWzP07MEzW669fnbCci82nrtjqiktWsAeQpaevPPZ0g/s320/alaska2.jpg" width="207" /></a></div>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Ecological dynamics shaping evolution<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left; text-indent: 36pt;">Merging the fields of evolution and ecology in
this way is particularly useful since the two are intrinsically linked. Thus,
understanding how the two interact has numerous downstream benefits that extend
to applied sciences like conservation and agriculture.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left; text-indent: 36pt;">Upon completing the book, I was inspired by the
sense of power this field of research bestows. Understanding eco-evo is akin to
grasping a fundamental law of life on this planet. Filled with a sense of
purpose, I immediately sought to participate in research. My efforts paid off,
as Professor Hendry offered me a spot on a field research team whose goal was
to set up a large eco-evo study in Alaska.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="text-indent: 36pt;">The team, comprising PI’s, grad students, and
undergrads from multiple universities, had several objectives, but all of them
revolved around one species: the threespine stickleback. This bony little fish
provides an extremely powerful tool to evolutionary biologists, acting as a
“supermodel” species that can be studied from multiple angles (molecular,
genetic, ecological, etc.). Freshwater stickleback also happen to be a keystone
species in lake ecosystems, meaning that they are essential to local food web
stability. The essential niche they occupy isn’t set in stone, however,</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes; text-indent: 36pt;"> </span><span style="text-indent: 36pt;">as two stickleback “ecotypes” arise depending
on the circumstances. The first ecotype is the benthic form which are found at
the bottom of the water column, while the second ecotype is the limnetic form
which are found towards the surface of the lake. Benthic stickleback mostly
feed on larval insects on the lake bottom whereas limnetic stickleback mostly
feed on zooplankton in the water column. Leveraging the importance of
stickleback to food web stability, and the clear difference in ecotypes,
Professor Hendry and the other PI’s developed a unique experimental design.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><u><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">The
Experimental Design:</span></u></i></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="text-indent: 36pt;">An ideal experiment to test the importance of
stickleback ecotype to lake ecosystems might look like this: start with lakes
devoid of any stickleback and introduce benthic stickleback into some of them and
limnetic stickleback into others. Then track the resulting changes in various
ecosystem parameters through time. Additionally, population characteristics of
the stickleback could be tracked to elucidate the interactions between
stickleback and their ecosystem.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="text-indent: 36pt;">Designing an experiment like this is one thing,
but actually implementing it is another. Luckily, one of the PI’s (Mike Bell)
was working with Alaska Fish and Game, who were using Rotenone to completely
clear 10 lakes of their fish populations to combat invasive pike. This provided
the opportunity to run the experiment in a natural setting.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Before I
got to Alaska, several years of preparation had occurred which culminated in a
plan to source and transplant stickleback. One of the most important aspects of
this plan was the generation of <i>pools</i> of benthic or limnetic stickleback
formed from multiple source lakes. These pools could then be transplanted into
recipient lakes. Pooling improved the chances of recipient lake recovery as the
mixed populations would be more resilient to hazards that could destroy a
single source lake population. Pooling would also allow for generalizations to
be made about benthic and limnetic stickleback due to the replication embedded
in the pools’ construction (multiple sources reduces the bias of one source).
Ultimately, 8 source lakes were decided upon with an even division in
geographic region, and stickleback ecotype (<i>Table 1)</i>. 4 source lakes of
the same ecotype contributed equally to a pool to mitigate the potential of one
source lake dominating the others.<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; text-indent: 36pt;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Table 1: Source lake pools<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<table border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoTableGrid" style="border-collapse: collapse; border: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-yfti-tbllook: 1184;">
<tbody><tr style="mso-yfti-firstrow: yes; mso-yfti-irow: 0;">
<td style="border: 1pt solid windowtext; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 155.8pt;" valign="top" width="208">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Source Lake:<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
</td>
<td style="border-left: none; border: 1pt solid windowtext; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 155.85pt;" valign="top" width="208">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Stickleback Ecotype:<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
</td>
<td style="border-left: none; border: 1pt solid windowtext; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 155.85pt;" valign="top" width="208">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Location:<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 1;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: 1pt solid windowtext; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 155.8pt;" valign="top" width="208">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Tern<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 155.85pt;" valign="top" width="208">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Benthic<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 155.85pt;" valign="top" width="208">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Kenai<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 2;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: 1pt solid windowtext; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 155.8pt;" valign="top" width="208">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Watson<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 155.85pt;" valign="top" width="208">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Benthic<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 155.85pt;" valign="top" width="208">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Kenai<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 3;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: 1pt solid windowtext; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 155.8pt;" valign="top" width="208">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Walby<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 155.85pt;" valign="top" width="208">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Benthic<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 155.85pt;" valign="top" width="208">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Mat Su<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 4;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: 1pt solid windowtext; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 155.8pt;" valign="top" width="208">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Finger<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 155.85pt;" valign="top" width="208">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Benthic<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 155.85pt;" valign="top" width="208">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Mat Su<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 5;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: 1pt solid windowtext; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 155.8pt;" valign="top" width="208">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Spirit<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 155.85pt;" valign="top" width="208">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Limnetic<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 155.85pt;" valign="top" width="208">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Kenai</span><o:p></o:p></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 6;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: 1pt solid windowtext; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 155.8pt;" valign="top" width="208">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Wik<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 155.85pt;" valign="top" width="208">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Limnetic<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 155.85pt;" valign="top" width="208">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Kenai<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 7;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: 1pt solid windowtext; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 155.8pt;" valign="top" width="208">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">South Rolly<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 155.85pt;" valign="top" width="208">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Limnetic<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 155.85pt;" valign="top" width="208">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Mat Su<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 8; mso-yfti-lastrow: yes;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: 1pt solid windowtext; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 155.8pt;" valign="top" width="208">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Long<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 155.85pt;" valign="top" width="208">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Limnetic<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 155.85pt;" valign="top" width="208">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="break-after: avoid; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; page-break-after: avoid;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Mat Su<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
<p class="MsoCaption"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Table 1: Here I present the 8 source lakes used for
transplant. Source lakes were classified as either benthic or limnetic. The 4
benthic and 4 limnetic lakes were combined, respectively, into pools which were
then transplanted into recipient lakes.</span><b><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Overall,
there were 9 recipient lakes. 4 of the recipient lakes received benthic
stickleback, while another 4 received limnetic. Since one of the primary goals
of the study was to observe the interactions between a particular ecotype and
its environment, recipient lakes were paired based on ecological similarity and
size. This would allow us to transplant the benthic or limnetic pool in two
lakes of similar ecology, increasing inferential power on the effects each ecotype
has. It was especially important to keep lake pairs geographically isolated
from each other to prevent ecotypes from mixing due to watershed connections.
Additionally, to account for the size differences in lakes, non-linear scaling
of stickleback transplant numbers was applied (Table 2). Finally, Loon lake
received an equal proportion of the transplant lakes in order to monitor how
the two ecotypes interact in the same environment.<b><i><o:p></o:p></i></b></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 108pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Table 2: Recipient Lake Transplant
Numbers</span></i></b><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<table border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoTableGrid" style="border-collapse: collapse; border: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-yfti-tbllook: 1184;">
<tbody><tr style="mso-yfti-firstrow: yes; mso-yfti-irow: 0;">
<td style="border: 1pt solid windowtext; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 155.8pt;" valign="top" width="208">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Recipient Lake:<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p>
</td>
<td style="border-left: none; border: 1pt solid windowtext; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 155.85pt;" valign="top" width="208">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Ecotype Pool:<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p>
</td>
<td style="border-left: none; border: 1pt solid windowtext; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 155.85pt;" valign="top" width="208">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Number of Stickleback<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 1;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: 1pt solid windowtext; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 155.8pt;" valign="top" width="208">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Leisure Pond<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 155.85pt;" valign="top" width="208">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Benthic<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 155.85pt;" valign="top" width="208">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">400<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 2;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: 1pt solid windowtext; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 155.8pt;" valign="top" width="208">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Fred Lake<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 155.85pt;" valign="top" width="208">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Limnetic<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 155.85pt;" valign="top" width="208">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">400<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 3;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: 1pt solid windowtext; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 155.8pt;" valign="top" width="208">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">CC Lake<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 155.85pt;" valign="top" width="208">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Benthic<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 155.85pt;" valign="top" width="208">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">800<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 4;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: 1pt solid windowtext; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 155.8pt;" valign="top" width="208">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Ranchero Lake<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 155.85pt;" valign="top" width="208">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Limnetic<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 155.85pt;" valign="top" width="208">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">800<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 5;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: 1pt solid windowtext; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 155.8pt;" valign="top" width="208">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Leisure Lake<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 155.85pt;" valign="top" width="208">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Benthic<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 155.85pt;" valign="top" width="208">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">1600<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 6;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: 1pt solid windowtext; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 155.8pt;" valign="top" width="208">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Crystal Lake<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 155.85pt;" valign="top" width="208">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Limnetic<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 155.85pt;" valign="top" width="208">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">1600<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 7;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: 1pt solid windowtext; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 155.8pt;" valign="top" width="208">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">G Lake<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 155.85pt;" valign="top" width="208">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Benthic<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 155.85pt;" valign="top" width="208">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">2400<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 8;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: 1pt solid windowtext; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 155.8pt;" valign="top" width="208">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Hope Lake<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 155.85pt;" valign="top" width="208">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Limnetic<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 155.85pt;" valign="top" width="208">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">2400<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 9; mso-yfti-lastrow: yes;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: 1pt solid windowtext; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 155.8pt;" valign="top" width="208">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Loon Lake<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 155.85pt;" valign="top" width="208">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Benthic + Limnetic<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-right: 1pt solid windowtext; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 155.85pt;" valign="top" width="208">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="break-after: avoid; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; page-break-after: avoid;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Dependent on sampling
logistics<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
<p class="MsoCaption"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Table 2: Here I present the recipient lakes along with the
number of stickleback they received, and the pools those stickleback came from.
As seen in the “Number of Stickleback” column, scaling was non-linear in order
to balance transplant logistics, Alaska Fish & Game advice, and
experimental utility.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><u><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Onsite: The Challenges of Field Work</span></u></i></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="text-indent: 36pt;">Once I arrived at the field site, I realized just how rigorous the field
work was going to be. Thousands of stickleback were going to have to be
captured, processed, and transplanted to set up the experiment. Even the
processing required a tremendous amount of detail be applied to each
stickleback since every fish received an ID number, photograph, and a fin
clipping for gene sequencing. The extra effort would be worth it, as the data
that would be collected in that one month created a high resolution snapshot of
the initial conditions in each lake. In essence, we were building a baseline
that could support future research endeavors for decades to come.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36pt;"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjttSYzl66N3NeyuCvtbuhLWFLiv9GOuxYc3UWa7qqX_McM1X8q7TnAAv0xPUyWABWwO2ZHE9OWWHBwm_Oy4l5W-IeZlfpm1JOHUV16DRlfXpodEQIDdw8YLmgfs58dBYImQT6fX15q2kBoHqU8jHSv8EyemUql9Mv8KqFLGvNlqCz9ZaaAZ80TgEStjg/s206/alaska3.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="206" data-original-width="155" height="206" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjttSYzl66N3NeyuCvtbuhLWFLiv9GOuxYc3UWa7qqX_McM1X8q7TnAAv0xPUyWABWwO2ZHE9OWWHBwm_Oy4l5W-IeZlfpm1JOHUV16DRlfXpodEQIDdw8YLmgfs58dBYImQT6fX15q2kBoHqU8jHSv8EyemUql9Mv8KqFLGvNlqCz9ZaaAZ80TgEStjg/s1600/alaska3.png" width="155" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Anesthetized stickleback after being ID'd and clipped. <br />It would only be a short time before he started a new life in a fresh lake.</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="text-indent: 36pt;">Needless to say, our task was not without complications. Three major
obstacles needed to be overcome during the course of the field work. The first
was the issue of optimizing stickleback processing. Thousands of fish needing
to be processed meant that at any given moment of the day, at least 3 of us
field assistants would be processing stickleback. As time went on, we each
became better at our individual roles in the processing pipeline, forming a
well oiled machine that could handle up to 1,000 stickleback in a day. Another
problem posed by the number of stickleback we needed to transplant was making
sure they survived from capture to release. Some of the source lakes were
several hours from the processing station, and stickleback could be held for several
days before being released. In order to keep survival high, we constructed an
elaborate “aquarium” outside the cabin with shade and air bubblers.
Furthermore, clear communication between the processing team and the
transplant/capture team allowed for the fastest possible transition between
capturing, processing, and releasing a stickleback.</span><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36pt;"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZFiY_1z8aUlTzk-SBQlECdKz4aAhdTEakWz_tUaUlIPz0NtyNiHo6R1WdfGxUAxZYrHjpf4-JA6orDBBsFhenp3whV76LsjJz-Xp9ZEppkdxCyKSRbqhvjjpH8Gr7C8hYUn9g-i65p10cgJTjn7DgKrRtxIjnf54x52fkJrXpCXIGAcylQj1BQ5B0ew/s625/alaska4.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="625" data-original-width="469" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZFiY_1z8aUlTzk-SBQlECdKz4aAhdTEakWz_tUaUlIPz0NtyNiHo6R1WdfGxUAxZYrHjpf4-JA6orDBBsFhenp3whV76LsjJz-Xp9ZEppkdxCyKSRbqhvjjpH8Gr7C8hYUn9g-i65p10cgJTjn7DgKrRtxIjnf54x52fkJrXpCXIGAcylQj1BQ5B0ew/w150-h200/alaska4.jpg" width="150" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Stickleback capture! Here I'm showing off some of the minnow traps we used to catch stickleback</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="text-indent: 36pt;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="text-indent: 36pt;">The second issue was that Alaska was in the height of forest fire
season. High temperatures and summer storms brought about fires which could
last weeks. In several instances these fires came right up to the lakes we were
working with. Towards the end of the field work, a final collection from a
source lake needed to happen to meet our quota. As I drove out to the lake with
another researcher we were forced to take a back road to get past traffic. With
smoke limiting our visibility, and a few close calls with local wildlife, we
finally made it to the lake only to see swarms of firefighters preparing to control
the incoming blaze. What followed was a manic sprint through the swampy shore
to collect the stickleback before hightailing it back to the cabin, feeling,
perhaps a bit dramatically, like we’d just escaped with our lives.</span><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZEjcaxn-AmoupWyClfCVCKnDCmVIjl6gGwnbRUK3G8-tdq8Z8XZRnItQFLRc48jwU0uNvI4xpPdAUNCDPU1vNW3XfEVwySKwpuXQyLbN98W2kUBcbVTp0j050kPKNoKyrOLRrEMfZFguIeljmBFDkkLAsOmTdiwo2r0bFmMqkGScMxfs3TMpY9XVWRg/s206/alaska5.png" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="206" data-original-width="155" height="206" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZEjcaxn-AmoupWyClfCVCKnDCmVIjl6gGwnbRUK3G8-tdq8Z8XZRnItQFLRc48jwU0uNvI4xpPdAUNCDPU1vNW3XfEVwySKwpuXQyLbN98W2kUBcbVTp0j050kPKNoKyrOLRrEMfZFguIeljmBFDkkLAsOmTdiwo2r0bFmMqkGScMxfs3TMpY9XVWRg/s1600/alaska5.png" width="155" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Driving beside a forest<br />fire on the way to a transplant site</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="text-indent: 36pt;">While this
was definitely the closest call during the course of field work, forest fires
constantly kept us on our toes logistically to make sure lakes received the
right amount of stickleback. Once again, clear communication, and overnight
trips helped us overcome this obstacle.</span><div><span style="text-indent: 36pt;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="text-indent: 36pt;">In a state like Alaska which has a history of
homesteading and self sufficiency, residents were primed to be suspicious of
government efforts. Gaining these people’s trust required direct communication
and transparency. This was accomplished in two main ways. The first was through
our main contact at the Alaska Fish and Game Rob Massengill. Rob was extremely
excited by our work, and had a good relationship with all the residents we’d be
interacting with. As a result, he became an invaluable bridge to communicate
with the locals. With Rob’s endorsement, residents were more open to giving us
a chance to work on their property.</span></div><div><span style="text-indent: 36pt;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="text-indent: 36pt;">The second step we took to build a relationship
with residents was to host a barbecue. It turns out that when ~20 ecologists
put their heads together, they come up with a pretty awesome barbecue. We saw a
huge turnout in residents coming by our cabin for food, drink, and to learn
what we were doing. The result was overwhelmingly positive. Once residents
understood that our work would (A) benefit the lakes they lived near, and (B)
give them better fishing opportunities, they tended to support us. It was at
this barbecue that I realized that science requires communication. That if it
is never explained to the general public, it won’t do the maximum amount of
good it can accomplish. Personally, I came to realize that my excitement
towards the field isn’t universally shared, but by face to face communication I
could frame that excitement in a way that appealed to someone who may have had
reservations.</span><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGE5P2GpE6QmafO7kki_8c1qvxBAEI3dF5iDgKBE_kdZ1adKfJB4At0oOs7SCd5VsgowOSnJ9gnRCMCefvMQydDmewpTCMKYMpwRqqTxu0SQo4s6QeOVN1c7LOky7ZR4bIta4zRupMItIZm6o5lEp5PqiOXnVo9NBbnicEE7D_Fp47KWUPC5OgRhpGUg/s206/alaska6.png" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="206" data-original-width="155" height="206" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGE5P2GpE6QmafO7kki_8c1qvxBAEI3dF5iDgKBE_kdZ1adKfJB4At0oOs7SCd5VsgowOSnJ9gnRCMCefvMQydDmewpTCMKYMpwRqqTxu0SQo4s6QeOVN1c7LOky7ZR4bIta4zRupMItIZm6o5lEp5PqiOXnVo9NBbnicEE7D_Fp47KWUPC5OgRhpGUg/s1600/alaska6.png" width="155" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">One of the final transplants.<br />While it may not look momentous, this<br />was one of the most profound moments of field work</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">At the end of June our numbers had
whittled down to just 5 remaining researchers. Our last release was down a
muddy road and through a swarm of mosquitos. Once we reached the dock, and
watched the last of the stickleback swim away, I was hit with the profundity of
our work. It is rare in eco-evo to be able to set up such a large experiment in
freshwater ecosystems. Smaller systems are often required since expanding the
system introduces more and more noise. In this special scenario we were able to
access a large system with reduced noise. And with that we could collect data
on the key markers for evolution and ecology (defensive traits, invertebrate
populations, limnology, etc.). All of these features were captured in
incredible detail due to our efforts. From these data, and future work, deep
understandings of how stickleback trait space is evolving, and how that
evolution is influencing the environment, can be gained. As our understanding
of how these lakes develop, and what forces are at play grows, then our policy
towards the conservation of these and other lakes can be more impactful.
Furthermore, not only had our work yielded quality data, but also quality
methods. We had optimized processing, worked out a logistics plan, and most
importantly, built a relationship with local residents. Our work ensured that
future sampling could be conducted much more easily.</span></div><div><br /><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><o:p></o:p></span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL_FigxWWVEnPWXHeczCO3HNhzIHxWuelWVJBZ5ggh_0E7N7Iiz_-sN7EGpj0ZIUAAhRzUWBfyTh6_RlTqSxJERP6x_ppP_wruGJ1B_ruzTH6jzG-7doY2RjdfauYllI98KzUYfz5JZ61gOdosP9R0ceaiYqA2tTzy55ZAuC9xiYWPYjDLoTyFdFedoQ/s678/alaska7.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="678" data-original-width="398" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL_FigxWWVEnPWXHeczCO3HNhzIHxWuelWVJBZ5ggh_0E7N7Iiz_-sN7EGpj0ZIUAAhRzUWBfyTh6_RlTqSxJERP6x_ppP_wruGJ1B_ruzTH6jzG-7doY2RjdfauYllI98KzUYfz5JZ61gOdosP9R0ceaiYqA2tTzy55ZAuC9xiYWPYjDLoTyFdFedoQ/s320/alaska7.jpg" width="188" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Upon completing the journey back to McGill, I had to take a victory photo with some souvenirs we brought for the museum.</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="text-indent: 36pt;"><br /></span></div><div><div style="text-indent: 0px;"><span style="text-indent: 36pt;">Ultimately, my field season was an episode of
great personal growth, and quite a bit of learning. I was able to harness my
passion of the field, and direct it towards something that furthered the field.
I was able to see all the behind the scenes work that goes into doing good
science. Science that doesn’t just, hopefully, lead to important discoveries,
but science that benefits people in the process of being conducted. If I were
to generalize, I would argue that is one of the main reasons eco-evo is so
important. Its utilitarian nature does good for science, for the environment,
and for the community.</span> </div>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><br /></div></div></div>Ismail Ameenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12375263090803005566noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4456348657596914237.post-5264973604276693992022-04-07T15:16:00.001-04:002022-04-11T08:42:31.235-04:00The promise and perils of preprint scouts for journals<p> <span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">This is a joint post co-written equally by:</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Daniel Bolnick (daniel.bolnick@uconn.edu)</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">David Fisher (david.fisher@abdn.ac.uk)</span></p><span id="docs-internal-guid-a55a6161-7fff-a847-0c1c-311ba52aa485"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Maurine Neiman (maurine-neiman@uiowa.edu)</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Disclaimer: This essay is not a statement of policy for any journal or organization. </b></span></p><br /><h2 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration-skip: none; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The preprint era:</span></h2><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Preprints are increasingly used in biology as a means to rapidly disseminate research before peer review and to make scientific research freely and equitably available. The COVID pandemic illustrated the rewards and risks of such a system. Preprints provided a crucial means for rapidly conveying findings that helped shape public policy and medical practice, at a time when we could little afford the delays typical of the scientific review process. However, preprints also have the <i>potential</i> to facilitate the spread of flawed research. The rare examples of truly flawed preprints highlight the importance of following up with traditional peer review. Although peer review as ‘gate-keeping’ has a negative connotation in a lot of conversations on scientific publishing, peer review also has a genuine role to ensure that rigorous science is disseminated while flawed science (or, pseudoscience) is not. Preprints lack the gate-keeping of formal peer review, and so their flaws emphasize the genuine value that is added by traditional peer review, typically conducted by journals (in our experience, voluntary reviews on preprint servers tend to be scarce). </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A reasonable compromise between these perspectives seems to be increasingly accepted: authors go to preprints for rapid dissemination. The scientific community recognizes these preprints but treats them with a grain of salt. Meanwhile, authors submit to journals for the value-added provided by constructive review and formal publication in a recognized journal. In this publishing model, journals remain passive recipients of submissions. Authors choose which journals to submit to, based on their impression of journal prestige, subject area, readership, and fit to their own manuscript. And, we hope that policy and media attention focuses on the peer-reviewed publications.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="border: none; display: inline-block; height: 592px; overflow: hidden; width: 357px;"><img height="400" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/l20USFw8r-aoEJrhuF8HnpjvcWx-CPSX33FdbfBTPqLkR6RhIFYNOnm-39Z4HgGcr505zCoiv6Q_bi581_OKoylTiSJM9YTkR_JzMGeADn1iSLqGU2pZZ3lMiEV1Evp1ZauEELGf=w241-h400" style="margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px;" title="Cartoon from xkcd comics (https://xkcd.com/2304/) by Randall Munroe" width="241" /></span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><br /></p><h2 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration-skip: none; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Preprint Scouts</span></h2><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">An interesting alternative is to view preprints as a display case, and journals as proactive ‘shoppers’. As concerns regarding equitable access to scientific publishing become increasingly apparent, Editors are also hoping to increase the diversity of the pool of submitting authors. A journal may also wish to increase the diversity of subjects it receives submissions on, perhaps if the journal wants to expand its remit, or if the Editorial board feels certain subjects among current topics are underrepresented. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Journal Editors are also concerned with the prestige of the institutions they manage, and seek to publish the best available submissions that will inspire authors to submit other high-quality submissions. As Editors, we frequently feel a twinge of regret when we see a great paper published elsewhere that we wish had come to our journal. All these concerns can motivate Editors to encourage authors to submit promising preprints to their journal. A few journals (e.g., </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Proceedings B</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">; </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Evolution Letters</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">) initiated a system of Preprint Scouts (or Preprint Editors) whose job is to watch for newly posted preprints, identify promising preprints that would be a good fit to the journal’s goals, and encourage submission. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">If this preprint scout system sounds radically new, it’s not. It is just a formal version of what has long been an informal process. Throughout the history of modern scientific publishing, Editors and Associate Editors have informally encouraged authors to submit exciting work to their journals. At conferences, Editors may give words of encouragement to a student after a particularly enticing lecture or poster. As a visiting speaker at a university, an Editor might hear about exciting new results in preparation and encourage the author to submit. From a cynical perspective, the preprint scout system simply formalizes what had been an informal networking system, with all of its associated challenges. In other words, it should be pretty obvious that the old informal system would have been riddled with unconscious biases. As Editors, we are more likely to give encouragement to someone working on a topic of particular interest to us, or to someone working in the lab of a close collaborator or friend. This doesn’t mean the bias is ill-intentioned, merely that it is a natural outgrowth of the fact that we inevitably interact socially and intellectually with a non-random subset of the broader scientific community (there are just too many people out there to know them all personally). And, we are more likely to encourage manuscript submission from the people we interact with. The hope is that formalizing this system of Preprint Scouts can reduce these biases by bringing it out from the shadows. Or better still, Preprint Scouts might be a tool for proactively removing biases and consciously diversifying a journal’s authorship or subject matter. The latter prospect is particularly enticing, but requires great care to implement successfully.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The remainder of this blog post aims to articulate the aspirations of Preprint Scout arrangements, the risks associated with the approach, and strategies to mitigate those risks. We provide specific recommendations for how journals might implement Preprint Scout systems, and how not to do so. We wish to emphasize that this document is written by us personally and does not represent a statement of institutional policy by any journal or university that we are affiliated with. Another useful reference that covers distinct but related issues can be found in</span><a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rspb.2021.1248" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration-skip: none; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Neiman et al. (2021)</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="border: none; display: inline-block; height: 428px; overflow: hidden; width: 624px;"><img height="274" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/OBKEYC4UU-_6pQ9o6eQjiWU3aldR7Yuk1nzQDW2TY_EMhVDeI3Oy3UwEai4Kjui4FBOmn-N5lNbMcAC4MTXXN4iNT_2djcLXZNMc-938_IxkoCtaFupEO0zR6rBVjQDSmdz7C0BT=w400-h274" style="margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px;" title="Legend: Figure from Neiman et al. (2021) showing the preprint procedure implemented at Proceedings B." width="400" /></span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><br /></p><h2 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration-skip: none; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Goals</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">:</span></h2><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Diversity, Equity, and Inclusiveness</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: The primary goal of most journals is to publish the best science they can (rigorous, clear, innovative, impactful), in the field(s) that they address. In doing so, they hope to (1) increase knowledge of the world (a service to their readership), and (2) promote the careers of the authors who contribute excellent papers. In the interests of equity, fairness, and social justice, journals have a moral obligation to promote the careers of diverse authors (by nationality, ethnicity, gender, or other aspects of identity). An inclusive and diverse set of authors isn’t just a political statement. The variety of lived experiences and perspectives provides a richer view of the scientific topics that concern us and can make our scientific insights deeper and more varied. A key goal of Preprint Scouts, therefore, should be to advance the globalization and diversification of science. STEM fields are plagued by myriad inequalities affecting who can conduct research and who can publish in top journals; inequalities arising from cultural biases, geography, socioeconomic inequality (both personal and research funding), racism, and sexism. Preprint Scouts represent an interesting opportunity to proactively mitigate these inequalities, though they also have the potential to entrench inequalities if not done with care.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Subject Matter: </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">As Editors, we are keenly aware that our journals are only able to publish the papers that get submitted to us. This limits our ability to diversify our authorship or the set of scientific topics that we wish to publish. Authors have impressions of what our journals do, or do not, publish. Authors have impressions about journal’s openness (or lack thereof) to submissions from authors in the global south, or student authors, or authors from groups that are historically underrepresented or marginalized. While biases surely exist (we do not contest this), there is often a mismatch between authors’ perceptions of what a journal will publish, and what the Editors actually are interested in. Author misconceptions about Editor expectations lead to an author-generated bias in what papers get submitted to a given journal. For instance, the journal title “</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The American Naturalist</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">” implies to some that the journal prioritizes research by American authors (it does not), or natural history (it is often a theory or conceptually focused journal). As a result, authors from the Global South, or Asia, might be less likely to submit, generating a bias in our submissions that the Editors don’t even know exists. (as an aside: the journal name is a 150-year-old legacy that Editors have been hesitant to abandon, despite occasional conversations on the topic). </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Or, when it comes to subject matter, Editors often feel helpless to steer the journal into a new subject area when we receive few or no submissions on the topic. For example, </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The American Naturalist</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> receives relatively few submissions using genomics or transcriptomics, and few submissions in ecosystem ecology, or neurobiology, or ecophysiology: these are topics that the Editors truly value and wish to promote, but as long as authors believe the Editors don’t want submissions in the topic, they won’t submit. The result is a feedback loop: authors don’t submit papers on a given topic to a particular journal, so the journal doesn’t publish on that topic and so authors perceive that the journal does not desire submissions on that topic. This problem is heightened by the reality that a journal that does not publish very often on a particular topic will also often feature Associate Editors with that topical expertise, meaning that even when papers that address this topic are submitted, they are often perceived as out of scope. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This feedback loop can be broken by Preprint Scouts, whose proactive solicitation of submissions conveys interest to authors, and who can even identify new topical areas that a journal should consider broadening to include. The experiences of existing Preprint Editors emphasize this point: both David Fisher and Maurine Neiman note that when they have encouraged submissions they frequently get replies stating “Oh, I didn’t know </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Evolution Letters</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> {or, </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Proceedings B</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">} published in this area”! Even if a given preprint has already been submitted to another journal, the solicitation conveys to authors that the journal is open to publishing in that subject area, and so they may be more inclined to plan a future submission. </span></p><br /><h2 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration-skip: none; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Risks and solutions</span></h2><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">An informal and unscientific poll (screenshot below) suggests that there is cautious interest by the scientific community in Preprint Scouts, but also a great deal of concern over the potential for exacerbating biases.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><img height="309" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/eJ36UVzNM_B7YygtT2fF4jaecN1kRkQL8TwsgOGb9KAumNaGcBryk3bQ3gXNRUKLrVz3RPr3xCgfByM3VRP4gKSpTEVZWp2CXZtrd60fFG44wuwVZE3aSypk7tM_UZovyHwzYpnm" style="font-size: 11pt; margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px;" width="624" /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Preprint Scouts are only a good choice for journals if they effectively achieve the goals listed above. If Preprint Scouts simply provide a means for journals to compete over already high-profile authors or sustain or exacerbate inequalities in access to top journals, then they should not be adopted. Here, we examine some potential concerns, paired with some potential solutions.</span></p><br /><h3 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">1.Biases in who posts on preprint servers</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. </span></h3><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Not everyone is comfortable posting preprints. Authors may feel it is wise to “put your best foot forward”, presenting your colleagues with only the most polished product possible. Getting reviews from journals is a means to get (hopefully constructive) feedback that improves the clarity of your writing and graphics, and perhaps catches errors in logic or analyses. Review and revision provides a means to minimize the risk of later embarrassment by letting a small number of anonymous peers confidentially check for profound flaws before the big reveal to everyone. So, preprints might be used more often by people with strong scientific networks of colleagues who can give them feedback before posting on a preprint server, giving more confidence that the work is solid before posting online.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It is our impression that career stage has a strong impact on one’s willingness to use preprint servers. Our older colleagues generally seem more skeptical than our students. In this sense, preprint scouts are more likely to invite submissions from junior scientists, which we see as a generally positive bias.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We expect that there may be geographic biases (e.g., nationality) in who posts on preprints, but are not aware of data on this issue. Cultural differences in how preprints are evaluated may incentivize (or disincentivize) preprint use. Challenges with publishing in a second (or third, or fourth) language means that some authors may be more comfortable working directly through a journal to get Editorial and copyediting help before making their work public. The lack of fees associated with preprints, which give an open access version of a manuscript, may be attractive for those working in countries or at institutions without the funds to pay the substantial open access fees at many journals. Any disparities in what nationalities use preprints will generate biases in what preprints are available for Preprint Scouts to evaluate. Such biases are not necessarily a bad thing: if the Global South is over-represented in preprints, for instance, then Preprint Scouts will tend to promote submissions from areas that may be under-represented in traditional author-initiated submissions. We require data to determine whether geographic biases exist in preprint use, to determine whether Scouts would therefore exacerbate or ameliorate geographic biases in submissions. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Solutions to the above biases lie at a community level, by trying to even the playing field of who submits preprints, and are largely out of the hands of journals. However, if many journals initiate a Preprint Scout system, it may create incentives for using preprints that alter the landscape of who is choosing to post preprints (as well as increasing the number of authors that chose to post preprints overall).</span></p><br /><h3 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">2. Biases in which preprints come to a scout’s attention</span></h3><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Preprint Scouts are tasked with the job of scanning weekly lists of new preprints. Given the volume of preprint submissions, this necessarily requires some winnowing before the Scouts can look at abstracts and manuscripts. The winnowing takes place by carefully choosing which preprint servers to monitor and what keywords to use. Both choices will tend to define what sets of papers a Scout will see. Different disciplines tend to gravitate to different preprint servers - for example, BioRxiv, ARxiv, PCI, or EcoEvoRxiv. Preprint Scouts that focus on particular servers will entrench biases towards the subfields that prefer a given server. Keyword searches further narrow the set of visible papers. Within a given discipline there may be cultural variation in semantics, definitions, or even spelling, so that a keyword that an American Preprint Scout might choose could be a term less often in use by authors in Europe. Terms may also have a directionality to them (e.g., “assortative mating” might fail to reveal papers on “disassortative mating” or papers giving negative results implying random mate choice). Such directional terms can exaggerate the “file drawer” effect where journals preferentially publish results that are statistically significant (and perhaps in a particular direction that corroborates standard views).</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The solutions to this problem are within reach. Journals using Preprint Scouts should have a diverse team (by discipline, nationality, etc), and carefully discuss a set of systematic key words, or abandon key words to focus on all submissions in a discipline. Preprint Scouts should use search engine and auto-alert tools rather than Twitter or other social networking tools. Many of us do use Twitter or other social networks. Indeed, this is how the three authors of this document connected to draft this blog, and one of us (Neiman) has used social media, including Twitter, to recruit new members for her Preprint Editorial team at </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Proceedings B</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. There’s a good chance you are reading this because you (or someone you know) saw it posted on Twitter. One of the benefits of social networks is that it draws our attention to brand new scientific publications (including preprints) that are of interest to us. This has great benefits but also is likely to entrench biases because we are more likely to see the papers by the people we choose to follow on social media (and, who on social media tends to post about their preprints, or not). Therefore, preprint scouts should be discouraged from using their personal Twitter (or equivalent) feed as the primary means for finding preprints to invite.</span></p><br /><h3 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">3. Biases in which preprints a scout chooses to encourage submission</span></h3><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Preprint Scouts, being human, naturally have their own preferences (and dislikes). We all have subject areas or organisms that we find especially fascinating, and other topics that just have never excited us. Inevitably, these personality quirks will influence what articles a Preprint Scout finds exciting enough to send out an invitation. Then there is the potential for personal network biases: will a preprint scout be more likely to send an invitation to a close personal friend, or close collaborator? Or to the student of a friend/collaborator? Would a scout be more (or less) likely to send an invitation to a prominent author? That big name may be intimidating to reach out to, or may be someone the scout wishes to curry favor with. This in some ways mimics the potential for bias in the decisions an Editor makes over which articles submitted to a journal to send out for review. Additionally, preprint servers may indicate the number of downloads or amount of Twitter attention a preprint has received. Preprints Scouts trying to decide if a candidate is “interesting” enough to be worth an invitation might use downloads or Twitter retweets as a guide (captured by Altmetric scores). While there is surely information in this online attention, allowing it to influence decisions risks biasing submissions towards authors with large social media networks, papers with particularly engaging titles, or flawed work that attracts attention for the wrong reasons.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Several solutions present themselves. First, having a large and diverse team of preprint scouts allows a journal to ‘average over’ the variation among individuals. This team should span nationalities, career stages, and subject matter to provide greater awareness of cultural differences and minimize the effect of personal biases in subject, study organism, or personalities. Second, preprint scouts should be encouraged to ignore the author list, and go straight to the title, abstract, and main body of the work (this may be easier said than done). Third, journals may wish to institute a tiered system where a team of Preprint Scouts make recommendations to a Preprint Editor who makes a final decision for a set of invitations for the week. Given the Preprint Editor is likely to be more experienced than the Scouts, this allows a more experienced head to make the final call on what should be invited, and what will not be. This tiered system also allows the Preprint Editor to keep an eye on the overall diversity (nationality, gender, etc) of invited authors. And, it separates the step of identifying candidate papers, from the person issuing the invitation, reducing the Preprint Scout’s temptation to curry favor with prominent authors. Finally, avoiding a reliance on altmetrics such as downloads or retweets when selecting which preprints to invite is a must.</span></p><br /><h3 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">4. Other potential drawbacks</span></h3><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">If preprint scouts become pervasive, authors may begin to ‘expect’ invitations and get offended by the lack of an invitation. This strikes us as a relatively unlikely scenario.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">If journals interested in similar topic areas implement Preprint Scout systems, then there will be significant duplicated effort. Each journal would have a team scanning an overlapping set of preprints, and perhaps issuing competing invitations to mutually appealing papers. Given how limited all of our time can be, duplicate effort perhaps should be avoided. The alternative is a system like PCI, or the now-defunct Axios, where a single team (PCI Editors) examines submissions and makes recommendations to authors as to which journal(s) might be a good fit. This, however, removes the crucial ability for journal Editors to use Preprint Scouts to move their journal into new subject areas (that an unaffiliated set of reviewers might not be aware of).</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It can happen that Preprint Scouts invite a paper for submission, only to have that paper declined. In general, authors are more likely to react poorly to such a decline, because they have received mixed messages. This is particularly true when the Editor declines to even send an invited submission out for review (as has happened to at least one of us writing this essay). Part of the reason for such mixed messages is that different individuals issue the invitation, and evaluate submissions, and they may have different visions for the journal’s goals. For instance, an Editor might wish to use preprint invitations to proactively move the journal into publishing an emerging subject area that it has not previously featured. But an Associate Editor (or, reviewers) examining the submission may not know this intent and decide that the paper is not a good match to the journal. So, if a journal Editor seeks to use preprint scouting to shift the journal in a new direction, that direction must be clearly conveyed to all Associate Editors to avoid mixed expectations. And, reviewer comments based on misconceptions about the journal’s subject matter need to then be discounted. A more radical option (not likely to be popular among many journal Editors) is that a preprint scout invitation to submit comes with a guarantee that the paper would, at a minimum, not be desk rejected without review.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">If particular Preprint Editors (or, Editors, Associate Editors, etc) do not buy into the broader agenda of increasing subject matter diversity or author representation, then preprint solicitations will fail to achieve their goals. Open and transparent discussions with all Editorial Board members are required to articulate the goals and values of the journal, including training regarding implicit/explicit bias. Journals may need to consider bringing in new Associate Editors, or formally establishing new subject matter areas, to emphasize policy goals. A good example of this strategy is provided by the establishment of the new Biological Science Practices section at </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Proceedings B</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. This new paper type, focused on papers that analyze the way in which science is conducted within biology, and especially how these scientific practices influence research quality, scientific community health, and the public understanding of science, was instituted at </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Proceedings B </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> as a direct consequence of a gap between desired scope, perceived scope, and Editorial board composition.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Preprint scouts need to be sufficiently familiar with the journal they are serving, to have a realistic view of what kinds of manuscripts stand a good chance at publication. Otherwise, there is a risk that scouts will tend to encourage authors to submit manuscripts that do not have a good chance at publication because of scientific flaws that will be critiqued in review or poor fit to the journal’s standards of novelty, clarity, or subject matter. Over-enthusiastic invitations to papers that stand little chance of publication risk wasting everyone’s time and generating substantial ill-will. Scouts should therefore have substantial familiarity with the journal as a reader, a reviewer, an author, or some combination of these, as well as having clear instructions from the Editor. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">An obvious difficulty with preprint scouts is that many authors post preprints more or less simultaneously with submission to a journal. This appears to be the most frequent situation. Chances are, the authors have prepared the manuscript with that journal in mind for some time in advance. Might Preprint Scouts thus be a waste of time and not yield submissions? We certainly have found that scouting can yield submissions, so it clearly is not a complete waste of time. First, some authors do post preprints first, and wait for feedback, before submitting. While these are a minority, they represent an opportunity for journals. Second, if papers get declined from their first journal submission, the authors have a backup plan in place with an invitation. The most common response that </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Evolution Letters </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">preprint scouts get is along the lines of “the paper is currently in review, but we will think of </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Evolution Letters</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> in the future.” Third, even if the paper in question is not submitted, the invitation raises awareness of the journal, particularly when an Editor seeks to publish more on an emerging topic.</span></p><br /><br /><h2 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration-skip: none; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Strategies for Implementing Preprint Scout Systems</span></h2><br /><h3 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">1. Who gets invited to be a preprint scout</span></h3><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Given the central importance of diversity to science and the need to pay particular attention to bias generated by limited diversity, we believe that focusing first and foremost on bringing a diverse set of scientists to the table to serve as these Preprint Scouts is critical. With this in mind, we suggest using a simple application procedure that explicitly focuses on evaluating how the applicant can contribute distinct but relevant perspectives. A statement of motivation for joining the team is also helpful. At least one of us has taken on the philosophy of trying to accommodate most if not all early-career scientists interested in joining a Preprint Scout team, with the caveat that not all journals have the breadth or bandwidth to include a large group of scouts. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Where seniority might be helpful is when it comes to the person actually issuing the invitation: to maximize the likelihood that the solicitation will be taken seriously and not viewed as spam, it is ideal if the email comes from an individual, institution, and/or journal with good potential for name recognition or a professional online presence that is readily findable via Internet search. </span></p><br /><h3 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">2. Training</span></h3><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Training needs to cover three core pillars. First, Preprints Scouts must be trained to do the job fairly. This means avoiding existing biases in how preprints are found and which are invited as described above. Unconscious bias training is a useful tool here for making people aware of their own existing biases, while highlighting existing biases in the field at large is also key. While many more senior academics may have received such training (even multiple times) as part of their existing roles, younger colleagues may not. There exist myriad articles, videos, and interactive tools for teaching Associate Editors and Preprint Scouts about unconscious bias and how to mitigate it (see, for instance, </span><a href="https://www.elsevier.com/open-science/science-and-society/unconscious-bias" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration-skip: none; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">a curated list of UB training tools posted by Elsevier</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">).</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Second, scouts need training in how to do the job efficiently. There are enormous numbers of preprints within the biological sciences posted daily, and therefore a huge number of articles to look at and as many decisions to make about whether the preprint is relevant and interesting enough to be worth an invitation. There is considerable potential for this process to use up a great deal of time, especially when any preprint scouting team is small and/or the journal remit is broad. Key-word alerts can make the process much more efficient by taking much of the searching out of the scouts’ hands, meaning they only need to peruse the generated lists of relevant preprints every few days or once a week. However, key-words can (as noted above) be spelled differently, or be culturally biased, so a broader approach may be advisable. If the scouts also are writing the invitation, a template can be used (more details below), requiring only the addition of the email, name, and title of paper, which can be automatically added from spreadsheets if relevant preprint information is collated there, while perhaps the specific reasons for the invitation will still need to be added manually.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Finally, scouts will need guidance on how to do the job to best achieve the goals of the journal. If the mission is primarily to diversify the submissions, then the methods described above may be sufficient. If the journal also wishes to target specific subject areas, then training may be required in how to find those preprints and approach those authors. As the goals of a journal may be diverse, prescribing the appropriate training is difficult, but we wish to highlight to interested Editors the need to make sure their Preprint Scouts have the tools necessary to achieve the journal’s goals. </span></p><br /><h3 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">3. Procedures for finding prospective articles</span></h3><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">When the preprint server covers a wider remit than the journal is interested in featuring, topic and keyword alerts allow the range of papers to be quickly reduced to the most relevant. For example, bioRxiv allows both “Subject Collection” alerts, where the title, author list, and a link for any preprint posted in subjects (author identified) such as “Developmental Biology” and “Zoology” is then sent to an email address, and “Relevant paper” alerts, where preprints are identified based on key words matched in titles, abstracts, or author lists. Alternatively, scouts can search the relevant repositories with defined key words, or in defined subject areas, each time they wish to find new preprints to invite. The OSF have made a guide for such an approach </span><a href="https://help.osf.io/article/181-search-and-discover-preprints" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration-skip: none; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">here</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span></p><h3 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">4. Criteria for choosing which articles to invite</span></h3><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The journal goals for preprint solicitation should be always kept in mind when deciding which papers to invite, whether these goals be about broadening participation or scope or simply ensuring that the journal is soliciting preprints likely to also be solicited by competitor journals. The Preprint Editor should discuss with other members of the Editorial board regarding the extent to which solicited papers should meet, or come close to meeting, formatting requirements for submission such as length, section representation, etc. In our experience, it is frustrating to authors to receive a solicitation for a preprint that must be extensively reformatted prior to submission. </span></p><br /><h3 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">5. Invitation procedures</span></h3><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We have found that it is critical to personalize (e.g., author name, paper title) invitation emails to preprint authors to reduce the risk that these emails will be perceived as spam. While this risk is not entirely eliminated by such personalization, correctly identifying authors, papers, etc. will likely increase the likelihood that the email will be taken seriously. How to achieve this personalization will depend on the number of solicitations. At </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Proceedings B</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, dozens of solicitations go out per month, requiring the Preprint Editor to use a custom-build Python script that scrapes a Google sheet for paper titles and names. A smaller-scale endeavor, say for a journal with a more narrow remit, however, could potentially be centered on individual emails written for each solicited preprint. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Regardless of approach, it seems important to ensure that all corresponding authors are included in the solicitation. As a mechanism to broaden participation by early-career researchers and to possibly increase the rate at which solicited preprints are submitted, one might also consider adding first authors (who are often early in their careers) to the solicitation. A template letter is provided at the end of this post.</span></p><br /><h3 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">6. Procedures for submission and post-submission evaluation</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">:</span></h3><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Two key considerations present themselves here. First, should scouted papers be flagged as such upon submission to a journal? This would signal to the handling Editor that the submission had been given a green-light by a Preprint Scout as likely appropriate for the journal. This would presumably make an Editorial “desk rejection” (without review) less likely. The closely related question is whether a journal treats such flagged papers differently as a matter of policy. Specifically, does an invitation convey a guarantee that the paper would at least be sent to an Associate Editor for detailed evaluation? A guarantee the paper would go to review? The specifics here are likely to vary among journals, and even among Editors. But, if scouted papers are just as likely as regular submissions to receive desk rejections, over time this may lead to disgruntled authors and ultimately devalue the notion of a Preprint Scout invitation. </span></p><br /><h2 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Conclusion.</span></h2><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> We believe that Preprint Scouts, if deployed with appropriate training, policies, and deliberation, may be a valuable tool. They may help journals reverse historical and current biases in who publishes. They may help Editors steer journals into publishing subjects where they previously did not get as many submissions as desired. These opportunities can only be realized, however, with a diverse and well trained staff of Preprint Scouts. However, this system is not without costs - personnel time, most notably. And, if many journals begin adopting this type of system, other journals may feel obliged to do the same.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><br /></p><div><span><br /></span></div><div><span><br /></span></div><div><span><br /></span></div><div><span><br /></span></div><div><span><br /></span></div><div><span><br /></span></div></span><h2 style="text-align: left;"><span>Sample Invitation letter</span></h2><span><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #3c4043; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Dear Dr. (author last name here),</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #3c4043; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">My name is Maurine Neiman, and I am the Preprint Editor for the </span><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #3c4043; font-size: 10.5pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Proceedings of the Royal Society B </span><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #3c4043; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">("</span><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #3c4043; font-size: 10.5pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Proc B</span><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #3c4043; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">"). </span><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #3c4043; font-size: 10.5pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Proc B</span><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #3c4043; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> is the Royal Society of London’s primary biological journal accepting original articles of outstanding scientific interest.</span><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #3c4043; font-size: 10.5pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Proc B</span><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #3c4043; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">'s scope covers the breadth of biology and is described more fully at </span><a href="http://rspb.royalsocietypublishing.org/about" style="text-decoration: none;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="color: #1a73e8; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">http://rspb.royalsocietypublishing.org/about</span></a><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #3c4043; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #3c4043; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">My Preprint Editorial Team and I have used a survey of the papers published in bioRxiv over the last month to identify your manuscript, "manuscript title here", as one that we consider a potentially good fit for Proc B, pending, of course, formal Editorial consideration and peer review. You can learn more about our team and our process in our recently published paper (</span><a href="https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2021.1248" style="text-decoration: none;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="color: #1a73e8; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2021.1248</span></a><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #3c4043; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">). I am now writing to encourage you to submit your manuscript to </span><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #3c4043; font-size: 10.5pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Proc B</span><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #3c4043; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> via our online submission system (</span><a href="https://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/prsb" style="text-decoration: none;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="color: #1a73e8; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">https://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/prsb</span></a><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #3c4043; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">). </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #3c4043; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This invitation in no way assures selection for peer review. Indeed, one possible outcome is rejection without review. My invitation to you does indicate that we think that your paper could be appropriate for publication in </span><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #3c4043; font-size: 10.5pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Proc B</span><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #3c4043; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. While you are not obligated to respond to this email, it will be very helpful for us going forward to know whether you (1) have interest in submitting to Proc B, (2) do end up submitting to</span><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #3c4043; font-size: 10.5pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Proc B</span><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #3c4043; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, and (3), if (2), the outcome of the review process. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #3c4043; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In any event, if you do submit to </span><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #3c4043; font-size: 10.5pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Proc B</span><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #3c4043; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, we do request that you mention that you were solicited via the</span><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #3c4043; font-size: 10.5pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Proceedings B</span><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #3c4043; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Preprint Editorial Team in your cover letter. We also make the submission process very easy for you through automated transfer from bioRxiv, though you can also submit through the traditional route on the</span><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #3c4043; font-size: 10.5pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Proc B</span><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #3c4043; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> page listed above. If you choose to submit via bioRxiv, you can submit your manuscript to </span><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #3c4043; font-size: 10.5pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Proc B</span><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #3c4043; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> by selecting the journal from a drop-down list available in the bioRxiv author interface. You will then receive an automated email from</span><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #3c4043; font-size: 10.5pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Proc B</span><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #3c4043; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> with instructions on how to complete your submission. </span><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Once your </span><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #070706; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">submission</span><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> is complete, your paper is treated at </span><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; font-size: 10.5pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Proc B</span><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> as a regular </span><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #070706; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">submission</span><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. The bioRxiv number remains on the </span><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #070706; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">submission</span><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> so we will know that the paper was transferred via this route. One of our goals of this preprint solicitation endeavor is to broaden the scope of </span><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #070706; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">submission</span><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">s to our journal. If you do choose to submit, please also ensure that you briefly explain in your cover letter why you believe the paper is a good fit for </span><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; font-size: 10.5pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Proceedings B</span><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. You will need to format your manuscript and associated elements to meet the requirements for </span><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #070706; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">submission </span><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">to </span><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; font-size: 10.5pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Proc B </span><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">(</span><a href="http://rspb.royalsocietypublishing.org/author-information" style="text-decoration: none;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #1155cc; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration-skip: none; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">http://rspb.royalsocietypublishing.org/author-information</span></a><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">).</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Please don't hesitate to contact me if you have any questions or would like additional information.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Sincerely,</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Maurine Neiman, Ph.D.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Professor</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Department of Biology</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Department of Gender, Woman's and Sexuality Studies</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Provost Faculty Fellow for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">University of Iowa</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Editor and Preprint Editor, Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">maurine-neiman@uiowa.edu</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><a href="http://bioweb.biology.uiowa.edu/neiman/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #1155cc; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration-skip: none; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">http://bioweb.biology.uiowa.edu/neiman/</span></a></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; font-size: 10.5pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Twitter: @mneiman</span></p><br /></span>Dan Bolnickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05181664810897127126noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4456348657596914237.post-19934430443241718692022-03-11T11:48:00.004-05:002022-03-11T11:48:44.166-05:00The art of the pivot<h2 style="text-align: center;"><b>The art of the pivot</b></h2><div style="text-align: center;"><b>or, when abandoning a beloved experiment leads somewhere better</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in; text-align: justify;"><b>Guest post by <a href="https://amandahund.weebly.com" target="_blank">Amanda Hund</a><o:p></o:p></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11pt;">Perseverance is central to being a good scientist. We are rewarded for sticking with it, figuring it out, and making it work. On a personal level, perseverance is required for getting into and through graduate school, for learning new things, and to move forward whether from a failed experiment or a grant rejection. On a larger scale, perseverance is central to science itself, which is about exploring the unknown, asking questions that don’t yet have answers, and doing things that have never been done. Failure is a key part of the scientific process and perseverance is required for forward progress. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11pt;"> Failing and trying again was certainly part of my graduate experience. For one project, I wanted to manipulate mites in the nests of barn swallows. In the past, studies had largely relied on insecticides to do experiments with nest parasites. However, this meant that experimental designs were inherently unbalanced, as comparisons were made between nestlings exposed to parasites and nestlings exposed to chemicals. As an eager young (and definitely naïve) graduate student, I was determined to do better. My first thought was to microwave nests, something that had been done with nest box species. After some trial and error, I figured out how to use a flat blade to carefully pry off the mud swallow nests without breaking them, how to reattach them with angled nails and wet clay, how to hook a microwave up to a car battery and transport it to the field, only to discover that when you microwave a swallow nest, it usually explodes dramatically. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11pt;">Back to the drawing board. Quick acting insecticides? Nothing was quick enough. Diatomaceous earth to kill mites in the control treatment? Still an unbalanced design. I briefly toyed with the idea of building a microwave gun to disinfect nests without detaching them, only to have my partner, who happens to be physicist, politely point out that this idea was insane. Replacing nests with ones that I had frozen? The mites came back to life. Dipping nests in liquid nitrogen? They crumbled to pieces. After weeks of failing and trying again, I finally landed on using an industrial heat gun - an idea that arose from reading articles about killing bed bugs in dorm rooms and talking to my dad. It worked brilliantly. It turns out that there is a good enough buffer between the temperature needed to reliably kill mites and temperatures that cause nest material to spontaneously ignite. Using the heat gun, I was able to disinfect all the nests and add mites back into half, a balanced design! (You can read all about it </span><a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/jofo.12113" style="color: #954f72;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11pt;">here</span></a><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11pt;">). Using this technique, I did a series of experiments looking at how mites influenced parental care, incubation, nestling immune systems, and where males establish territories. It was a clear lesson to me that sticking with it was worth it. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgJOreZT6qJtt9ti5SxcmxVhDJaC7RqbQc8QUXMALMG0T2cXZvA5IupAOtmRfXZ4dB6cJ1Iw2FUFJFXdMsQK6rjaeSgD0HWdQdJZzyWy5Trs0mnxurBiRa8HKBcI8GcjlpP8Dook5Qfuw9PFgwBqY06jE-jKHcHHXEO9pbRU4rJK1ezhvyLwGpJQCSD" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img data-original-height="2310" data-original-width="1546" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgJOreZT6qJtt9ti5SxcmxVhDJaC7RqbQc8QUXMALMG0T2cXZvA5IupAOtmRfXZ4dB6cJ1Iw2FUFJFXdMsQK6rjaeSgD0HWdQdJZzyWy5Trs0mnxurBiRa8HKBcI8GcjlpP8Dook5Qfuw9PFgwBqY06jE-jKHcHHXEO9pbRU4rJK1ezhvyLwGpJQCSD=w429-h640" width="429" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;">Fast forward a few years and I am an eager new (and still naïve) postdoc jumping into two new systems- butterflies and stickleback fish (with advisors Emilie Snell-Rood and Dan Bolnick). For my first project, I worked with Dan to come up with an ambitious experiment involving coinfection in different stickleback populations using live laboratory infections of the tapeworm </span><i style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;">Schistocephalus solidus. </i><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;">Because Dan’s group had done laboratory infections with tapeworms before, most of the protocols I would need were already established. I was confident it was going to work. How hard could it be? It’s not like I needed to come up with something entirely new like the heat gun. Previous postdocs in Dan’s lab had done nearly 1000 experimental infections in prior years, so Dan agreed- projecting total confidence- and we began to plan. </span><br /><div><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11pt;"> The project started off strong. I spent several weeks in the field on Vancouver Island making crosses from wild fish to send back to the lab and collecting infected fish to breed tapeworms in the lab and get the eggs I would need for the experiment (with help from Natalie Steinel, Jesse Weber, and Jacqueline Salguero). It was around this time that Dan moved his lab from Texas to the University of Connecticut. Moving a large research lab across the country is no easy task. Everything must be taken down and set up anew. Still, I was not too worried- I figured things could just be set up in a new zip code and science would continue as planned. With my baby fish settling into the animal facility in Connecticut and my tapeworm eggs in the fridge in Texas awaiting transport, I started to finalize the details of my upcoming experiment.</span></div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEil8erbZ2qtD35nbybEKLO7UO1z1QrM60RWvPhPpPVT7N9famYZLOzfnHK384328EjcE0WAf1kF6_uawKdr95kdtNAtZOwPk7uK8kSZ3O0S3DhF6CC_IoYnqTjXWoIaiNo-D1QV3EDN1JkKbix1Y57F4x_DOPR6a3i-PsPj_T5SwIqmStSexlFEfsSf" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img data-original-height="1788" data-original-width="4200" height="272" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEil8erbZ2qtD35nbybEKLO7UO1z1QrM60RWvPhPpPVT7N9famYZLOzfnHK384328EjcE0WAf1kF6_uawKdr95kdtNAtZOwPk7uK8kSZ3O0S3DhF6CC_IoYnqTjXWoIaiNo-D1QV3EDN1JkKbix1Y57F4x_DOPR6a3i-PsPj_T5SwIqmStSexlFEfsSf=w640-h272" width="640" /></a></div></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiTdM9cBCRADwOIeXK4NghRRalFt8fwiaAUda3Zp-y9UJXyQC9Fe4rvyFn2vrjPh6AnR2yLG2oeU8qfPZ36eNJdRplYwNIYm3xqq5lXzVy6ymuf99kcgvtNZfAxaVwLoo4O0XMRYjNZ0VvSbOk7NiqBLcK0eG8RdQR4286976_k8nIR2Nt51pdMA-ZL" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiTdM9cBCRADwOIeXK4NghRRalFt8fwiaAUda3Zp-y9UJXyQC9Fe4rvyFn2vrjPh6AnR2yLG2oeU8qfPZ36eNJdRplYwNIYm3xqq5lXzVy6ymuf99kcgvtNZfAxaVwLoo4O0XMRYjNZ0VvSbOk7NiqBLcK0eG8RdQR4286976_k8nIR2Nt51pdMA-ZL=w400-h300" title="The author of this post, Amanda Hund, crossing stickleback" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The author of this post, Amanda Hund, crossing stickleback</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEic0HZPq3c2e-yeAI1HPFAdL-0_TGb7LElfZ-FAdidDt-thGWM35JJuwryj9mE3_8cIo7Timy_zzp6MZqxJLx-bk4XB6pq2NeWsSQW6wT-w1eFYWyRBvP_QnDR1nhoaRhTfaYRGhWuCE6_LFWfW008JWzvNQBKnTepZQigyzzBwcZXoHflWKSIMy7aC" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEic0HZPq3c2e-yeAI1HPFAdL-0_TGb7LElfZ-FAdidDt-thGWM35JJuwryj9mE3_8cIo7Timy_zzp6MZqxJLx-bk4XB6pq2NeWsSQW6wT-w1eFYWyRBvP_QnDR1nhoaRhTfaYRGhWuCE6_LFWfW008JWzvNQBKnTepZQigyzzBwcZXoHflWKSIMy7aC=w300-h400" title="Undergrad assistant Jacqueline Salguero wearing magnifying glasses to help sort stickleback eggs." width="300" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Undergrad assistant Jacqueline Salguero wearing magnifying glasses to help sort stickleback eggs.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /></div></div><div><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11pt;">With most of Dan’s lab in Connecticut, it took several days for someone to notice that the lab fridge in Texas was on the fritz. By the time they found it, everything inside was hot and my tapeworm eggs had been cooked. A low point, but nothing we can’t solve! Graduate student Will Shim and I took a last-minute trip back to Vancouver Island to collect more infected fish to breed more tapeworms. We soon realized that while stickleback are very easy to catch in minnow traps in the spring while they are breeding, minnow traps are essentially useless in the fall. After several days of catching nothing, we switched to dip netting as a last-ditch effort and managed to catch a few fish to bring home, crossing our fingers that enough were infected with tapeworms. Those fish had been hard won, so we were pretty upset when we went to pack them into coolers to fly home and found them partially frozen. Unusually cold fall weather combined with the not-so-great sample fridge on the porch of the field cabin had made for less-than-ideal storage conditions. Were the tapeworms inside the fish (if there were any) now dead? I am now unable to fully trust any refrigerators. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhTDMtly0TlRiUcrN5x4M5kZfKuSwO53YETQz1rFTlTY3PmN3G751IrUqmXirJTP864FI75K8GEhWuhgWkpX5vo_sbm0Wf1A5dtBvRXctHAATeZxDYelwsXZdfresjGJZ5Piw7gqpmzum6nXNiJXlVLV20LojKdsM8-buqFo4Sui967U3tub53I88e3" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhTDMtly0TlRiUcrN5x4M5kZfKuSwO53YETQz1rFTlTY3PmN3G751IrUqmXirJTP864FI75K8GEhWuhgWkpX5vo_sbm0Wf1A5dtBvRXctHAATeZxDYelwsXZdfresjGJZ5Piw7gqpmzum6nXNiJXlVLV20LojKdsM8-buqFo4Sui967U3tub53I88e3" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhTDMtly0TlRiUcrN5x4M5kZfKuSwO53YETQz1rFTlTY3PmN3G751IrUqmXirJTP864FI75K8GEhWuhgWkpX5vo_sbm0Wf1A5dtBvRXctHAATeZxDYelwsXZdfresjGJZ5Piw7gqpmzum6nXNiJXlVLV20LojKdsM8-buqFo4Sui967U3tub53I88e3" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgynKFzhxHYeQjZ8R6jao-vWQoxGy_CLjJL6U0WwY_Hp-jYGn7ZCBnzlGUE_cmOR1MJRXlXMwWTZO83-TgzJ83ztolxCOP61aNr6NUdp0R-YWB7W1f_YjWfvCNGu8722qlTO-sP28xyP6l1-ZI9c-tMZFF1N9cC8ps1VsT9q3ChF7Heu564XPmph1zq" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img data-original-height="2262" data-original-width="4000" height="362" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgynKFzhxHYeQjZ8R6jao-vWQoxGy_CLjJL6U0WwY_Hp-jYGn7ZCBnzlGUE_cmOR1MJRXlXMwWTZO83-TgzJ83ztolxCOP61aNr6NUdp0R-YWB7W1f_YjWfvCNGu8722qlTO-sP28xyP6l1-ZI9c-tMZFF1N9cC8ps1VsT9q3ChF7Heu564XPmph1zq=w640-h362" width="640" /></a></div></div></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11pt;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11pt;">We got lucky. There were just enough tapeworms, and they were still alive when the fish arrived at the lab. The crosses were successful, there were enough eggs, and the experiment had been saved! Persistence, it seemed, had paid off. It was with great optimism that I traveled to Connecticut to begin the infection experiment that spring. When the copepod colony (the intermediate host needed for infections) crashed, I took it in stride. We had emergency plankton samples sent from Vancouver Island and hard-working lab techs Mariah Kenney, Meghan Maciejewski, Joseph Marini and I spent hours picking out our copepod species of choice. When the paramecium colony crashed (the copepod’s food source), I drove to Massachusetts to pick some up from the lab of Dan’s former postdoc Natalie Steinel, and quickly became an expert in both paramecium and copepod husbandry. What had been pretty low maintenance copepod care, became a daily ritual with precise and detailed protocols and careful data collection to monitor population growth. Things were not going to fail again. When the water pump for the fish tanks broke while Dan was out of town, I disassembled it, drove to an outdoor landscaping store that specialized in coi ponds to buy a new one and installed it. There was nothing I could not solve! Until the tapeworm eggs wouldn’t hatch. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhMYKHAmO8I5iGU0GPoiLGtfeVHG6u-COrzTbiG8n2si1VPs-8RGI5fi_wXPR9yB1rKAdHDxAJCerJJvDe5We35lgc5ncYY46g5po5Zrtp5jqaOLScTNuh8ivZgruA5SUC-8n0O1V4KsAip2wRsVBHjMBDO1x9DrRBVjV3gmjcbrMyLuQDfqzotOsL2" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img data-original-height="1954" data-original-width="2836" height="440" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhMYKHAmO8I5iGU0GPoiLGtfeVHG6u-COrzTbiG8n2si1VPs-8RGI5fi_wXPR9yB1rKAdHDxAJCerJJvDe5We35lgc5ncYY46g5po5Zrtp5jqaOLScTNuh8ivZgruA5SUC-8n0O1V4KsAip2wRsVBHjMBDO1x9DrRBVjV3gmjcbrMyLuQDfqzotOsL2=w640-h440" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;">Perhaps I will write a paper one day about all the different things I tried to get those eggs to hatch (null result projects should still be published, right?). The tapeworm eggs in Texas had hatched reliably following a fairly simple protocol. I tried to replicate those conditions precisely, I changed light bulbs, borrowed a different incubator, monitored humidity and temperature in both light and dark cycles, covered and uncovered the plates with eggs at different intervals, tried different water sources. I then switched to trying published protocols from other labs. I had plates at different temperatures, different light cycles, on the counter, in the incubator, I tried plant grow lights, I tried talking to the eggs. Nothing worked. When I started testing older batches of eggs in the fridge- I found that they did hatch, under a variety of conditions. It became clear that it was likely my particular eggs that were the issue. At this point, I had come so far that I was ready to double down. Perhaps I should fly back to Vancouver and collect a third round of tapeworms from my populations of interest? My lab-reared fish were the right age and I had planned on staying in Connecticut for four months to do this phase of the experiment. Time was running out.</span><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11pt;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh2OCeYUoNBdKRNFST_Cp4XaHOkumeDxPSyGn2ia78oSCxWyHMHDQUSJcTPo6aas6i1NAby1RKvOLMzXNDCdE2N8AqaRytIODIlNRkgZpUgADE2TnJsXGk7vzWwRJj90uIMAxQ_5eaeIxh5pNle0Pf8h_-5CxeNgaDT9QoL6LK-eL5E6EuA1e-oPu5H" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img data-original-height="1588" data-original-width="2918" height="347" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh2OCeYUoNBdKRNFST_Cp4XaHOkumeDxPSyGn2ia78oSCxWyHMHDQUSJcTPo6aas6i1NAby1RKvOLMzXNDCdE2N8AqaRytIODIlNRkgZpUgADE2TnJsXGk7vzWwRJj90uIMAxQ_5eaeIxh5pNle0Pf8h_-5CxeNgaDT9QoL6LK-eL5E6EuA1e-oPu5H=w640-h347" width="640" /></a></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11pt; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px;">It was at this rather low point that Dan called a meeting. When I joined him in his office he simply said, “I think it is time to pivot.” At first, I was surprised by these words. Surely, I should just work harder to find a solution? Stick with it? But Dan was right. There are times in science when it is helpful to remember the economics concept of sunk costs. We had spent so much time and resources trying to make the infection experiment work, time and resources that we were never going to recover. But that effort should not necessarily dictate the best path forward. It certainly was not easy for me to let go of the experiment I had so carefully planned for months and months, but it had become necessary. We went back to the blank white board to start over and think about what we could do with what we had. This meeting soon spilled into a larger lab meeting, pulling in other postdocs and graduate students (including postdocs Stephen De Lisle and Foen Peng). Another postdoc, Lauren Feuss, jumped on board to help carry out the new project and it became a team effort. We brainstormed about questions and ideas, techniques we could use, how many fish we had, what samples were in the freezer, what hints and clues we could follow from other preliminary data and small pilot projects. While constrained by what was available and immediately doable, the discussion was collaborative and creative.</span><span style="font-family: -webkit-standard; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px;"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11pt; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px;">What emerged was the injection experiment. A simple, but dare I say elegant, experiment comparing stickleback populations to understand the evolution of parasite resistance. Using extra-fine syringes, we injected four different immune challenges directly into the fishes’ peritoneal cavities (where tapeworms grow), including: a saline control, tapeworm protein (made by grinding up frozen tapeworms), alum (a generalized immune stimulant, or adjuvant, widely used in vaccines), and a mix of tapeworm and alum. We then tracked the fish fibrosis response through time (day 1, 10, 32, and 90 time points). Videos of the fibrosis that results can be </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px;"><a href="https://youtu.be/yKvcRVCSpWI" style="color: #954f72;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11pt;">seen here</span></a></span><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11pt; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px;">. The results were clear and interesting. Indeed, ecology and evolution one rarely gets results so clear-cut that doing statistical analyses really feels like an afterthought, the trends are so striking. All populations were able to generate a resistant response (fibrosis) to the general immune stimulant (alum), indicating that the cellular programs for fibrosis are shared and predate population divergence (indeed, another postdoc subsequently used our injection protocol to show that fibrotic response to alum is deeply conserved across the diversity of fish <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/evo.14316" target="_blank">Vrtilek 2021</a>). Despite this shared capacity for fibrosis, only the resistant population was able to recognize and initiate a response to the tapeworm protein alone. The resistant population also differed in the timing and resolution of their response. </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11pt; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px;">Our results suggested that early immune regulatory steps were the targets of rapid local evolution to the parasite. After these initial steps in the host response, selection in the resistant population likely favored rapid initiation of fibrosis, to control still-small tapeworms, and quicker resolution, to mitigate the long-term costs of fibrotic </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11pt; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px;">pathology. We recently published this work in </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px;"><span style="color: #954f72; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11pt;"><a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/evl3.274" style="color: #954f72;">Evolution Letters.</a></span></span><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11pt; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px;"></span><span style="font-family: -webkit-standard; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px;"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgd-r1uAmUKZs66OABXJUg2Nnvf0QSw12-XzXOBBQ4JrkUN1m1QVXdTdrpBpAAqF6JqWeu13eJCNaCcCFh52GMg9AtKlNcyNHmGG_NGPiClv7HgHdvvgV-mU9Jt_zvQNVED-Zx9ZA3aXw45K3UUKLGeLirAQFzpfoRisFXroL0TalhS7zvRqstldmYj" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img data-original-height="1818" data-original-width="3074" height="378" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgd-r1uAmUKZs66OABXJUg2Nnvf0QSw12-XzXOBBQ4JrkUN1m1QVXdTdrpBpAAqF6JqWeu13eJCNaCcCFh52GMg9AtKlNcyNHmGG_NGPiClv7HgHdvvgV-mU9Jt_zvQNVED-Zx9ZA3aXw45K3UUKLGeLirAQFzpfoRisFXroL0TalhS7zvRqstldmYj=w640-h378" width="640" /></a></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj1UJTIhC5KjaCyVrRtWbContVk--bR0dkFtZkCkOSQNLEx5Vr45w2RONDmqSuQ1rKJ6VMkfZ1ifkT1qoIeTB7v-zVhsqlfS8TF_5-LVyJVb1tN9F5dK3DZgKnWWTELe9rfaT_SrcwebjQ5N3I-70GeGW84jK9CDppdMvMZlppim8TQSfQcU0g_leA_" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img data-original-height="1668" data-original-width="1164" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj1UJTIhC5KjaCyVrRtWbContVk--bR0dkFtZkCkOSQNLEx5Vr45w2RONDmqSuQ1rKJ6VMkfZ1ifkT1qoIeTB7v-zVhsqlfS8TF_5-LVyJVb1tN9F5dK3DZgKnWWTELe9rfaT_SrcwebjQ5N3I-70GeGW84jK9CDppdMvMZlppim8TQSfQcU0g_leA_=w278-h400" title="Excerpt from Figure 4 of Hund et al 2022 Evolution Letters" width="278" /></a></div><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11pt; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px;">The injection experiment opened up new directions for the Bolnick lab. Several follow-up studies have already been published and more are in the works. Grant proposals are being written using what we have learned. Was the injection experiment more interesting than my original coinfection project? I can’t say for certain, but probably. It was certainly more achievable, and it facilitated collaborations that are continuing today (Lauren and I are now working together on several projects). I have not fully given up on the coinfection experiment, just shelved it for now. Maybe I will come back to it someday (when I have lots of time to troubleshoot). The experience made it clear that failure and constraints can lead to innovation and that working as a team is often more effective and can lead to more creative ideas. Both concepts that are not new in science. At a personal level, it taught me that knowing when to change directions is just as important as knowing when to stick with it. Sometimes, roadblocks to your research can be a transiently frustrating catalyst for whole new research directions, if only you are willing to let go of Plan A. </span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: -webkit-standard; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px;"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg2j-rEdk-yUJNVxSBgUFVW3KLJBsrELLnc5XydLe46Bjt1reZ-sDf1Zzlxoq01x_OsNTvQJHuNCrk6IUrKegTkJFZyzVUdMKK63KTGswM5IA1uV9Dcm9jd9g06RckYNG8kKdRxqaDe7yK9fEXl2ItsRedXMuRnmOmgY6OeYTXosLMMModAvYP2EWuy" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img data-original-height="3632" data-original-width="5456" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg2j-rEdk-yUJNVxSBgUFVW3KLJBsrELLnc5XydLe46Bjt1reZ-sDf1Zzlxoq01x_OsNTvQJHuNCrk6IUrKegTkJFZyzVUdMKK63KTGswM5IA1uV9Dcm9jd9g06RckYNG8kKdRxqaDe7yK9fEXl2ItsRedXMuRnmOmgY6OeYTXosLMMModAvYP2EWuy=w400-h266" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The sampling team at Roselle Lake, BC, in 2018. Left to right: Will Shim, Amanda Hund, Jesse Weber, Jacqueline Salguero, Natalie Steinel. Photo by D. Bolnick</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh4vZCGA5dLjM1S_moLghHpsRjxjB4D0UWB_pqBazd8RaANfL5dCG0K31e7lI72wPeSH6lXRoT_apfrt1Tj9gnPs6_hwo62eR20n8Y0Fwn9I6Fn6rk6JzoK9UWsRv87lvrMJxfd02qibtctyByxcjnzgICIt3Jv1aBXzib-eLVZnmpwt0CkVXm2NpJA" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img data-original-height="3632" data-original-width="5456" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh4vZCGA5dLjM1S_moLghHpsRjxjB4D0UWB_pqBazd8RaANfL5dCG0K31e7lI72wPeSH6lXRoT_apfrt1Tj9gnPs6_hwo62eR20n8Y0Fwn9I6Fn6rk6JzoK9UWsRv87lvrMJxfd02qibtctyByxcjnzgICIt3Jv1aBXzib-eLVZnmpwt0CkVXm2NpJA=w400-h266" title="Roselle Lake, British Columbia" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Roselle Lake, British Columbia</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11pt;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11pt;"><br /></span></p></div><div><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11pt;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11pt;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11pt;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11pt;"><br /></span></div>Dan Bolnickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05181664810897127126noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4456348657596914237.post-50535228238692613012022-02-23T17:55:00.001-05:002022-02-23T17:55:21.694-05:00Should we attach ourselves to our trainees' successes?<p>It is
common now in talks or social media posts about our trainees to “claim” or “tag”
the students as ours. “Congratulations to my former student XXXX XXXX on …” “My
awesome student XXXXX see here in the field …” And so on. On the positive side,
it suggests pride in the we are working with – and that is a good sentiment. On
the other hand, the statement of social media post then becomes about us Professors
rather our trainees as individuals.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi43DBfHXxUvunR4_xsnJszLJbx-m6qnN2iC1izRXmOxWW8ipkVVgm2DPoRyWdHu56S8X9RknRziDSyav2hBTU3yKWci27a_-UZmvzffx6kdlYZpCP9h6PnmiwE8AH2eM8pfpDzXiqruWDcTt2plt5H3AwfP6f1vxH2cMIVvvO3QyHJOl5A4tJT8aNWHA=s660" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="660" data-original-width="500" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi43DBfHXxUvunR4_xsnJszLJbx-m6qnN2iC1izRXmOxWW8ipkVVgm2DPoRyWdHu56S8X9RknRziDSyav2hBTU3yKWci27a_-UZmvzffx6kdlYZpCP9h6PnmiwE8AH2eM8pfpDzXiqruWDcTt2plt5H3AwfP6f1vxH2cMIVvvO3QyHJOl5A4tJT8aNWHA=w151-h200" width="151" /></a></div><p>Hence, I
almost never “tag” a student as mine in a social media post. That is, I
frequently post about my students – current and present – and their work, but
rarely (at least now) do I state that they are “my student” or – especially –
my “former student.” It is very rewarding and beneficial to have our trainees
do well, but why should we attach ourselves as a rider to that success?</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Let’s say,
for instance, that a former student just got a tenure track position. We should
definitely promote that event on social media – and congratulate that person;
but why should we say they were our student? How does that benefit the person
the post is supposed to be about? I argue that such tags from supervisors detract
from their independence and accomplishments.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">I suppose
some might argue that “tagging” students as ours could elevate their profile by
association with our fame. After all, this might be why seminar speakers are
often introduced by whose lab they received their training in – that is, their
academic pedigree or genealogy. I bridle at that. First, people should be judged on their
own merits, not based on who they have been associated with. Second, people
need to show their independence if they are to be successful as independent researchers.
Finally, describing a person’s “pedigree” can be embarrassing or insulting –
depending on the people in the pedigree. Why should a pedigree have any bearing
on the assessment of a person as an individual? What matters is the work that
they do and how they navigate research, teaching, and academia.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal">I encourage
you to join me in promoting your trainees without “tagging” yourself as a rider
to their success.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjsgpF7zWAedQciL-7M1ZFLy9bSFFG9i5x9oVYIR74W2AIk6s3mO6W0NSnKWJ8UB-sciKsC3MrIG49qmRx6_Gzn24itGNXs3xB-q8O9L20k3a6yPJkz84nb-Akt0OqWh3lpyiTiiakJhci27zKiFNvJiQjoq4c-o7SXjYqvTjOmpCA6l4aIsGpr_o3mDw=s1000" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="764" data-original-width="1000" height="244" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjsgpF7zWAedQciL-7M1ZFLy9bSFFG9i5x9oVYIR74W2AIk6s3mO6W0NSnKWJ8UB-sciKsC3MrIG49qmRx6_Gzn24itGNXs3xB-q8O9L20k3a6yPJkz84nb-Akt0OqWh3lpyiTiiakJhci27zKiFNvJiQjoq4c-o7SXjYqvTjOmpCA6l4aIsGpr_o3mDw=s320" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">-----------------------------------------------------------------------</p><p class="MsoNormal">Related post: <a href="http://ecoevoevoeco.blogspot.com/2019/01/enough-with-academic-pedigrees-already.html">Enough With Academic Pedigrees Already</a></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>Andrew Hendryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03653724437118653645noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4456348657596914237.post-31428517281472106262022-02-04T17:18:00.001-05:002022-02-04T17:18:35.820-05:00EDI plans for large grants<p> <i style="font-family: inherit;">Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) initiatives are important everywhere, including in STEMM fields. They can be especially important to formalize in large collaborative projects that involve many people and extend across institutions and disciplines. We recently had the opportunity to develop an EDI plan during the course of a large grant application for the Canadian Tri-Councils (New Frontiers in Research Fund - Transformation). We share that (submitted with our LOI) plan here in hopes of getting feed back from the community, and also because it might prove useful for others working on (or considering) similar initiatives. The agency-generated topics are in blue - and our text is in black. The text was developed by <b><a href="https://steinellab.com/" target="_blank">Natalie Steinel</a></b> and <b><a href="https://www.kiyokogotanda.com/" target="_blank">Kiyoko Gotanda</a></b>, in consultation with other team members and with the hosting institution - McGill University. The length of the sections corresponds to the agency-specified word limits. References from the "analysis of context" are at the end.</i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><u><span lang="EN-CA"><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Analysis of Context </span></span></u></b><u><span lang="EN-CA"><o:p></o:p></span></u></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 6pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-CA">Women, Indigenous peoples, members of visible minorities, persons with disabilities, and LGBTQAI2+ communities are systematically excluded groups (SEG) among university faculty, staff, and trainees in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) and Social Sciences </span><!--[if supportFields]><span lang=EN-CA style='font-family:
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style='mso-spacerun:yes'> </span>ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION
{"citationID":"uDHRC5el","properties":{"formattedCitation":"[1]","plainCitation":"[1]","noteIndex":0},"citationItems":[{"id":13867,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/local/lkmLdFbT/items/DGZRS25B"],"itemData":{"id":13867,"type":"article-journal","container-title":"Ecology
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<span style='mso-element:field-separator'></span></span><![endif]--><span lang="EN-CA">[1]</span><!--[if supportFields]><span
lang=EN-CA style='font-family:"Arial",sans-serif'><span style='mso-element:
field-end'></span></span><![endif]--><span lang="EN-CA">. This inequity arises from inherent and pervasive systemic barriers including, but not limited to, </span><span lang="EN-GB">bias in recruitment, evaluation, and selection criteria and procedures; inaccessible and unsafe spaces; and gate-keeping of who can advance in the field </span><!--[if supportFields]><span lang=EN-GB
style='font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;mso-ansi-language:EN-GB'><span
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undergraduates majoring in science, technology, engineering, and math fields
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<span style='mso-element:field-separator'></span></span><![endif]--><span lang="EN-CA">[2,3]</span><!--[if supportFields]><span
lang=EN-GB style='font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;mso-ansi-language:EN-GB'><span
style='mso-element:field-end'></span></span><![endif]--><span lang="EN-GB">. </span><span lang="EN-CA">Incidents of gender-, sex-, and race-based discrimination and harassment continue to occur in STEM fields including ecology and evolutionary biology </span><!--[if supportFields]><span
lang=EN-CA style='font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";
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inclusion, the sense of belonging, and interest in pursuing graduate education
in EEB. We conducted a survey of African American (N = 360), Latino/a/Hispanic
(N = 313), White (N = 709), and Asian/Asian American (N = 524) college
undergraduates majoring in science, technology, engineering, and math fields
and used the results to test several interrelated hypotheses derived from our
theoretical model. Compared to Whites, ethnic minorities were more likely to
experience challenges to inclusion in EEB (e.g., less exposure to ecology,
fewer same-race role models, discomfort in outdoor environments). Challenges to
inclusion were associated with a decreased sense of belonging in EEB
educational contexts. Finally, experiencing a low sense of belonging in EEB
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<span style='mso-element:field-separator'></span></span><![endif]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="line-height: 18.4px;">[1,3–5]</span><!--[if supportFields]><span
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color:black;mso-themecolor:text1;mso-fareast-language:EN-CA'><span
style='mso-element:field-end'></span></span><![endif]--><span lang="EN-CA">.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 6pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-GB">Such barriers then lead to lack of access to resources, funding, and support for SEG and lack of representation of SEG </span><!--[if supportFields]><span
lang=EN-GB style='font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;mso-ansi-language:EN-GB'><span
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Thus, growing evidence revealing a gender bias against women-or favoring
men-within science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) settings is
provocative and raises questions about the extent to which gender bias may contribute
to women's underrepresentation within STEM fields. To the extent that research
illustrating gender bias in STEM is viewed as convincing, the culture of
science can begin to address the bias. However, are men and women equally
receptive to this type of experimental evidence? This question was tested with
three randomized, double-blind experiments-two involving samples from the
general public (n = 205 and 303, respectively) and one involving a sample of
university STEM and non-STEM faculty (n = 205). In all experiments,
participants read an actual journal abstract reporting gender bias in a STEM
context (or an altered abstract reporting no gender bias in experiment 3) and
evaluated the overall quality of the research. Results across experiments showed
that men evaluate the gender-bias research less favorably than women, and, of
concern, this gender difference was especially prominent among STEM faculty
(experiment 2). These results suggest a relative reluctance among men,
especially faculty men within STEM, to accept evidence of gender biases in
STEM. This finding is problematic because broadening the participation of
underrepresented people in STEM, including women, necessarily requires a
widespread willingness (particularly by those in the majority) to acknowledge
that bias exists before transformation is
possible.","container-title":"Proceedings of the National
Academy of Sciences of the United States of
America","DOI":"10.1073/pnas.1510649112","ISSN":"1091-6490","issue":"43","note":"PMID:
26460001\nISBN:
0022-3514\\n1939-1315","page":"13201-6","title":"Quality
of evidence revealing subtle gender biases in science is in the eye of the
beholder.","volume":"112","author":[{"family":"Handley","given":"Ian
M"},{"family":"Brown","given":"Elizabeth
R"},{"family":"Moss-Racusin","given":"Corinne
A"},{"family":"Smith","given":"Jessi
L"}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2015"]]}}},{"id":13428,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/local/lkmLdFbT/items/4YBYZPR5"],"itemData":{"id":13428,"type":"article-journal","container-title":"Nature
Ecology &
Evolution","DOI":"10.1038/s41559-021-01522-z","title":"Anti-racist
interventions to transform ecology, evolution and conservation biology
departments","author":[{"family":"Cronin","given":"Melissa
R"},{"family":"Alonzo","given":"Suzanne
H"},{"family":"Adamczak","given":"Stephanie
K"},{"family":"Baker","given":"D
Nevé"},{"family":"Beltran","given":"Roxanne
S"},{"family":"Borker","given":"Abraham
L"},{"family":"Favilla","given":"Arina
B"},{"family":"Gatins","given":"Remy"},{"family":"Goetz","given":"Laura
C"},{"family":"Hack","given":"Nicole"},{"family":"Harenčár","given":"Julia
G"},{"family":"Howard","given":"Elizabeth
A"},{"family":"Kustra","given":"Matthew
C"},{"family":"Maguiña","given":"Rossana"},{"family":"Martinez-estevez","given":"Lourdes"},{"family":"Mehta","given":"Rita
S"},{"family":"Parker","given":"Ingrid
M"},{"family":"Reid","given":"Kyle"},{"family":"Roberts","given":"May
B"},{"family":"Shirazi","given":"Sabrina
B"},{"family":"Voss","given":"Kelley
M"},{"family":"Willis-norton","given":"Ellen"},{"family":"Vadakan","given":"Bee"},{"family":"Valenzuela-toro","given":"Ana
M"},{"family":"Zavaleta","given":"Erika
S"}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2021"]]}}}],"schema":"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json"}
<span style='mso-element:field-separator'></span></span><![endif]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="line-height: 18.4px;">[4,6–8]</span><!--[if supportFields]><span
lang=EN-GB style='font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;mso-ansi-language:EN-GB'><span
style='mso-element:field-end'></span></span><![endif]--><span lang="EN-CA">. Our project team includes researchers from 12 universities. The student bodies of these institutions are quite diverse (e.g., McGill </span><span lang="EN-CA">is the most internationally diverse medical-doctoral institution in Canada with 30% international students), yet systemic inequalities still exist resulting in proportionally fewer SEG students graduating from STEM fields </span><!--[if supportFields]><span
lang=EN-CA style='font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";
color:black;mso-themecolor:text1;mso-fareast-language:EN-CA'><span
style='mso-element:field-begin'></span><span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'> </span>ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION
{"citationID":"DGVJ2Oy6","properties":{"formattedCitation":"[9]","plainCitation":"[9]","noteIndex":0},"citationItems":[{"id":15533,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/local/lkmLdFbT/items/7JJVJQ5P"],"itemData":{"id":15533,"type":"book","event-place":"Washington
DC","publisher":"National Academies
Press","publisher-place":"Washington DC","title":"Barriers
and Opportunities for 2-Year and 4-Year STEM Degrees: Systemic Change to
Support Students’ Diverse
Pathways","author":[{"family":"National Academies
of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine","given":""}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2016"]]}}}],"schema":"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json"}
<span style='mso-element:field-separator'></span></span><![endif]--><span lang="EN-CA">[9]</span><!--[if supportFields]><span
lang=EN-CA style='font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";
color:black;mso-themecolor:text1;mso-fareast-language:EN-CA'><span
style='mso-element:field-end'></span></span><![endif]--><span lang="EN-CA">. Also, faculty composition do not reflect the diverse backgrounds, perspectives, and experiences of the current student body. For example, a survey of McGill students on Feb. 2021 showed 41.6% identified as visible minorities, 21.9% as LGBTQAI2+, and 8.3% as disabled </span><!--[if supportFields]><span lang=EN-CA
style='font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";
color:black;mso-themecolor:text1;mso-fareast-language:EN-CA'><span
style='mso-element:field-begin'></span><span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'> </span>ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION
{"citationID":"lJAKutwO","properties":{"formattedCitation":"[10]","plainCitation":"[10]","noteIndex":0},"citationItems":[{"id":15546,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/local/lkmLdFbT/items/KCGE4QFV"],"itemData":{"id":15546,"type":"report","number":"D20-59","title":"Student
Demographic Survey Reporting of Preliminary Data to
Senate","author":[{"family":"Nycum","given":"Gillian"}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2021"]]}}}],"schema":"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json"}
<span style='mso-element:field-separator'></span></span><![endif]--><span lang="EN-CA">[10]</span><!--[if supportFields]><span
lang=EN-CA style='font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";
color:black;mso-themecolor:text1;mso-fareast-language:EN-CA'><span
style='mso-element:field-end'></span></span><![endif]--><span lang="EN-CA">, yet a survey of tenure-stream professors showed 18% identified as visible minorities, 5.7% as LGBTQAI2+, and 4.6% as disabled </span><!--[if supportFields]><span lang=EN-CA
style='font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";
color:black;mso-themecolor:text1;mso-fareast-language:EN-CA'><span
style='mso-element:field-begin'></span><span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'> </span>ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION
{"citationID":"2TDyCKzo","properties":{"formattedCitation":"[11]","plainCitation":"[11]","noteIndex":0},"citationItems":[{"id":15545,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/local/lkmLdFbT/items/AD4J3NMK"],"itemData":{"id":15545,"type":"report","number":"D20-60","publisher":"McGill
University","title":"Employment Equity Biennial Report to
Senate","author":[{"family":"Campbell","given":"Angela"}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2021"]]}}}],"schema":"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json"}
<span style='mso-element:field-separator'></span></span><![endif]--><span lang="EN-CA">[11]</span><!--[if supportFields]><span
lang=EN-CA style='font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";
color:black;mso-themecolor:text1;mso-fareast-language:EN-CA'><span
style='mso-element:field-end'></span></span><![endif]--><span lang="EN-CA">. Action is needed to ensure that trainees of all identities have the access and support needed to advance their careers </span><!--[if supportFields]><span lang=EN-CA
style='font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";
color:black;mso-themecolor:text1;mso-fareast-language:EN-CA'><span
style='mso-element:field-begin'></span><span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'> </span>ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION
{"citationID":"qMbqDd4I","properties":{"formattedCitation":"[12]","plainCitation":"[12]","noteIndex":0},"citationItems":[{"id":15529,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/local/lkmLdFbT/items/A3ZNAHJY"],"itemData":{"id":15529,"type":"article-journal","abstract":"There
is an overwhelming amount of evidence demonstrating that people from marginalized
groups, including women, racialized and Indigenous peoples, people with
disabilities, immigrants, and LGBTQ+ individuals, continue to face substantial
discrimination in STEM, manifested as both overt bias and unconscious bias.
These biases result in discrimination against individuals in marginalized
groups, and independent biases collectively contribute to a culture that
systematically discriminates against people from marginalized groups.
Representation from marginalized groups in postsecondary degrees in natural
science and engineering has not substantially improved in over a decade. A set
of 10 concrete principles are presented that trainees, principle investigators,
departments, and faculties can use to enhance the participation and lived
experiences of people in marginalized groups in STEM.","container-title":"ACS
Central
Science","DOI":"10.1021/acscentsci.0c01120","ISSN":"2374-7943","issue":"12","journalAbbreviation":"ACS
Cent. Sci.","note":"publisher: American Chemical
Society","page":"2294-2300","source":"ACS
Publications","title":"Twelve principles trainees, PIs,
departments, and faculties can use to reduce bias and discrimination in
STEM","volume":"6","author":[{"family":"Willis","given":"Lisa
M."},{"family":"Mehta","given":"Devang"},{"family":"Davis","given":"Alexandra"}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2020",12,23]]}}}],"schema":"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json"}
<span style='mso-element:field-separator'></span></span><![endif]--><span lang="EN-CA">[12]</span><!--[if supportFields]><span
lang=EN-CA style='font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";
color:black;mso-themecolor:text1;mso-fareast-language:EN-CA'><span
style='mso-element:field-end'></span></span><![endif]--><span lang="EN-CA">. </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 6pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-CA">We are committed to promoting EDI within our team’s institutions, project and field teams, departments, and </span><span lang="EN-CA">in STEM and Social Sciences as a whole</span><span lang="EN-CA">. </span><span lang="EN-CA">To do this, we will identify and address the systemic barriers to entry, retention, and advancement for SEG researchers on our teams.</span><span lang="EN-CA"> By implementing transparent hiring processes, mentorship, and a code of conduct, we will establish and maintain an equitable, diverse, and inclusive project team and will not discriminate based on age, race, culture, disability status, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, religion, class, national origin, native language, or veteran status. We also recognize intersectionality of these groups and that individuals do not fall exclusively into a single category.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 6pt;"><a name="_Hlk92873067"><b><u><span lang="EN-CA"><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Team Composition and Recruitment Process</span><o:p></o:p></span></u></b></a></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 6pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span lang="EN-CA"><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Best Practices</span></span></b><span lang="EN-CA"><span style="color: #2b00fe;">:</span> </span><span lang="EN-CA">We will promote open opportunities to attract diverse candidates, identify and mitigate biases affecting the hiring process, and create guidelines to ensure that equitable and transparent evaluation criteria are applied consistently.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 6pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span lang="EN-CA"><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Relevance:</span></span></b><span lang="EN-CA"> Diverse perspectives and experiences enrich scientific research teams. We know that representation in decision-making groups, proactive identification of biased processes, and implementation of neutralizing measures are essential to remove systemic barriers in hiring.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 6pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span lang="EN-CA"><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Approach:</span></span></b><span lang="EN-CA"> We will list positions for faculty, staff, and trainees on university, academic, and public job websites (e.g., University Affairs). We will advertise on online job boards of professional organizations which serve SEG scientists and students (e.g., 500 Women Scientists, DiversifyEEB, and the Society for Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science), as well as on social media with EDI tags (e.g., #BlackAFinSTEM). This is an essential first step towards achieving </span><span lang="EN-CA">cultural richness, racial diversity, and gender balance</span><span lang="EN-CA"> </span><span lang="EN-CA">for our team.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 6pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-CA">Biases of selection committee members can impede the hiring of a diverse team </span><!--[if supportFields]><span
lang=EN-CA style='font-family:"Arial",sans-serif'><span style='mso-element:
field-begin'></span><span style='mso-spacerun:yes'> </span>ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM
CSL_CITATION
{"citationID":"KeQAydoj","properties":{"formattedCitation":"[8,13]","plainCitation":"[8,13]","noteIndex":0},"citationItems":[{"id":7658,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/local/lkmLdFbT/items/YCY8Y5WJ"],"itemData":{"id":7658,"type":"article-journal","abstract":"Scientists
are trained to evaluate and interpret evidence without bias or subjectivity.
Thus, growing evidence revealing a gender bias against women-or favoring
men-within science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) settings is
provocative and raises questions about the extent to which gender bias may
contribute to women's underrepresentation within STEM fields. To the extent
that research illustrating gender bias in STEM is viewed as convincing, the
culture of science can begin to address the bias. However, are men and women
equally receptive to this type of experimental evidence? This question was
tested with three randomized, double-blind experiments-two involving samples
from the general public (n = 205 and 303, respectively) and one involving a
sample of university STEM and non-STEM faculty (n = 205). In all experiments,
participants read an actual journal abstract reporting gender bias in a STEM
context (or an altered abstract reporting no gender bias in experiment 3) and
evaluated the overall quality of the research. Results across experiments
showed that men evaluate the gender-bias research less favorably than women,
and, of concern, this gender difference was especially prominent among STEM
faculty (experiment 2). These results suggest a relative reluctance among men,
especially faculty men within STEM, to accept evidence of gender biases in
STEM. This finding is problematic because broadening the participation of
underrepresented people in STEM, including women, necessarily requires a
widespread willingness (particularly by those in the majority) to acknowledge
that bias exists before transformation is possible.","container-title":"Proceedings
of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of
America","DOI":"10.1073/pnas.1510649112","ISSN":"1091-6490","issue":"43","note":"PMID:
26460001\nISBN:
0022-3514\\n1939-1315","page":"13201-6","title":"Quality
of evidence revealing subtle gender biases in science is in the eye of the
beholder.","volume":"112","author":[{"family":"Handley","given":"Ian
M"},{"family":"Brown","given":"Elizabeth
R"},{"family":"Moss-Racusin","given":"Corinne
A"},{"family":"Smith","given":"Jessi
L"}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2015"]]}}},{"id":13228,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/local/lkmLdFbT/items/7XYJ8BAA"],"itemData":{"id":13228,"type":"article-journal","container-title":"Proceedings
Of The National Academy Of Sciences Of The United States Of America-Biological
Sciences","DOI":"10.1073/pnas.1211286109","issue":"41","page":"16474-16479","title":"Science
faculty’s subtle gender biases favor male students","volume":"109","author":[{"family":"Moss-Racusin","given":"Corinne
A"},{"family":"Dovidio","given":"John
F"},{"family":"Brescoll","given":"Victoria
L"},{"family":"Graham","given":"Mark
J"},{"family":"Handelsman","given":"Jo"}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2012"]]}}}],"schema":"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json"}
<span style='mso-element:field-separator'></span></span><![endif]--><span lang="EN-CA">[8,13]</span><!--[if supportFields]><span
lang=EN-CA style='font-family:"Arial",sans-serif'><span style='mso-element:
field-end'></span></span><![endif]--><span lang="EN-CA">. Therefore, with guidance from our institutions’ EDI specialists, our research team will establish equitable and transparent hiring guidelines. These guidelines will include requirements for members of hiring committees to complete <a name="_Hlk92218132">bias awareness and equitable hiring trainings (all affiliated institutions have access to these trainings)</a>. The guidelines will cover </span><span lang="EN-CA">interview questions and evaluation rubrics to be applied consistently to all applicants</span><span lang="EN-CA"> to ensure equitable candidate evaluation. Traditional metrics used to evaluate academic candidates (e.g., number of publications, grants received) can favor the most privileged individuals, Western “ways of knowing”, and traditional academic paths </span><!--[if supportFields]><span lang=EN-CA
style='font-family:"Arial",sans-serif'><span style='mso-element:field-begin'></span><span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'> </span>ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION
{"citationID":"E42oPZmc","properties":{"formattedCitation":"[14]","plainCitation":"[14]","noteIndex":0},"citationItems":[{"id":15534,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/local/lkmLdFbT/items/BDN6GXNC"],"itemData":{"id":15534,"type":"report","publisher":"American
Council on Education","title":"Equity-Minded Faculty
Workloads: What We Can and Should do
Now","author":[{"family":"O'Meara","given":"Kerryann"},{"family":"Culpepper","given":"Dawn"},{"family":"Misra","given":"Joy"},{"family":"Jaeger","given":"Audrey"}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2021"]]}}}],"schema":"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json"}
<span style='mso-element:field-separator'></span></span><![endif]--><span lang="EN-CA">[14]</span><!--[if supportFields]><span
lang=EN-CA style='font-family:"Arial",sans-serif'><span style='mso-element:
field-end'></span></span><![endif]--><span lang="EN-CA">. Instead, we will take a holistic (“mission-based”) approach, taking into consideration a candidate’s entire educational/employment history, all experiences and accomplishments including cultural and community involvement, leaves and extenuating circumstances, strengths, and skills to identify outstanding individuals who might have been eliminated using traditional metrics. One member of each selection committee will ensure the guidelines are implemented.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span lang="EN-CA" style="line-height: 17.12px;"><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Expected Impacts and Measurement:</span></span></b><span lang="EN-CA" style="line-height: 17.12px;"> Our hiring plan will draw a richer pool of potential candidates and ensure an equitable evaluation process leading to a diverse team which will lead to the integration of a broader range of perspectives in our research and community engagement. An institutional EDI specialist at McGill will annually assist in evaluating the effectiveness of recruitment methods.</span></span></p><p><b><u><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Training and Development Opportunities</span></u></b></p><p><b><span lang="EN-CA"><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Best practices:</span></span></b><span lang="EN-CA"><span style="color: #2b00fe;"> </span></span> All trainees will complete an individual development plan, meet regularly with their PI to discuss networking and skills development opportunities, and receive equal financial support to present their research and improve their skills every year.</p><p><b style="color: #2b00fe;">Relevance:</b><span style="color: #2b00fe;"> </span>Systemic barriers push trainees from SEG out of STEM fields at disproportionate rates, contributing to imbalances in STEM [15]. Access to training and career development resources is a key determinant of professional success. However, mentors’ biases can result in inequitable support, opportunities, and training [5]. Therefore, formalized development plans and customizable training programs are essential to the success of all trainees.</p><p><b style="color: #2b00fe;">Approach:</b>We will support trainees in their development to be successful in their next career stage. All trainees will be required to complete an individual development plan (IDP, e.g. https://myidp.sciencecareers.org/) while part of this project. They can complete their IDP on their own or in a peer group with other trainees. The IDP will help trainees articulate career goals, guide their progress, and determine scientific skills/networking opportunities to focus on.</p><p>All project affiliated PIs will meet one-on-one with each trainee on their team for two hours per month to discuss networking, collaborations, and skills development opportunities and progress on their projects to achieve IDP goals. Meetings will be guided by trainee interests and can include discussion of current or future opportunities, review of job applications, goal setting, or other growth-focused interactions. At the start of the project, we will organize a team-wide training session on inclusive mentorship and meetings to facilitate safe and productive discussions. For SEG trainees to gain mentorship from shared-identity professionals in complement to their relationships in our team, we will connect SEG trainees with national mentoring programs (e.g., The National Research Mentoring Network).</p><p>All trainees will receive full support to attend one academic conference per year where high representation of SEG (e.g. Canadian Black Scientists Network) are prioritized. All trainees will also receive equal annual funding from this grant for external career development training of their choice (e.g. skills training).</p><p><span><span lang="EN-CA" style="line-height: 17.12px;"></span></span></p><p><b><span lang="EN-CA" style="line-height: 17.12px;"><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Expected Impacts and Measurement:</span></span></b> Our mentorship approach promotes equitable support, accessibility, and opportunities for all trainees. Flexibility in mentorship interactions and choice of training activities allows trainees to lead their own career development. We will conduct a yearly anonymous survey to evaluate the effectiveness of the training program on trainee skills development, career preparation, and career outcome.</p><div><b><u><span lang="EN-CA" style="line-height: 17.12px;"><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: inherit;">Inclusion</span></span></u></b></div><p><span lang="EN-CA" style="line-height: 17.12px;"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 6pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span lang="EN-CA"><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Best practices:</span></span></b><span lang="EN-CA"><span style="color: #2b00fe;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We will create a code of conduct (CoC) to remove unwelcoming and inaccessible spaces by ensuring a welcoming, inclusive, and supportive community for team members, support personnel, and importantly, for community stakeholders.<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 6pt;"><span lang="EN-CA"><span style="color: #2b00fe;"><b>Relevance:</b> </span>When all group members and community partners are respected, included, and valued, we can accomplish our project goals. Our work aims to restore natural resources for communities who rely on our research sites. Thus, it is imperative we include community and Indigenous stakeholders as team members.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 6pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #2b00fe;"><b>Approach: </b></span>Feeling excluded or separate from a research team, department, university, or discipline is a major driver of departures of SEGs from STEM fields [4,12]. We will develop a CoC articulating our core values that supports inclusivity, integrity, accessibility, safety, community engagement, and mutual respect and hold all team members to these ideals. This document will establish expectations for everyone in all project-related spaces, a formal complaint process, an anonymous reporting mechanism, and a resolution protocol where a panel of team members will take immediate action on any reported issues. This panel will consist of 2 each of senior PIs, ECRs, trainees, and non-academic partners and be assembled with input from the entire team. This panel will enforce the CoC and address any violations observed. Actions and procedures to address violations will be collectively determined by the panel to prevent subjective or biased decisions. We will create a safe space in which community groups, particularly those who are systemically excluded, will contribute to the development, design, and implementation of our projects. Protection of our community participants is a primary concern. Thus, collaborations with Indigenous groups will follow the Ownership, Control, Access, and Possession (OCAP®) Principles, research agreements will align with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, and this will be part of our CoC. We will regularly report to community stakeholders, sharing the results of our work with communities via public lectures and digital platforms.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 6pt;"><b><span lang="EN-CA" style="line-height: 17.12px;"><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Expected Impacts and Measurement: </span></span></b><span style="font-family: inherit;">Our articulated core values and CoC establish group culture and enact expectations for a healthy and inclusive environment. The provision of reporting options and a panel responsible for CoC enforcement allows for exclusionary behaviour to be addressed, dealt with, and prevented. The panel will conduct yearly reviews including reported CoC violations (within confidentiality restrictions) to determine if the prevalence of CoC violations is changing, if training or other action is needed, and if changes to the CoC are required.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 18.4px; margin-bottom: 6pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><div style="line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt 35.45pt; text-indent: -35.45pt;"><b style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: inherit; text-indent: -35.45pt;">REFERENCES</b></div><div style="line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt 35.45pt; text-indent: -35.45pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -35.45pt;">1. </span><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -35.45pt;">Wanelik, K.M., et al. </span><i style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -35.45pt;">Breaking barriers? Ethnicity and socioeconomic background impact on early career progression in the fields of ecology and evolution</i><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -35.45pt;">. Ecology and Evolution, 2020 </span><b style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -35.45pt;">10</b><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -35.45pt;">(14): p. 6870–6880.</span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -35.45pt;"><br /></span></div><div style="line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt 35.45pt; text-indent: -35.45pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -35.45pt;">2.</span><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -35.45pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -35.45pt;">Montgomery, B. </span><i style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -35.45pt;">Academic leadership: gatekeeping or groundskeeping?</i><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -35.45pt;"> The Journal of Values-Based Leadership, 2020. </span><b style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -35.45pt;">13</b><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -35.45pt;">(2).</span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -35.45pt;"><br /></span></div><div style="line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt 35.45pt; text-indent: -35.45pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -35.45pt;">3.</span><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -35.45pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -35.45pt;">O’Brien, L.T., et al., </span><i style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -35.45pt;">Why are there so few ethnic minorities in ecology and evolutionary biology? Challenges to inclusion and the role of sense of belonging.</i><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -35.45pt;"> Social Psychology of Education, 2020. </span><b style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -35.45pt;">23</b><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -35.45pt;">(2): p. 449–477.</span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -35.45pt;"><br /></span></div><div style="line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt 35.45pt; text-indent: -35.45pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -35.45pt;">4.</span><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -35.45pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -35.45pt;">Cronin, M.R. et al., </span><i style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -35.45pt;">Anti-racist interventions to transform ecology, evolution and conservation biology departments</i><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -35.45pt;">. Nature Ecology & Evolution, 2021.</span><b style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -35.45pt;">5</b><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -35.45pt;">: p. 1213-1223</span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -35.45pt;"><br /></span></div><div style="line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt 35.45pt; text-indent: -35.45pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -35.45pt;">5.</span><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -35.45pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -35.45pt;">Schell, C.J. et al., 2020 </span><i style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -35.45pt;">Recreating Wakanda by promoting Black excellence in ecology and evolution</i><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -35.45pt;">. Nature Ecology & Evolution, 2020. </span><b style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -35.45pt;">4</b><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -35.45pt;">: p. 1285-1287</span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -35.45pt;"><br /></span></div><div style="line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt 35.45pt; text-indent: -35.45pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -35.45pt;">6.</span><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -35.45pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -35.45pt;">Holman, L., D. Stuart-Fox, C.E. Hauser, </span><i style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -35.45pt;">The gender gap in science: How long until women are equally represented? </i><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -35.45pt;">PLOS Biology, 2018. </span><b style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -35.45pt;">16</b><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -35.45pt;">(4): p: e2004956.</span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -35.45pt;"><br /></span></div><div style="line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt 35.45pt; text-indent: -35.45pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -35.45pt;">7.</span><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -35.45pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -35.45pt;">McGee, E.O. </span><i style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -35.45pt;">Interrogating structural racism in STEM higher education</i><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -35.45pt;">. Educational Researcher, 2020. </span><b style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -35.45pt;">49</b><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -35.45pt;">(9): p: 633–644.</span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -35.45pt;"><br /></span></div><div style="line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt 35.45pt; text-indent: -35.45pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -35.45pt;">8.</span><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -35.45pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -35.45pt;">Handley, I.M., et al., 2015 Quality of evidence revealing subtle gender biases in science is in the eye of the beholder. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 2015. </span><b style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -35.45pt;">112</b><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -35.45pt;">(143): p13201–13206.</span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -35.45pt;"><br /></span></div><div style="line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt 35.45pt; text-indent: -35.45pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -35.45pt;">9.</span><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -35.45pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -35.45pt;">National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. </span><i style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -35.45pt;">Barriers and Opportunities for 2-Year and 4-Year STEM Degrees: Systemic Change to Support Students’ Diverse Pathways</i><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -35.45pt;">. 2016, Washington D.C.</span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -35.45pt;"><br /></span></div><div style="line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt 35.45pt; text-indent: -35.45pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -35.45pt;">10.</span><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -35.45pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -35.45pt;">Nycum, G. </span><i style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -35.45pt;">Student Demographic Survey Reporting of Preliminary Data to Senate</i><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -35.45pt;">. 2021.</span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -35.45pt;"><br /></span></div><div style="line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt 35.45pt; text-indent: -35.45pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -35.45pt;">11.</span><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -35.45pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -35.45pt;">Campbell, A. </span><i style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -35.45pt;">Employment Equity Biennial Report to Senate</i><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -35.45pt;">. 2021.</span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -35.45pt;"><br /></span></div><div style="line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt 35.45pt; text-indent: -35.45pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -35.45pt;">12.</span><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -35.45pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -35.45pt;">Willis, L.M., D. Mehta, A. Davis. </span><i style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -35.45pt;">Twelve principles trainees, PIs, departments, and faculties can use to reduce bias and discrimination in STEM</i><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -35.45pt;">. ACS Central Science, 2020. </span><b style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -35.45pt;">6</b><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -35.45pt;">(12): p. 2294–2300.</span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -35.45pt;"><br /></span></div><div style="line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt 35.45pt; text-indent: -35.45pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -35.45pt;">13.</span><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -35.45pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -35.45pt;">Moss-Racusin, C.A., et al., </span><i style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -35.45pt;">Science faculty’s subtle gender biases favor male students</i><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -35.45pt;">. Proceedings of The National Academy Of Sciences Of The United States Of America-Biological Sciences, 2012. 109(41): p. 16474–16479.</span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -35.45pt;"><br /></span></div><div style="line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt 35.45pt; text-indent: -35.45pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -35.45pt;">14.</span><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -35.45pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -35.45pt;">O’Meara, K., et al., </span><i style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -35.45pt;">Equity-Minded Faculty Workloads: What We Can and Should do Now</i><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -35.45pt;">, 2021. Washington D. C.</span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -35.45pt;"><br /></span></div><div style="line-height: 18.4px; margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt 35.45pt; text-indent: -35.45pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -35.45pt;">15.</span><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -35.45pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -35.45pt;">Flynn, D.T. </span><i style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -35.45pt;">STEM field persistence: the impact of engagement on postsecondary STEM persistence for underrepresented minority students</i><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -35.45pt;">. Journal of Educational Issues, 2016. </span><b style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -35.45pt;">2</b><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -35.45pt;">(1): p. 185–214.</span></div>Kiyoko Gotandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11122194514694682036noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4456348657596914237.post-26866826915640315642022-01-08T23:56:00.002-05:002022-01-10T23:12:57.159-05:00The things we wished we had known<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="background-color: white;"> Becoming a new professor is exciting. You are at last the captain of your own research. You pick who you want to work with, what you want to work on. You come into the lab in the morning, and there are grad students and postdocs and undergrads all plugging away on things that excite you. It's a real thrill. <br /></span><span style="background-color: white;">But, it is also an intensely stressful time. Speaking for myself, my first year or two there were definitely days and weeks I felt so overwhelmed I just wasn't sure I'd manage. Its not something one often says openly, but yes there were times I felt depressed, there were times I cried. It's rough, and tiring, and stressful.</span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: white;">To me, there's no question that the benefits exceeded the costs, even in that first year or two. And as time went on and I grew in confidence, the benefits only grew and the costs mostly declined. Today, I can honestly say that I love my job, even though yes there are absolutely still times when I just need to walk away and take a break. And times when I feel I can't take a break, but need one. But this led me to reflect on what might have been different, to make those first years more pleasant and manageable. I think one element just isn't fixable: with experience comes confidence, and efficiency. You learn how to do things, to trust yourself, and to make decisions faster with that greater confidence. That saves time and reduces stress. But, there were many many other things that I think could have been far easier had I just had a bit more warning or training in advance. </span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: white;">Today's blog post is devoted to those things that I wished I had known. A few months ago I posed this question on twitter, and so the following actually reflects not just my own experience, but the responses from many other people who replied at the time. What follows is a non-exhaustive list of some of the things we wished we had known, to make the transition easier. These are offered not to scare or deter, but with the view that being forewarned is the surest key to being prepared, and thus being able to manage the new job. Also, keep in mind reading this that as much as there's weird BS we need to put up with in academia, other career paths for highly educated folk can be at least as aggravating (talk to your friends who are physicians about paper work, or your lawyer friends about their workload and email inbox and meetings. The list is presented as bullet points taken from the twitter responses, anonymized and sometimes (but not always) rephrased, some with additional commentary from me. I also drew on <a href="https://twitter.com/cterminiPHD/status/1479508309149306881?s=20" target="_blank">responses to a related thread</a></span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></p><h3 style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="font-family: helvetica;">General</span></b></span></h3><p><span style="background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.02); caret-color: rgb(15, 20, 25); color: #0f1419; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">* Be really really really nice to the office staff, they are your most important allies in the whole place.</span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">* Your university hired you because they are impressed with you and like what you do, and how much you've done. Just keep doing that and you are on the right path. They don't hire people who they expect to fail, the hire people who are already on a trajectory to meet tenure expectations. You've got this.</span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">* You wanted this job. Remind yourself of that each time you feel stressed out.</span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">* Admit to mistakes. When you mess up,<a href="https://ecoevoevoeco.blogspot.com/2018/09/mistakes-were-made.html" target="_blank"> own it</a>, apologize, and fix it. You'll gain more respect for dealing with mistakes head on, than you'll lose from making them.</span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">* Following on the previous point: When your students make mistakes, don't punish, just teach them the previous philosophy: admit, fix, and move on.</span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">*Update your CV continuously as you do new things, so you don't forget</span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">* Luck plays a big role in success.</span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">* Be prepared for setbacks - experiments fail, a freezer dies, your course lecture goes off the rails, a grant is rejected or paper declined with unnecessarily nasty reviewer comments. Lousy things happen. That's true in any career. Take a deep breath, move on. I often set aside reviews, unread, until I'm psychologically over the initial disappointment and can read the comments more dispassionately.</span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">* Learn new things</span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">* There will always be someone who is more successful than you at some thing you'd like to succeed at. Its normal and okay.</span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">* That impostor's syndrome you keep feeling? Remind yourself that (a) pretty much everyone who isn't a pathological narcissist feels it, and (b) at least you aren't some famous person who got that way by fabricating data.</span></span></p><div><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">* "How alone you are" - a common sentiment. You start academia surrounded by lab mates, and mentors, then wind up at the tip top of the pyramid with surprisingly little time to hobnob with peers and mentors. Speaking for myself, I had a faculty mentor when I was an Assistant Prof, but we never met to discuss how I was doing, not once.</span></span></div><div><p><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">* The university does not "care" about you. This is an employer-employee relationship that is purely transactional and somewhat exploitative. One respondent said, if it has to be exploitative, at least make it mutually exploitative.</span></span></p></div><div><p><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(15, 20, 25); color: #0f1419; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">* You really really CAN say "NO" to things.</span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(15, 20, 25); color: #0f1419; white-space: pre-wrap;">* </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(15, 20, 25); color: #0f1419; white-space: pre-wrap;">REALLY understanding that tenure is about *demonstrating* your value to the University in terms of revenue (grants), quantifiable prestige (papers), and sustainable business plan (getting support for students). Spend 90% of your time on this</span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">* An old policy I learned from camping: Leave the place better than you found it when you arrived.</span></p><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><p><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(15, 20, 25); color: #0f1419; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></span></span></p></div><div><h3 style="text-align: left;"><b style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Financial</span></b></h3></div><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">* Most of your research is done by people, not stuff, so budget accordingly. No point generating $100,000 in sequence data if nobody is around to analyze it and write (you won't have time).</span></p><p><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">* Apply for the award / grant / job even if it seems like a stretch. Do the same for your trainees - nominate them for things.</span></span></p><div><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">* I need better tools for keeping track of one's actual budget (initial budget and then expenditures, which quickly start to deviate from initial plans). I've been at three universities since starting grad school and none had clear tools for me to track and project expenses.</span></span></div><div><p><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">* Budgeting. "OMG budgeting" (PS - if someone wants to write a guest post on the brilliant solution they've found for multi-grant budgeting and monitoring expenses, let me know!). (Note added after: @tera_levin responded that spendlab.org is amazing. "Easy to project forward to when grants run out, when to move trainees to different grants, and even internalize your burn rate and plan future grant needs"</span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">* The difficulty in spending money the way you planned & budgeted to. Writing extensive justifications for why I bought 10,000 empty tea bags (to put fish in, of course), because someone in the accounting office figured this was a misuse of funds. </span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">* Travel expenses take forever to get reimbursed. Personally I had nearly $13,000 in expenses I paid out of pocket and had to get reimbursed and it took nearly 9 months, partly because a hobgoblin in accounting figured I should have rented a economy sedan car (for field work with 5 people for 2 weeks) rather than an SUV or pickup.</span></span></p><div><p><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">* I have to pay for hand soap and paper towels? Unexpected expenses are everywhere</span></span></p></div></div><div><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(15, 20, 25); color: #0f1419; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">* It is psychologically challenging to get used to spending huge amounts of $ (more than you have personally) on lab equipment, supplies, salaries. Buying something that costs $100,000 feels really really stressful.</span></span></div><div><p><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(15, 20, 25); color: #0f1419; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">* The university overheads can be an obscenely large slice of your budget.</span></span></p></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(15, 20, 25); color: #0f1419; white-space: pre-wrap;">* </span><span style="background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.02); caret-color: rgb(15, 20, 25); color: #0f1419; white-space: pre-wrap;">get a copy of your postdoctoral lab's ordering info so you don't waste time figuring out what to order</span></span></div><div><p><span style="background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.02); caret-color: rgb(15, 20, 25); color: #0f1419; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">* Lab supply vendors have discounts for new PIs. Use them.</span></span></p></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">* Don't hoard your research funds forever. Data and people are better than unspent funds.</span></div><div><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">* Apply for new grants before your current one(s) are done.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">* <a href="https://ecoevoevoeco.blogspot.com/2019/09/does-startup-size-predict-subsequent.html" target="_blank">Start-up matters, but using it wisely matters more</a>: </span></p></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">* Publication fees (especially Open Access) <a href="https://ecoevoevoeco.blogspot.com/2018/11/publication-charges.html" target="_blank">add up fast</a>, plan accordingly.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><h3 style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Red tape</span></b></span></h3><p><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">* How to navigate Institutional Animal Use and Care approvals at any new institution. Who's the vet, what are the forms & other rules. I have had to re-learn this at each institution, each of which has different expectations and forms.</span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">* When I started at University of ____, there were a ton of biosafety and lab safety classes to take, but no exhaustive simple list aimed at faculty in my department, so one had to learn by either taking lots of time to locate the required classes, or by being reprimanded for not having completed something</span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">* Each institution has its own unique expectations for chemical inventories.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="background-color: white;">* How hard it can be to purchase. For my favorite example involving two shipping pallets of pipettes, see </span><span style="background-color: white; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="https://twitter.com/DanielBolnick/status/1035322331491704832?s=20" target="_blank">this tweet.</a></span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">* How do I get furniture for my office?</span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">* Ordering atypical equipment: I budgeted for a field vehicle in my start-up. Four years later the university still can't figure out whether I'm allowed to purchase a vehicle, and start-up is almost expired (despite extension).</span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">* What's up with people referring to every class with some arcane number instead of a subject name. "You've been asked to teach BIO 3286b 3/4... can you do it next semester?" Heck, thirteen years into my first faculty job I still didn't know the number for my own course.</span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">* The lag between asking for permission to do a project (grant funding, IACUC permission, collecting permits), and actually being allowed to start - can take months to years.</span></span></p><div><div><p><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">* The nightmare of shipping biological material, particularly between countries.</span></span></p></div></div><div><p><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">* So much of the university administration is geared towards not getting sued / passing audits, rather than actually enabling teaching or research.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="background-color: white;">* "</span><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(15, 20, 25); color: #0f1419; white-space: pre-wrap;">Nothing could have prepared me for cost share agreements, constantly changing fringe/mileage/tuition. Nothing"</span></span></p></div><div><p><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">* A general response was, how long it takes to do anything (ordering, hiring, new training).</span></span></p></div><div><p><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">* WTF is up with people's obsession with parliamentary procedure and Roberts Rules of Order?</span></span></p></div><div><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="background-color: white;">* </span><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(15, 20, 25); color: #0f1419; white-space: pre-wrap;">Everything I buy must be tax exempt, but every supplier has a different university phone number or in-store code they want you to provide to prove tax exemption. No employees of any of these places seem to know the number. Would be nice to give new faculty a spreadsheet of them</span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(15, 20, 25); color: #0f1419; white-space: pre-wrap;">* "</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(15, 20, 25); color: #0f1419; white-space: pre-wrap;">Also, at some point I adapted the strategy of “don’t ask for permission, ask for forgiveness” just to get shit done and not be held up by stupid rules that are either useless or not communicated."</span></span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(15, 20, 25); color: #0f1419; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">* The annual progress reports. At my previous institution we needed to generate three different annual reports each year (each for a different admin level, each on a different form).</span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(15, 20, 25); color: #0f1419; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></span></p></div><h3 style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Time management</span></b></span></h3><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">* Leave time for yourself to write, do lab work, get exercise.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">* Your spouse and kids need you more than your students do. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">* Following on the prior, this is a job, not your entire lifestyle. Treat it accordingly.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">* Service activities count very little towards tenure. Do some. But as little as you can manage, and make them the fun ones.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="background-color: white;">* Don't do every seminar invitation and conference that you are invited to. It'll quickly grow to be too much. There's an optimal ratio of </span><u style="background-color: white;">doing</u><span style="background-color: white;"> science versus </span><u style="background-color: white;">telling others about it</u><span style="background-color: white;">, and too much of the latter can be tempting, but start to undermine you.</span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">* Triage - not everything is equally important.</span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">* Block off time <u>in your calendar</u> for you to work uninterrupted on a paper, grant, class, etc.</span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">* The sheer number of meetings: faculty meetings, department and university service committees, dissertation meetings, meetings with collaborators, meetings with students, meetings with undergrads.</span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">* The number of emails per day</span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(15, 20, 25); color: #0f1419; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">* The ratchet of expectations, that keep getting added on as you get accustomed to doing the previous round of expectations.</span></span></p><div><p><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(15, 20, 25); color: #0f1419; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">* Often, scheduling a half hour meeting once a week with a trainee is just fine. Adjust depending on the balance of your needs, and those of individuals. It is okay to meet with some more often than others depending on their career stage (e.g., writing dissertation) or psychological needs.</span></span></p></div><div><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">* Budget time to answer emails, ignore it other times.</span></p></div><div><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">* Review manuscripts for journals. Get them in on time, do a thorough job. Do enough of these to pay back for the reviews you get (e.g., 2-3 reviews per paper you submit).</span></p></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><h3 style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Hiring</span></b></span></h3><p><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">* Don't let your lab get too big too fast, before you know how to supervise.</span></span></p><div><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">* The length of time and paperwork to initiate a hire, then to conduct the search, then to actually hire.</span></span></div><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">* Good trainees are key. When hiring, watch out for red flags when interviewing, especially whether they work well with others, and can take risks and finish projects, and can they write. And most of all, are they honest? The very top classroom students as undergrads may get paralyzed by uncertainty and risk in the lab, so don't focus just on their grades.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">* No assholes in the lab</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">* A bigger team is not always better. But, also know that the work you devote to mentoring may not increase linearly with group size. As your group grows, there's more lateral mentoring that happens among your trainees, as they learn from and support each other.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></p><h3 style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Mentoring</span></b></span></h3><p><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">* Train your people in good data management and code annotation, it is as crucial as good experimental design.</span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">* Assemble a list of readings for your lab members to have a shared baseline of core literature familiarity</span></span></p><div><p><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">* Be kind to the people who work with you - buy their lunch on occasion, you make more than they do.</span></span></p></div><div><p><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">* The big jump from going from interacting with peers, to interacting with people I supervise</span></span></p></div><div><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">* Supervising people is really hard and we don't get trained on it. What to do if someone is suffering serious mental illness that is impacting their ability to progress on a degree, or do their job, or endangering research animals? What to do if people are in conflict within the lab? So many scenarios, so little advanced preparation. "no one trains PIs to actually manage people"</span></span></div><div><p><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">* "I didn't expect to be a therapist for my students. The lines between mentorship/advising vs therapy are blurry when students desperately need someone to talk to". Someone else wrote "I'm totally not equipped to help the ones who need long term psychiatric care /meds", and I'll say this has come up multiple times in my own lab and after 17 years as a prof I still am struggling with helping. I'm not a psychiatrist.</span></span></p></div><div><p><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(15, 20, 25); color: #0f1419; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">* You are asked to articulate a mentoring style, but the fact is every student is unique in their needs and personalities, so you need to create a unique mentoring style for each student to be effective.</span></span></p></div><div><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">* Your students are your colleagues and collaborators, and will be for life if you treat and train them well. They are not your slaves, nor are they your kids.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">* <span style="background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.02); caret-color: rgb(15, 20, 25); color: #0f1419; white-space: pre-wrap;">Set a culture in the lab where no one feels like they work FOR you but instead they feel like they work WITH you. It may sound subtle but it is so important!</span></span></p><p><span style="color: #0f1419; font-family: helvetica;"><span style="background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.02); white-space: pre-wrap;">* Clearly communicate expectations with your lab members about their training goals, behavior, etc. <a href="https://ecoevoevoeco.blogspot.com/2019/03/how-do-you-create-lab-culture-social.html" target="_blank">A lab culture document is a good idea.</a></span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.02); color: #0f1419; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">* If you are to be a senior co-author on a paper, you are vouching for the work. Can you confirm it was done, the person knew what they were doing, and that the data is true, and the analyses done as described? Look at the data, look at the code, and be</span></span></p></div><div><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">* Don't be the weak link in the chain. If a student sends me a manuscript, it'll take me a day of work to get them comments on it. That day could be this week, or weeks from now, but takes the same amount of time whether I do it now or wait. If I wait, I'm slowing down my student's progress. Therefore, better to do it now.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">* Have individual meetings and group meetings. In group meetings, don't just talk about research, also set aside time regularly to talk about ethics, data management, publishing, academic culture, job tracks, etc.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">* Work on <a href="https://ecoevoevoeco.blogspot.com/2021/12/individual-development-plans.html" target="_blank">Individual Development Plans</a> with your trainees</span></p></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><h3 style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Research</span></b></span></h3><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">* For research, have a diversified portfolio: bread-and-butter projects that are guaranteed to yield basic publications, and some high-risk high-potential-reward projects.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">* Pick at least one topic that you are going to be the go-to-person on, in your department or more broadly. This could be a skill set or subject area knowledge where people need help. This defines your intellectual niche, but also makes you indispensable to your colleagues who need your expertise to help their own group forward. Then they've got to tenure you out of self-interest.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">* Arrive with a box of data to analyze and publish, so you can still be publishing data (e.g., from your postdoc) while you start new projects. The new lab projects can take years to hit the journals.</span></p><p><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">* Develop a library of lab protocols (your own, or others') using tools like protocols.io</span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">* <a href="https://ecoevoevoeco.blogspot.com/2021/12/guidelines-for-archiving-data-and-code.html" target="_blank">Archive your data (</a>DataDryad.org for instance)</span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">* The importance of remaining doing some bench work and/or field work. (it's why they hired you...)</span></span></p><div><p><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">* "I truly did not understand how little of the actual science in the field and lab I'd be doing. It was hard to let that go, to delegate and empower others while I did science admin & other stuff I wasn't trained to do"</span></span></p></div><div><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">* Share your toys</span></p></div><div><p><span style="color: #0f1419; font-family: helvetica;"><span style="background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.02); white-space: pre-wrap;">* Back up all lab data in redundant places, cloud and hard copy, and make sure your trainees do too. Make sure your students give you access to their data so you can check their data and their code, and finish projects if they leave things incomplete (some will!).</span></span></p><p><span style="color: #0f1419; font-family: helvetica;"><span style="background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.02); white-space: pre-wrap;">* If you do field work, make sure some people in the field have good first aid training. <a href="https://ecoevoevoeco.blogspot.com/2018/12/whats-worst-that-could-happen.html" target="_blank">Bad things happen.</a></span></span></p></div><div><span style="color: #0f1419; font-family: helvetica;"><span style="background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.02); white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span></div><h3 style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Colleagues</span></b></span></h3><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="background-color: white;">* You are faculty now. You really can speak in faculty meeting.</span><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">* Find collaborators who are good people first, good scientists second. Trust is key, so work with people who you enjoy and can rely on.</span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">* Politics, often arising from jealousy over differences in output, grant resources, teaching loads, etc</span></span></p><div><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">* I was unaware of departmental politics for years as an assistant and associate professor. Then I landed an administrative position where I had an effect on other faculty's experiences, and the knives appeared.</span></span></div><div><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="background-color: white;">* Doesn't </span><u style="background-color: white;">anyone</u><span style="background-color: white;"> know how to properly use (or avoid) reply-all during email exchanges?</span></span></p></div><div><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">* Invite departmental seminar speakers. Choose some peers to generate collaborative networks, but importantly choose some senior people who will write tenure letters for you.</span></p></div><div><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">* Go to conferences and present to get your name out there. Be sure your students do too - to get their own names, and yours, out where people know what you are doing.</span></p></div><div><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">* Consciously build a network of mentors and peers, within your field (not at your university),and within your department.</span></p></div><div><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">* Try collaborating with someone in another department/discipline on something. It's eye opening and leads exciting directions.</span></p></div><div><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">* Call the program officer to discuss grant proposal plans, and to discuss grant reviews you received. Really, they don't mind. Get to know them at conferences.</span></p></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></span></div><h3 style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Teaching</span></b></span></h3><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">* Pick a topic to teach that you'd like to learn more about, it forces you to take the time to learn. I did this for stats with R, then Bayesian stats, then Network Stats.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="background-color: white;">* "</span><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(15, 20, 25); color: #0f1419; white-space: pre-wrap;">Having trained mostly at med schools, was hilariously not ready for amount of time that goes into prepping/teaching an undergrad class. Ultimately a rewarding experience and easier after the first yr, but an surprisingly huge responsibility on top of setting up the lab!" - To this lovely quote, I'll add that this isn't unique to med school training backgrounds. I usually budget 1-2 days (that's FULL days) per 1.5 hour lecture to prepare. At a minimum. When I've said this on twitter I've received some pushback and abuse from people who didn't believe me, but who later admitted they reached the same confusion.</span></span></p><div><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(15, 20, 25); color: #0f1419; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></span></div><h3 style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Miscellaneous</span></b></h3><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">* <a href="http://ecoevoevoeco.blogspot.com/2018/06/a-really-moving-blog-post.html" target="_blank">Mid-career moves between universities are slow, and super-hard.</a> Moving freezers is a nightmare. Fish get lost by fed-ex. Have to redo all your training (IACUC, safety, chemical, biological, how-not-to-sexuall-harass, don't-be-racist)... all of it is unique to each school and yet so repetitive. Universities don't give you credit for having done the same thing elsewhere. And then there's the shock of having to rebudget every grant you transfer - budget, budget justification, and more, takes a ton of time.</span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">* How do I get a website set up? Can anyone advise me? Anyone? This, and so many other things, seem expected but not explained.</span></span></p><div><p><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">* I've been at my institution for three years and I'm still not on the right listserv lists that I should be</span></span></p></div><div><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(15, 20, 25); color: #0f1419; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">* "Cockroaches short-circuiting equipment"</span></span></div><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">* A good coffee machine is key</span></p><div><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">* Get copies of people's grant proposals, fellowship applications, award applications, to have examples for you or your lab members.</span></p></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><h3 style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Last, but not least:</span></b></h3><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">* There are many paths to success, pick the one that feels most authentic to yourself.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">* Anyone's advice is suspect. Just because it worked for them at their school doesn't mean it will work for you at yours. Conversely, others' horror stories may not apply to you.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-T4c0PETbCX8/YdoN5TevuvI/AAAAAAAANng/4gRUCmQZdCEZQ1fZfwey6PoZOpZ-9sCzgCNcBGAsYHQ/image.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><img alt="" data-original-height="366" data-original-width="650" height="180" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-T4c0PETbCX8/YdoN5TevuvI/AAAAAAAANng/4gRUCmQZdCEZQ1fZfwey6PoZOpZ-9sCzgCNcBGAsYHQ/image.jpeg" width="320" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span><p></p><h3 style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-family: helvetica;">For other advice on starting a lab see:</span></b></h3><p><a href="https://journals.plos.org/ploscompbiol/article?id=10.1371/journal.pcbi.1007448"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">https://journals.plos.org/ploscompbiol/article?id=10.1371/journal.pcbi.1007448</span></a></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></p><p><a href="https://t.co/6OVRGGGkww"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">https://hhmi.org/science-education/programs/resources/making-right-moves…</span></a></p><p><a href="https://totalinternalreflectionblog.com/2018/09/18/setting-up-shop-a-short-guide-to-starting-a-research-group/"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">https://totalinternalreflectionblog.com/2018/09/18/setting-up-shop-a-short-guide-to-starting-a-research-group/</span></a></p><p><a href="https://t.co/VqUBC5Sucv"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">http://users.fmrib.ox.ac.uk/~behrens/Startingalab.htm…</span></a></p>Dan Bolnickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05181664810897127126noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4456348657596914237.post-54791358389564737762022-01-04T12:43:00.006-05:002022-01-04T13:44:59.647-05:00What happens to those Dryad repositories?<p>A decade ago, The American Naturalist and a few other journals instituted Data Archiving policies, coincinding with the start of <a href="https://datadryad.org/stash/" target="_blank">DataDryad</a>. The rationale for this move was nicely articulated in<a href="https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/full/10.1086/650340" target="_blank"> a paper by Mike Whitlock and the other Editors</a> of participating journals. In this blog post I want to present a little data analysis of what happens to my own data archives, since they were posted.</p><p>First, some rationales. The shift to data archiving has some now-familiar benefits:</p><p>1) It allows readers to check authors' claims against the original data. This has led to a number of high-profile retractions arising from either discoveries of flaws in the data that undermine the credibility of the claimed results, or errors in data analyses that fundamentally alter results. Journals that did not institute data archiving rules earlier, now find themselves struggling to evaluate potential flaws in previous data files.</p><p>2) If authors upload their data archives before submission (include your code too please!), they can provide a private key to the journal when they submit, so that the data remains embargoed until publication but reviewers and editors can check the data. I have recently seen cases where reviewers missed flaws that were not obvious from the written manuscript, but emerged when the data files were checked. This practice also allows journals time to check the completeness and integrity of the data repositories, to ensure they have everything they should (a practice that The American Naturalist recently instituted, with help from <a href="https://dataseer.ai" target="_blank">DataSeerAI</a>).</p><p>3) Archiving your data protects you from losing your own hard-won data. It's a back-up for you. </p><p>4) Archived data provide students and colleagues with an opportunity to practice data analysis and learn how to do analyses the way you have done them. It is a teaching tool. Badly archived data inhibits this, because readers don't know what variables are which. So, follow <a href="https://comments.amnat.org/2021/12/guidelines-for-archiving-code-with-data.html" target="_blank">good-practice guidelines to build usable and complete and clearly documented data archives</a>.</p><p>5) Archived data can be used in subsequent meta-analyses. I have an idea for a way to analyze phenotypic selection data, that is different from Lande and Arnolds, for instance. I can't just draw on people's published estimates of linear and quadratic selection gradients for this, I need the raw data. So to do a meta-analysis, I need to go beyond what people put in their papers, to get raw data, and this requires usable archives. Note, around 2015 I emailed a hundred authors (most papers from the 90's and 2000's) asking for the data under their stabilizing selection estimates, I got four responses. I never finished the study (P.S., reach out to me if you're interested, I've not had time to follow up on this).</p><p>6) The last and probably least important benefit is that you contribute a citable published resource. Some people include their Dryad repositories as a separate entry in their CV, as it represents a product of your work, in its own right. Few people actually do this: see twitter poll results:</p><p><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-5vzTRIyRSiA/YdSF_UUDctI/AAAAAAAANZQ/CIu5v1iQkgQfiv50h8_MKTwHKMRkD9FTwCNcBGAsYHQ/Screen%2BShot%2B2022-01-04%2Bat%2B12.36.23%2BPM.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img alt="" data-original-height="478" data-original-width="1152" height="133" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-5vzTRIyRSiA/YdSF_UUDctI/AAAAAAAANZQ/CIu5v1iQkgQfiv50h8_MKTwHKMRkD9FTwCNcBGAsYHQ/Screen%2BShot%2B2022-01-04%2Bat%2B12.36.23%2BPM.jpg" width="320" /></a></p><p><br /></p><p>It is this last point, arguably the least important that I want to explore in depth today. I decided on the spur of the moment this morning, as a form of procrastination, to go ahead and add my data repositories to my CV: Authors, Year, Title, URL. Took me about an hour. As I did this, I began to notice a few points of interest I wanted to convey.</p><p>First, some basic stats: My first data repository was in 2011 (in The American Naturalist!) and I've found 39 archived datasets with my name. I've published more papers than this in the past 10 years. I confess I was inconsistent with archiving in the early 20teens, depending on the journal, doing it when required. Some archives aren't on Dryad because they are archived with the publishing journal instead (e.g., my 2020 papers in Ecography and Ecology both used the publishers website for posting the archived data as supplements). And, some of my students/postdocs may have built archives that don't have my name on the archive. And then there are theory or review papers that don't merit archives.</p><p>The next thing that intrigued me as I began looking at these, is that my data archives were getting views, and downloads. Frankly this surprised me a bit. Not in a bad way, I just figured archives were sitting there in a dark virtual room, lonely. But people are actually looking at them! The average archive has been viewed 148 times (sd = 129), with the leading papers being an analysis of lake-stream stickleback parallel evolution (647 views, Kaeuffer et al Evolution), a meta-analysis of assortative mating (464 views, Jiang et al American Naturalist), and yeast epistasis (Kuzmin 2019 Science, 369 views). The Jiang et al one in particular didn't surprise me because it is a bit provocative and I know it stimulated some rebuttals and re-analyses. Here are is a histogram of repository views:</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/--rpeyFrnFc4/YdR7Imy5i7I/AAAAAAAANYo/5aJGMyUWMxwqsp9E0qPuI1APBwGZ3aCZACNcBGAsYHQ/Fig1.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="553" data-original-width="596" height="371" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/--rpeyFrnFc4/YdR7Imy5i7I/AAAAAAAANYo/5aJGMyUWMxwqsp9E0qPuI1APBwGZ3aCZACNcBGAsYHQ/w400-h371/Fig1.png" width="400" /></a></div>A important caveat: Some unknown fraction of views and downloads may be from bots with unknown motivations.<br /><p></p><p>Dryad also tracks downloads. On average my repositories have been downloaded 47 times (sd = 77), and this time it is the Jiang et al AmNat paper that leads with 402 downloads followed by Kuzmin 2019 Science at 287. Only one paper wasn't downloaded at all, and that is the one paper still subject to a embargo (Paccard et al) because it uses an assemblage of data from many collaborators some of whom had yet to publish their own analyses. All told, my repositories have had a total of 5791 views and 1822 downloads. To be clear, I'm not trying to pat my own back here, my point is that data repositories get (to my view) a shockingly large amount of attention. I had no idea.<br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-7ZqIspIYUOA/YdR8ygpxq2I/AAAAAAAANYw/J_y464vUB0EtrIZjijmL9U6Dyd4K2mXAACNcBGAsYHQ/Figure%2B2.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="553" data-original-width="596" height="371" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-7ZqIspIYUOA/YdR8ygpxq2I/AAAAAAAANYw/J_y464vUB0EtrIZjijmL9U6Dyd4K2mXAACNcBGAsYHQ/w400-h371/Figure%2B2.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p>I'm not alone in being surprised that repositories are being downloaded and viewed. A quick twitter poll suggests most people who responded thought they would get few, if any, downloads. I bet you all will be surprised.</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-nVyE4KH4O6s/YdSGh3-lTQI/AAAAAAAANZY/OIRZ--pPZQQXCPTSv5pzSae3L1jFF6-KwCNcBGAsYHQ/Screen%2BShot%2B2022-01-04%2Bat%2B12.38.50%2BPM.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="458" data-original-width="1176" height="125" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-nVyE4KH4O6s/YdSGh3-lTQI/AAAAAAAANZY/OIRZ--pPZQQXCPTSv5pzSae3L1jFF6-KwCNcBGAsYHQ/Screen%2BShot%2B2022-01-04%2Bat%2B12.38.50%2BPM.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p>Now it'll come as no surprise that there's a time effect here. Older repositories have more time to accumulate views. And, repositories that are viewed more, and downloaded more<br /><br /><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-CKe-lnNxnzs/YdR_c5050UI/AAAAAAAANY4/P8sVEdH9VXQsbWXsZ8F_2kDRGzmkrHC9QCNcBGAsYHQ/Figure3.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img alt="" data-original-height="506" data-original-width="1019" height="199" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-CKe-lnNxnzs/YdR_c5050UI/AAAAAAAANY4/P8sVEdH9VXQsbWXsZ8F_2kDRGzmkrHC9QCNcBGAsYHQ/w400-h199/Figure3.png" width="400" /></a></p><p><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-hqJgDqKx3Vg/YdR_iqXdSVI/AAAAAAAANY8/hFl7MFsenT4WMhn7bF3eiZljBmK_Zzz_ACNcBGAsYHQ/Figure%2B4.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img alt="" data-original-height="553" data-original-width="596" height="371" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-hqJgDqKx3Vg/YdR_iqXdSVI/AAAAAAAANY8/hFl7MFsenT4WMhn7bF3eiZljBmK_Zzz_ACNcBGAsYHQ/w400-h371/Figure%2B4.png" width="400" /></a><br /><br /><br />The last thing I wanted to check is whether a paper's citation rate is correlated with the data downloads. The answer is clearly yes. I used a general linear model with Poisson link to test whether the number of downloads (approximately Poisson distributed) depends on the year the repository was public, the number of views of the repo, and the number of citations to the paper. All three terms were significant, but the largest effect by far is that well-cited papers are the most likely to have their repositories downloaded:</p><p>Coefficients:</p><p> <span> </span> <span> </span>Estimate <span> <span> </span></span>Std. Error <span> <span> </span> </span>z value <span> <span> </span></span>Pr(>|z|) </p><p>(Intercept) <span> </span> -1.034e+02 <span> </span>2.248e+01 <span> </span>-4.598 <span> <span> </span></span>4.27e-06 ***</p><p>Year <span> </span> 5.268e-02 <span> <span> </span></span>1.114e-02 <span> </span> 4.730 <span> <span> </span></span>2.25e-06 ***</p><p>PaperCitations 7.422e-03 <span> <span> </span></span>3.438e-04 <span> </span>21.588 <span> <span> </span></span>< 2e-16 ***</p><p>Views <span> </span> 1.968e-03 <span> <span> </span></span>2.377e-04 <span> </span>8.278 <span> <span> </span></span>< 2e-16 ***</p><p>Focusing on the paper citation effect (in a log-log plot): </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-h2sY1N9_7hs/YdSERCy6jPI/AAAAAAAANZI/Lrj6-K7Jzq8yx6JSkRGOlwDkVo804HHhQCNcBGAsYHQ/Figure%2B5.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="893" data-original-width="694" height="400" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-h2sY1N9_7hs/YdSERCy6jPI/AAAAAAAANZI/Lrj6-K7Jzq8yx6JSkRGOlwDkVo804HHhQCNcBGAsYHQ/w312-h400/Figure%2B5.png" width="312" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>Note, the one red point there is a paper by Pruitt in Proc Roy Soc, that has suspect data that the co-authors (myself included) asked to be removed from as co-authors. I include it here out of morbid curiosity.<p></p><p>Why do more cited papers get more data downloads My guess, and it is just a guess, is that there's a mix of motivations led by a desire to try recreating results, a desire to learn how to do analyses, and simple curiosity. These downloads might also be class exercises in action. For example, I assigned my spring 2021 graduate class (on graphical analysis of data) the task of finding a paper they liked, with a figure they thought could be improved upon, and get the data repository and build a new and improved version of a figure of interest. Another option that April Wright suggested via twitter is that this is all driven by bots. But I struggle to see how bots would generate such a strong paper citation effect, as opposed to a year effect.</p><p>The last thing I want to note here is that the original proponents of data repositories argued that these are citable sources, that could accrue their own citations and their own impact factor. After seeing how much my repositories are downloaded, I do think that it is worth tracking total data repo downloads, at a minimum, though as far as I can tell there is no automated way to do this at present. But, citations to repositories are basically useless as far as I can tell. The repositories posted in the last 0-1 years have zero citations, apparently because it takes a while for the published article's citation to the data file to link to Dryad. But, for repositories published from 2011-2018, every single one had exactly 1 citation, and that was from the paper that reported the data. </p><p>The upshots:</p><p>1. repositories are widely viewed, often downloaded, but never cited. We need a way to track this impact (and to exclude bot false positives).</p><p>2. your data repository is not a throw-away waste of time to be done in a sloppy manner. Prepare it carefully and clearly with complete data and clear README.txt file documentation. People are likely to view it, and likely to download it. If you go in <u>assuming</u> that people will actually look, you will feel compelled to make a better quality and more usable repository. And that's good for everyone, even if it takes a bit more time and care.</p><p><br /></p><p>Update: According to Daniella Lowenberg of DataDryad, "DataDryad standardizes views and downloads against a code of practice written by @makedatacount & @ProjectCounter to ensure we eliminate bots, crawlers, double clicks, etc!"</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>For transparency, the data and code are provided here (not sure how to put a .csv as an attachment in this blog page, so sorry here's a table):</p><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: black; width: 522px;"><colgroup><col span="6" style="width: 65pt;" width="87"></col></colgroup><tbody><tr height="21" style="height: 16pt;"><td height="21" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; height: 16pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap; width: 65pt;" width="87">Year</td><td style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap; width: 65pt;" width="87">Views</td><td style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap; width: 65pt;" width="87">Downloads</td><td style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap; width: 65pt;" width="87">Citations</td><td style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap; width: 65pt;" width="87">LeadAuthor</td><td style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap; width: 65pt;" width="87">PaperCitations</td></tr><tr height="21" style="height: 16pt;"><td align="right" height="21" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; height: 16pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">2011</td><td align="right" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">188</td><td align="right" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">20</td><td align="right" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">1</td><td style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">Agashe</td><td align="right" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">105</td></tr><tr height="21" style="height: 16pt;"><td align="right" height="21" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; height: 16pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">2011</td><td align="right" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">647</td><td align="right" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">103</td><td align="right" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">1</td><td style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">Kaeuffer</td><td align="right" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">206</td></tr><tr height="21" style="height: 16pt;"><td align="right" height="21" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; height: 16pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">2012</td><td align="right" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">106</td><td align="right" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">24</td><td align="right" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">1</td><td style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">Snowberg</td><td align="right" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">38</td></tr><tr height="21" style="height: 16pt;"><td align="right" height="21" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; height: 16pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">2013</td><td align="right" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">100</td><td align="right" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">119</td><td align="right" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">1</td><td style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">Hendry</td><td align="right" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">29</td></tr><tr height="21" style="height: 16pt;"><td align="right" height="21" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; height: 16pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">2013</td><td align="right" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">464</td><td align="right" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">402</td><td align="right" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">1</td><td style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">Jiang</td><td align="right" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">326</td></tr><tr height="21" style="height: 16pt;"><td align="right" height="21" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; height: 16pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">2014</td><td align="right" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">355</td><td align="right" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">92</td><td align="right" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">1</td><td style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">Bolnick</td><td align="right" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">142</td></tr><tr height="21" style="height: 16pt;"><td align="right" height="21" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; height: 16pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">2014</td><td align="right" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">146</td><td align="right" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">22</td><td align="right" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">1</td><td style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">BolnickOtto</td><td align="right" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">75</td></tr><tr height="21" style="height: 16pt;"><td align="right" height="21" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; height: 16pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">2014</td><td align="right" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">110</td><td align="right" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">26</td><td align="right" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">1</td><td style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">Stutz</td><td align="right" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">28</td></tr><tr height="21" style="height: 16pt;"><td align="right" height="21" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; height: 16pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">2015</td><td align="right" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">132</td><td align="right" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">25</td><td align="right" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">1</td><td style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">Jiang</td><td align="right" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">14</td></tr><tr height="21" style="height: 16pt;"><td align="right" height="21" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; height: 16pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">2015</td><td align="right" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">147</td><td align="right" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">57</td><td align="right" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">1</td><td style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">Oke</td><td align="right" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">61</td></tr><tr height="21" style="height: 16pt;"><td align="right" height="21" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; height: 16pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">2015</td><td align="right" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">139</td><td align="right" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">45</td><td align="right" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">1</td><td style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">Schmerer</td><td align="right" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">33</td></tr><tr height="21" style="height: 16pt;"><td align="right" height="21" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; height: 16pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">2015</td><td align="right" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">58</td><td align="right" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">4</td><td align="right" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">1</td><td style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">Stutz</td><td align="right" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">23</td></tr><tr height="21" style="height: 16pt;"><td align="right" height="21" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; height: 16pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">2016</td><td align="right" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">199</td><td align="right" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">38</td><td align="right" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">1</td><td style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">Bolnick</td><td align="right" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">14</td></tr><tr height="21" style="height: 16pt;"><td align="right" height="21" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; height: 16pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">2016</td><td align="right" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">143</td><td align="right" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">12</td><td align="right" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">1</td><td style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">Bolnick</td><td align="right" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">21</td></tr><tr height="21" style="height: 16pt;"><td align="right" height="21" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; height: 16pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">2016</td><td align="right" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">158</td><td align="right" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">41</td><td align="right" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">1</td><td style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">Ingram</td><td align="right" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">6</td></tr><tr height="21" style="height: 16pt;"><td align="right" height="21" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; height: 16pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">2016</td><td align="right" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">121</td><td align="right" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">16</td><td align="right" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">1</td><td style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">Jiang</td><td align="right" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">6</td></tr><tr height="21" style="height: 16pt;"><td align="right" height="21" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; height: 16pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">2016</td><td align="right" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">175</td><td align="right" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">56</td><td align="right" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">1</td><td style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">Lohman</td><td align="right" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">104</td></tr><tr height="21" style="height: 16pt;"><td align="right" height="21" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; height: 16pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">2016</td><td align="right" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">68</td><td align="right" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">7</td><td align="right" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">1</td><td style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">Lohman</td><td align="right" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">7</td></tr><tr height="21" style="height: 16pt;"><td align="right" height="21" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; height: 16pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">2016</td><td align="right" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">266</td><td align="right" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">77</td><td align="right" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">1</td><td style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">PRUITT</td><td align="right" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">16</td></tr><tr height="21" style="height: 16pt;"><td align="right" height="21" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; height: 16pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">2016</td><td align="right" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">219</td><td align="right" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">38</td><td align="right" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">1</td><td style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">Weber</td><td align="right" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">29</td></tr><tr height="21" style="height: 16pt;"><td align="right" height="21" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; height: 16pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">2016</td><td align="right" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">222</td><td align="right" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">63</td><td align="right" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">1</td><td style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">Weber</td><td align="right" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">46</td></tr><tr height="21" style="height: 16pt;"><td align="right" height="21" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; height: 16pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">2017</td><td align="right" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">102</td><td align="right" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">16</td><td align="right" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">1</td><td style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">Brock</td><td align="right" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">13</td></tr><tr height="21" style="height: 16pt;"><td align="right" height="21" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; height: 16pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">2017</td><td align="right" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">147</td><td align="right" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">37</td><td align="right" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">1</td><td style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">Lohman</td><td align="right" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">10</td></tr><tr height="21" style="height: 16pt;"><td align="right" height="21" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; height: 16pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">2017</td><td align="right" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">111</td><td align="right" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">16</td><td align="right" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">1</td><td style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">Stutz</td><td align="right" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">23</td></tr><tr height="21" style="height: 16pt;"><td align="right" height="21" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; height: 16pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">2017</td><td align="right" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">136</td><td align="right" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">77</td><td align="right" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">1</td><td style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">Thompson</td><td align="right" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">26</td></tr><tr height="21" style="height: 16pt;"><td align="right" height="21" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; height: 16pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">2017</td><td align="right" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">81</td><td align="right" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">12</td><td align="right" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">1</td><td style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">Veen</td><td align="right" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">12</td></tr><tr height="21" style="height: 16pt;"><td align="right" height="21" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; height: 16pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">2018</td><td align="right" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">105</td><td align="right" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">24</td><td align="right" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">1</td><td style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">Bolnick</td><td align="right" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">6</td></tr><tr height="21" style="height: 16pt;"><td align="right" height="21" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; height: 16pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">2019</td><td align="right" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">43</td><td align="right" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">6</td><td align="right" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">1</td><td style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">Edelaar</td><td align="right" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">17</td></tr><tr height="21" style="height: 16pt;"><td align="right" height="21" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; height: 16pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">2019</td><td align="right" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">369</td><td align="right" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">287</td><td align="right" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">1</td><td style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">Kuzmin</td><td align="right" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">162</td></tr><tr height="21" style="height: 16pt;"><td align="right" height="21" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; height: 16pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">2019</td><td align="right" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">0</td><td align="right" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">0</td><td align="right" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">0</td><td style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">Paccard</td><td align="right" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">16</td></tr><tr height="21" style="height: 16pt;"><td align="right" height="21" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; height: 16pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">2019</td><td align="right" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">160</td><td align="right" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">20</td><td align="right" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">1</td><td style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">Rennison</td><td align="right" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">17</td></tr><tr height="21" style="height: 16pt;"><td align="right" height="21" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; height: 16pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">2020</td><td align="right" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">163</td><td align="right" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">5</td><td align="right" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">0</td><td style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">Bolnick</td><td align="right" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">23</td></tr><tr height="21" style="height: 16pt;"><td align="right" height="21" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; height: 16pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">2020</td><td align="right" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">31</td><td align="right" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">8</td><td align="right" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">0</td><td style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">Haerer</td><td align="right" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">3</td></tr><tr height="21" style="height: 16pt;"><td align="right" height="21" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; height: 16pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">2020</td><td align="right" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">41</td><td align="right" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">4</td><td align="right" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">0</td><td style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">Maciejewski</td><td align="right" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">7</td></tr><tr height="21" style="height: 16pt;"><td align="right" height="21" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; height: 16pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">2020</td><td align="right" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">54</td><td align="right" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">6</td><td align="right" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">0</td><td style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">Smocovitis</td><td align="right" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">0</td></tr><tr height="21" style="height: 16pt;"><td align="right" height="21" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; height: 16pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">2021</td><td align="right" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">8</td><td align="right" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">1</td><td align="right" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">0</td><td style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">DeLisle</td><td align="right" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">5</td></tr><tr height="21" style="height: 16pt;"><td align="right" height="21" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; height: 16pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">2021</td><td align="right" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">44</td><td align="right" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">11</td><td align="right" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">0</td><td style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">Haines</td><td align="right" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">1</td></tr><tr height="21" style="height: 16pt;"><td align="right" height="21" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; height: 16pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">2021</td><td align="right" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">24</td><td align="right" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">4</td><td align="right" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">0</td><td style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">Peng</td><td align="right" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">1</td></tr><tr height="21" style="height: 16pt;"><td align="right" height="21" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; height: 16pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">2021</td><td align="right" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">9</td><td align="right" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">1</td><td align="right" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">1</td><td style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">Vrtilek</td><td align="right" style="border: none; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: nowrap;">5</td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">#Blog on Dryad</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">dat <- read.csv("DryadInfo.csv")</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">par(mar = c(5,5,1,1))</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">hist(dat$Views, col = rgb(0.2, 0, 0.3, 0.5), breaks = 14, xlab = "Views", main = "", cex.lab = 1.4)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">mean(dat$Views)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">sd(dat$Views)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">mean(dat$Downloads)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">sd(dat$Downloads)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">hist(dat$Downloads+0.001, col = rgb(0.2, 0, 0.3, 0.5), breaks = 24, xlab = "Views", main = "", cex.lab = 1.4)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">{</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"> plot(Downloads ~ Views, dat, pch = 16)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">model <- lm(Downloads ~ Views, dat)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">abline(model)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">summary(model)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">text(150,350,"t = 5.837, P = 0.000001")</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">}</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">model <- glm(Downloads ~ Year + PaperCitations + Views, dat, family = "poisson")</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">summary(model)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">{</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">par(mfrow = c(1,2))</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">dat$Downloads[dat$Downloads == 0] <- NA</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">dat$Views[dat$Views == 0] <- NA</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">dat$PaperCitations[dat$PaperCitations == 0] <- NA</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">plot(log(Downloads) ~ Year, dat, pch = 16)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">model <- lm(log(Downloads) ~ Year, dat)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">abline(model)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">summary(model)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">text(2013, 0.5,"t = -0.29, P = 0.000054")</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">plot(log(Views) ~ Year, dat, pch = 16)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">model <- lm(log(Views) ~ Year, dat)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">abline(model)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">summary(model)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">text(2013, 2.5,"t = -0.22, P = 0.000006")</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">}</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">{</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"> par(mfrow = c(1,1))</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"> colortouse <- as.numeric(dat$LeadAuthor == "PRUITT")+1</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"> PCHtouse <- abs(as.numeric(dat$LeadAuthor == "PRUITT")-1)*15+1</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"> plot(log(Downloads) ~ log(PaperCitations), dat, pch = PCHtouse, col = colortouse, cex = 2)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"> model <- lm(log(Downloads) ~ log(PaperCitations), dat)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"> abline(model)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"> summary(model)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"> text(1.5,5.5,"t = 0.68, P = 0.000004")</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">}</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">sum(dat$Views, na.rm = T)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">sum(dat$Downloads, na.rm = T)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><br /></div><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><br /><p></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Dan Bolnickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05181664810897127126noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4456348657596914237.post-40372561422180151712021-12-21T12:06:00.001-05:002021-12-21T12:06:36.762-05:00Individual Development Plans<p>Many institutions encourage the use of an Individual Development Plan (IDP) to guide conversations between faculty and their lab members (postdocs, grad students, technicians, undergraduates). There are a variety of examples available on the web. After reviewing a number of these, I've collated what I found most helpful to create this document that my lab will use as a standard form for conversations about career goals and training needs:</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Individual Development Plan</span></p><p><b id="docs-internal-guid-f332a26a-7fff-5c13-c001-814067fb35cf" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><br /></b></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Instructions: </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Please create a duplicate copy of this document and fill out whatever parts are most helpful to you, to a level of detail that suits you. This document is for </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration-skip: none; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">you</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> first and foremost, so is not meant to be onerous busywork, but rather to give you a chance to reflect, plan, and discuss the insights and plans with your mentor.</span></p><p><b style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><br /></b></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Name:</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Position:</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Date:</span></p><p><b style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><br /></b></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Reviewed and discussed with ____<mentor name>________ on _____<date>________.</span></p><p><b style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><br /></b></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Trainee signature:__________________</span></p><p><b style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><br /></b></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Mentor signature:__________________</span></p><p><b style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><br /></b></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">CAREER GOALS:</span></p><p><b style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><br /></b></p><ol style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-inline-start: 48px;"><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: decimal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">What type of job do you aspire to have in 5-10 years? Why? What do you find rewarding about this choice?</span></p></li></ol><p><b style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><br /><br /><br /></b></p><ol start="2" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-inline-start: 48px;"><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: decimal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">What do you see as an alternative job path, if you have any in mind? What situations might move you to adopt this alternate path?</span></p></li></ol><p><b style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><br /><br /><br /></b></p><ol start="3" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-inline-start: 48px;"><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: decimal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">As far as research, what long-term scientific outcomes do you wish to achieve in your career (if any)</span></p></li></ol><p><b style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><br /><br /><br /></b></p><ol start="4" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-inline-start: 48px;"><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: decimal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">What skills / knowledge / products has your previous training and work given you that help you towards achieving goal (1) or (2)?</span></p></li></ol><p><b style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><br /><br /><br /></b></p><ol start="5" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-inline-start: 48px;"><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: decimal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">What do you see as your primary weaknesses that limit your ability to achieve your career aspirations?</span></p></li></ol><p><b style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></b></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">SELF_ASSESSMENT:</span></p><p><b style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><br /></b></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">For each of the following points, describe your current strengths, and what needs to be improved or what skills do you lack, but feel are needed? The following may include coursework needs/plans.</span></p><ol style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-inline-start: 48px;"><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: decimal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Discipline-specific conceptual knowledge (e.g., literature reading). What fields are you most familiar with, and what fields / topics are you weakest in but feel you need to master? We will use this to plan some reading assignments.</span></p></li></ol><p><b style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><br /><br /><br /></b></p><ol start="2" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-inline-start: 48px;"><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: decimal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Laboratory skills (if applicable)</span></p></li></ol><p><b style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><br /><br /><br /></b></p><ol start="3" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-inline-start: 48px;"><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: decimal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Field work skills (if applicable)</span></p></li></ol><p><b style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><br /><br /><br /></b></p><ol start="4" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-inline-start: 48px;"><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: decimal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Computational biology skills (if applicable)</span></p></li></ol><p><b style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><br /><br /><br /></b></p><ol start="5" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-inline-start: 48px;"><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: decimal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Statistical analysis </span></p></li></ol><p><b style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><br /><br /><br /></b></p><ol start="6" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-inline-start: 48px;"><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: decimal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Graphical presentation of data</span></p></li></ol><p><b style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><br /><br /><br /></b></p><ol start="7" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-inline-start: 48px;"><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: decimal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Writing manuscripts</span></p></li></ol><p><b style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><br /><br /><br /></b></p><ol start="8" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-inline-start: 48px;"><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: decimal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Grant writing</span></p></li></ol><p><b style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><br /><br /><br /></b></p><ol start="9" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-inline-start: 48px;"><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: decimal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Oral presentation & conference attendance. Have you given posters/talks at conferences? What was this experience like? What could be improved? What conferences do you feel you should be attending, and why?</span></p></li></ol><p><b style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><br /><br /><br /></b></p><ol start="10" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-inline-start: 48px;"><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: decimal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Networking: what do you need to improve your academic network. Who should this network include, and why, and how will you connect with these people?</span></p></li></ol><p><b style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><br /><br /><br /></b></p><ol start="11" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-inline-start: 48px;"><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: decimal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Leadership, mentoring, and project management</span></p></li></ol><p><b style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><br /><br /><br /></b></p><ol start="12" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-inline-start: 48px;"><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: decimal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Responsible Conduct of Research: Ethics, Animal Care, Data Archiving, Open Code, Permitting, etc.</span></p></li></ol><p><b style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><br /><br /></b></p><ol start="13" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-inline-start: 48px;"><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: decimal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Professionalism: What professional development skills do you feel you lack or need to know more about?</span></p></li></ol><p><b style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><br /><br /></b></p><ol start="14" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-inline-start: 48px;"><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: decimal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">What are you doing to improve the social / cultural setting in which you work, including promoting Diversity Equity and Inclusivity?</span></p></li></ol><p><b style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><br /><br /><br /></b></p><ol start="15" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-inline-start: 48px;"><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: decimal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Health and wellness. What do you do to maintain a healthy work-life balance to decrease the risk of burnout? You do not need to list specifics, but you should reflect on how you maintain personal physical and mental health, and healthy relationships with friends, partners, family, and colleagues.</span></p></li></ol><p><b style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><br /><br /></b></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">GOALS FOR THIS POSITION</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Goals should be SMART:</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">S</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">pecific</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">M</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">easureable</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">chievable</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">R</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">ealistic</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Time-bound</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span></p><p><b style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><br /></b></p><ol start="6" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-inline-start: 48px;"><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: decimal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">List and briefly describe your research goals for the coming 12 months. What biological questions are you asking, and what product(s) do you hope to generate? </span></p></li></ol><p><b style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><br /><br /></b></p><ol start="7" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-inline-start: 48px;"><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: decimal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">List and briefly describe your training goals for the coming 12 months, given your self-assessment above. What are your priorities for improvement, and how do you plan to achieve those improvements? These may include readings, professional development courses, etc.</span></p></li></ol><p><b style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><br /><br /></b></p><ol start="8" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-inline-start: 48px;"><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: decimal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">How will we determine, in 12 months, whether you are successful at these goals?</span></p></li></ol><p><b style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><br /><br /></b></p><ol start="9" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-inline-start: 48px;"><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: decimal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">For Graduate Students, what courses do you plan / need to take?</span></p></li></ol><p><b style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><br /><br /><br /></b></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Optional: Mock Job Application</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">For postdocs: You may wish to develop a draft job application for a generic job that you anticipate applying for, and share that with your mentor and fellow lab members for feedback. A typical job application includes:</span></p><p><br /></p><ol style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-inline-start: 48px;"><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: decimal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A coverletter, one page, briefly articulating who you are, your expertise, and why you are applying for this position.</span></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: decimal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A 2-3 page research statement articulating your past achievements, ongoing work, and ending with a 5-year vision for your research directions. Citations and figures may be included.</span></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: decimal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A ~2 page teaching experience and philosophy statement, covering your approach to teaching, the courses you might be qualified to teach, what you have taught in the past, any pedagogical training experiences, and experience mentoring undergraduates or others.</span></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: decimal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A 1-2 page Diversity statement articulating what you have done, are doing, or plan to do to advance diversity and equity in the classroom, lab, and science more broadly.</span></p></li></ol>Dan Bolnickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05181664810897127126noreply@blogger.com0