Creating Experiences for Listening and Learning

Throughout the school day, children are asked to listen. In fact, listening often dominates classroom time. Unfortunately, little research has focused on listening since the 1950s and 1960s (Pearson and Fielding, 1982; Strother, 1987). Nor has listening received substantial attention in textbooks and professional journals, even though educators believe that listening is important for the development of oral language, reading and writing. The emphasis on reading and writing has crowded out attention to listening (Pinnell and Jaggar, 1991). It is our belief that listening deserves to receive attention of teachers and researchers as a necessary, integrated part of the learning process

The Last Common Ancestor of Most Bilaterian Animals Possessed at Least Nine Opsins

The opsin gene family encodes key proteins animals use to sense light and has expanded dramatically as it originated early in animal evolution. Understanding the origins of opsin diversity can offer clues to how separate lineages of animals have repurposed different opsin paralogs for different light-detecting functions. However, the more we look for opsins outside of eyes and from additional animal phyla, the more opsins we uncover, suggesting we still do not know the true extent of opsin diversity, nor the ancestry of opsin diversity in animals. To estimate the number of opsin paralogs present in both the last common ancestor of the Nephrozoa (bilaterians excluding Xenoacoelomorpha), and the ancestor of Cnidaria + Bilateria, we reconstructed a reconciled opsin phylogeny using sequences from 14 animal phyla, especially the traditionally poorly-sampled echinoderms and molluscs. Our analysis strongly supports a repertoire of at least nine opsin paralogs in the bilaterian ancestor and at least four opsin paralogs in the last common ancestor of Cnidaria + Bilateria. Thus, the kernels of extant opsin diversity arose much earlier in animal history than previously known. Further, opsins likely duplicated and were lost many times, with different lineages of animals maintaining different repertoires of opsin paralogs. This phylogenetic information can inform hypotheses about the functions of different opsin paralogs and can be used to understand how and when opsins were incorporated into complex traits like eyes and extraocular sensors

BEAVER POPULATION SIZE ESTIMATION IN MISSISSIPPI

Methods to better quantify beaver (Castor canadensis) population size need to be developed to assist in the direct control methods being implemented by Wildlife Services. Many state game and fish departments rely on lodge counts, cache counts, or fur harvest reports to estimate a station-wide or regional population of beaver. However, Wildlife Services is concerned with estimating population size on a per site basis to assist in estimating project costs and to minimize the number of non-target captures. Six sites in Mississippi were selected to test various methods of population estimation. Various methods included indexing population size based on the amount of sign and physical site characteristics, and spotlighting beaver to derive estimates based on actual counts, extrapolations, and the Lincoln-Petersen model. All derived estimates were compared to number of beaver captured during total harvest. Number of lodges, bank dens, and beaver dams were not significantly related to total harvest. Number of scent mounds was positively correlated with total harvest; however, number of scent mounds was not significant. Area and perimeter distance of each site was positively correlated with total harvest of beaver. Spotlight counts were conducted from the bank of each site and from a boat and only combined for data analysis. Research indicated that managers and wildlife biologists should use caution and expect differences when spotlighting beaver. A combination of actual numbers of beaver viewed during bank counts and boat counts was significantly correlated to total harvest. Overall, spotlighting beaver for population estimates was determined to be an ineffective technique

Roles of Affect and Imagination in Reading and Responding to Literature: Perspectives and Possibilities for English Classrooms

In this essay, we argue that to engage in critical readings of literary texts, in ways that are also ethical and compassionate, requires readers to enter emotionally and imaginatively into the complex, textual worlds of others as they are portrayed in stories. In this regard, we discuss both past and recent work of scholars whose insights we believe are useful for rethinking and deepening what it means to read and respond to creative narratives with “one’s heart as well as with one’s mind.” Given the popularity in recent years of teaching literary theory, and embracing the power of “critical” reading in English classrooms, the value of personal and emotional ways of reading has been increasingly understated. We thus call for the kind of engaged humanities reform we believe is ultimately crucial to democratic forms of community rooted in a general concern for the value of the lives of others

The Last Common Ancestor of Most Bilaterian Animals Possessed at Least Nine Opsins

The opsin gene family encodes key proteins animals use to sense light and has expanded dramatically as it originated early in animal evolution. Understanding the origins of opsin diversity can offer clues to how separate lineages of animals have repurposed different opsin paralogs for different light-detecting functions. However, the more we look for opsins outside of eyes and from additional animal phyla, the more opsins we uncover, suggesting we still do not know the true extent of opsin diversity, nor the ancestry of opsin diversity in animals. To estimate the number of opsin paralogs present in both the last common ancestor of the Nephrozoa (bilaterians excluding Xenoacoelomorpha), and the ancestor of Cnidaria + Bilateria, we reconstructed a reconciled opsin phylogeny using sequences from 14 animal phyla, especially the traditionally poorly-sampled echinoderms and molluscs. Our analysis strongly supports a repertoire of at least nine opsin paralogs in the bilaterian ancestor and at least four opsin paralogs in the last common ancestor of Cnidaria + Bilateria. Thus, the kernels of extant opsin diversity arose much earlier in animal history than previously known. Further, opsins likely duplicated and were lost many times, with different lineages of animals maintaining different repertoires of opsin paralogs. This phylogenetic information can inform hypotheses about the functions of different opsin paralogs and can be used to understand how and when opsins were incorporated into complex traits like eyes and extraocular sensors.This article is published as Ramirez, M. Desmond, Autum N. Pairett, M. Sabrina Pankey, Jeanne M. Serb, Daniel I. Speiser, Andrew J. Swafford, and Todd H. Oakley. "The last common ancestor of most bilaterian animals possessed at least nine opsins." Genome biology and evolution 8, no. 12 (2016): 3640-3652. doi: 10.1093/gbe/evw248. Posted with permission.</p