Parental background and daughters' and sons' educational outcomes - application of the Trivers-Willard hypothesis.

This study uses Trivers-Willard hypothesis to explain the differences in daughters' and sons' educational outcomes by parental background. According to the Trivers-Willard hypothesis (TWH), parental support and investments for sons and daughters display an asymmetrical relationship according to parental status because of the different reproductive advantage of the sexes. It predicts that high-status parents support sons more than daughters, and low-status parents support daughters more than sons.

Microbes as Engines of Ecosystem Function: When Does Community Structure Enhance Predictions of Ecosystem Processes?

Microorganisms are vital in mediating the earth's biogeochemical cycles; yet, despite our rapidly increasing ability to explore complex environmental microbial communities, the relationship between microbial community structure and ecosystem processes remains poorly understood. Here, we address a fundamental and unanswered question in microbial ecology: 'When do we need to understand microbial community structure to accurately predict function?' We present a statistical analysis investigating the value of environmental data and microbial community structure independently and in combination for explaining rates of carbon and nitrogen cycling processes within 82 global datasets. Environmental variables were the strongest predictors of process rates but left 44% of variation unexplained on average, suggesting the potential for microbial data to increase model accuracy.

Interaction modification among decomposers impairs ecosystem processes in lead-polluted soil.

Environmental pollution by toxicants is generally believed to lead both to direct toxic effects and indirect effects via altered species interactions in a stressed community. We examined how contamination of a coniferous forest soil floor by lead (from an abandoned shooting range area) may alter trophic interactions and decomposition processes. We constructed laboratory microcosms containing microbial-based food webs with various trophic structures: microbes alone; microbes with microbivorous-detritivorous enchytraeid worms (Cognettia sphagnetorum, a potential keystone species of boreal forest soil); and microbes, worms, and predatory mites (Lysigamasus spp.