A history of international climate change policy

This article presents an overview of the history of international climate change policy over the last 30 years, divided into five periods. It examines the pre-1990 period, the period leading up to the adoption of the Climate Change Convention, the period of the Kyoto Protocol until US withdrawal, the period thereafter focusing on the entry into force of the Kyoto Protocol, and the post-2008 period that coincides with the financial crisis. For each period, it discusses the relevant science, actors, and coalitions, the agreements emerging in that period, and the key issues and the major trends. In doing so, it examines the evolving articulation of the leadership paradigm,which is the centerpiece of the discussion on how climate change should be addressed. The article shows (1) the increasing complexity of the definition of the climate change issue from an environmental to a development issue; (2) the inability of the developed countries to reduce their own emissions and raise funds commensurate with the nature of the problem and their initial commitments; (3) the increasing engagement of different social actors in the discussion and, in particular, the gradual use of market mechanisms in the regime; (4) the increasing search for alternative solutions within the formal negotiations-such as the identification of nationally appropriate mitigation actions for the developing world, reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation, and the use of geo-engineering solutions; and (5) the search for solutions outside the regime-the mobilization of sub-national policies on climate change, litigation, and markets on biofuels. © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd

Heritability and genetic correlation between the sexes in a songbird sexual ornament

The genetic correlation between the sexes in the expression of secondary sex traits in wild vertebrate populations has attracted very few previous empirical efforts of field researchers. In southern European populations of pied flycatchers, a sexually selected male ornament is also expressed by a proportion of females. Additive genetic variances in ornament size and expression, transmission mechanisms (autosomal vs Z-linkage) and maternal effects are examined by looking at patterns of familial resemblance across three generations. Size of the secondary sex trait has a genetic basis common to both sexes, with estimated heritability being 0.5 under an autosomal model of inheritance. Significant additive genetic variance in males was also confirmed through a cross-fostering experiment. Heritability analyses were only partially consistent with previous molecular genetics evidence, as only two out of the three predictions supported Z-linkage and lack of significant mother–daughter resemblance could be due to small sample sizes caused by limited female trait expression. Therefore, the evidence was mixed as to the contribution of the Z chromosome and autosomal genes to trait size. The threshold heritability of trait expression in females was lower, around 0.3, supporting autosomal-based trait expression in females. Environmental (birth date) and parental effects on ornament size mediated by the mother's condition after accounting for maternal and paternal genetic influences are also highlighted. The genetic correlation between the sexes did not differ from one, indicating that selection on the character on either sex entails a correlated response in the opposite sex

Hybrid incompatibilities in the parasitic wasp genus Nasonia: Negative effects of hemizygosity and the identification of transmission ratio distortion loci

The occurrence of hybrid incompatibilities forms an important stage during the evolution of reproductive isolation. In early stages of speciation, males and females often respond differently to hybridization. Haldane's rule states that the heterogametic sex suffers more from hybridization than the homogametic sex. Although haplodiploid reproduction (haploid males, diploid females) does not involve sex chromosomes, sex-specific incompatibilities are predicted to be prevalent in haplodiploid species. Here, we evaluate the effect of sex/ploidy level on hybrid incompatibilities and locate genomic regions that cause increased mortality rates in hybrid males of the haplodiploid wasps Nasonia vitripennis and Nasonia longicornis. Our data show that diploid F-1 hybrid females suffer less from hybridization than haploid F-2 hybrid males. The latter not only suffer from an increased mortality rate, but also from behavioural and spermatogenic sterility. Genetic mapping in recombinant F2 male hybrids revealed that the observed hybrid mortality is most likely due to a disruption of cytonuclear interactions. As these sex-specific hybrid incompatibilities follow predictions based on Haldane's rule, our data accentuate the need to broaden the view of Haldane's rule to include species with haplodiploid sex determination, consistent with Haldane's original definition. Heredity (2012) 108, 302-311; doi:10.1038/hdy.2011.75; published online 31 August 201