Notes from the field: Lessons learned from using ecosystem service approaches to inform real-world decisions

While there have been rapid advances in assessments of biodiversity and ecosystem services (BES), a critical remaining challenge is how to move from scientific knowledge to real-world decision making. We offer 6 lessons from our experiences applying new approaches and tools for quantifying BES in 20 pilot demonstrations: (1) Applying a BES approach is most effective in leading to policy change as part of an iterative science-policy process; (2) simple ecological production function models have been useful in a diverse set of decision contexts, across a broad range of biophysical, social, and governance systems. Key limitations of simple models arise at very small scales, and in predicting specific future BES values; (3) training local experts in the approaches and tools is important for building local capacity, ownership, trust, and long-term success; (4) decision makers and stakeholders prefer to use a variety of BES value metrics, not only monetary values; (5) an important science gap exists in linking changes in BES to changes in livelihoods, health, cultural values, and other metrics of human wellbeing; and (6) communicating uncertainty in useful and transparent ways remains challenging

Metal phosphides as potential thermoelectric materials

There still exists a crucial need for new thermoelectric materials to efficiently recover waste heat as electrical energy. Although metal phosphides are stable and can exhibit excellent electronic properties, they have traditionally been overlooked as thermoelectrics due to expectations of displaying high thermal conductivity. Based on high-throughput computational screening of the electronic properties of over 48 000 inorganic compounds, we find that several metal phosphides offer considerable promise as thermoelectric materials, with excellent potential electronic properties (e.g. due to multiple valley degeneracy). In addition to the electronic band structure, the phonon dispersion curves of various metal phosphides were computed indicating low-frequency acoustic modes that could lead to low thermal conductivity. Several metal phosphides exhibit promising thermoelectric properties. The computed electronic and thermal properties were compared to experiments to test the reliability of the calculations indicating that the predicted thermoelectric properties are semi-quantitative. As a complete experimental study of the thermoelectric properties in MPs, cubic-NiP2 was synthesized and the low predicted lattice thermal conductivity (∼1.2 W m^(−1) K^(−1) at 700 K) was confirmed. The computed Seebeck coefficient is in agreement with experiments over a range of temperatures and the phononic dispersion curve of c-NiP_2 is consistent with the experimental heat capacity. The predicted high thermoelectric performance in several metal phosphides and the low thermal conductivity measured in NiP_2 encourage further investigations of thermoelectric properties of metal phosphides

Metal phosphides as potential thermoelectric materials

There still exists a crucial need for new thermoelectric materials to efficiently recover waste heat as electrical energy. Although metal phosphides are stable and can exhibit excellent electronic properties, they have traditionally been overlooked as thermoelectrics due to expectations of displaying high thermal conductivity. Based on high-throughput computational screening of the electronic properties of over 48 000 inorganic compounds, we find that several metal phosphides offer considerable promise as thermoelectric materials, with excellent potential electronic properties (e.g. due to multiple valley degeneracy). In addition to the electronic band structure, the phonon dispersion curves of various metal phosphides were computed indicating low-frequency acoustic modes that could lead to low thermal conductivity. Several metal phosphides exhibit promising thermoelectric properties. The computed electronic and thermal properties were compared to experiments to test the reliability of the calculations indicating that the predicted thermoelectric properties are semi-quantitative. As a complete experimental study of the thermoelectric properties in MPs, cubic-NiP2 was synthesized and the low predicted lattice thermal conductivity (∼1.2 W m^(−1) K^(−1) at 700 K) was confirmed. The computed Seebeck coefficient is in agreement with experiments over a range of temperatures and the phononic dispersion curve of c-NiP_2 is consistent with the experimental heat capacity. The predicted high thermoelectric performance in several metal phosphides and the low thermal conductivity measured in NiP_2 encourage further investigations of thermoelectric properties of metal phosphides

Reproductive inequality in humans and other mammals

To address claims of human exceptionalism, we determine where humans fit within the greater mammalian distribution of reproductive inequality. We show that humans exhibit lower reproductive skew (i.e., inequality in the number of surviving offspring) among males and smaller sex differences in reproductive skew than most other mammals, while nevertheless falling within the mammalian range. Additionally, female reproductive skew is higher in polygynous human populations than in polygynous nonhumans mammals on average. This patterning of skew can be attributed in part to the prevalence of monogamy in humans compared to the predominance of polygyny in nonhuman mammals, to the limited degree of polygyny in the human societies that practice it, and to the importance of unequally held rival resources to women's fitness. The muted reproductive inequality observed in humans appears to be linked to several unusual characteristics of our species-including high levels of cooperation among males, high dependence on unequally held rival resources, complementarities between maternal and paternal investment, as well as social and legal institutions that enforce monogamous norms