BEGIN:VCALENDAR
VERSION:2.0
PRODID:-//Center for Behavior, Evolution, and Culture - ECPv6.15.20//NONSGML v1.0//EN
CALSCALE:GREGORIAN
METHOD:PUBLISH
X-ORIGINAL-URL:https://bec.ucla.edu
X-WR-CALDESC:Events for Center for Behavior, Evolution, and Culture
REFRESH-INTERVAL;VALUE=DURATION:PT1H
X-Robots-Tag:noindex
X-PUBLISHED-TTL:PT1H
BEGIN:VTIMEZONE
TZID:America/Los_Angeles
BEGIN:DAYLIGHT
TZOFFSETFROM:-0800
TZOFFSETTO:-0700
TZNAME:PDT
DTSTART:20230312T100000
END:DAYLIGHT
BEGIN:STANDARD
TZOFFSETFROM:-0700
TZOFFSETTO:-0800
TZNAME:PST
DTSTART:20231105T090000
END:STANDARD
BEGIN:DAYLIGHT
TZOFFSETFROM:-0800
TZOFFSETTO:-0700
TZNAME:PDT
DTSTART:20240310T100000
END:DAYLIGHT
BEGIN:STANDARD
TZOFFSETFROM:-0700
TZOFFSETTO:-0800
TZNAME:PST
DTSTART:20241103T090000
END:STANDARD
BEGIN:DAYLIGHT
TZOFFSETFROM:-0800
TZOFFSETTO:-0700
TZNAME:PDT
DTSTART:20250309T100000
END:DAYLIGHT
BEGIN:STANDARD
TZOFFSETFROM:-0700
TZOFFSETTO:-0800
TZNAME:PST
DTSTART:20251102T090000
END:STANDARD
BEGIN:DAYLIGHT
TZOFFSETFROM:-0800
TZOFFSETTO:-0700
TZNAME:PDT
DTSTART:20260308T100000
END:DAYLIGHT
BEGIN:STANDARD
TZOFFSETFROM:-0700
TZOFFSETTO:-0800
TZNAME:PST
DTSTART:20261101T090000
END:STANDARD
END:VTIMEZONE
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20251103T120000
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20251103T133000
DTSTAMP:20260416T220511
CREATED:20250821T023020Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20251018T133347Z
UID:111369-1762171200-1762176600@bec.ucla.edu
SUMMARY:Richard Karban (UC-Davis) - Plant Communication and Individual Personalities
DESCRIPTION:This talk will attempt to answer three questions: 1) Do plants communicate about their risk of herbivory? 2) Do plants have individual personalities with respect to communication? 3) Why does this matter? \nBiologists have known for a long time that plants sense their environments and respond accordingly\, i.e.\, they exhibit “behavior.” Whether they communicate with each other with respect to their risk of being attacked by insect herbivores has been more controversial. We have found that sagebrush plants that are attacked by insects or mechanically damaged emit volatiles. Neighboring sagebrush plants sense these volatiles and increase their resistance to herbivory. Volatiles are required for this eavesdropping between individuals and between branches on a single individual. In the field\, this eavesdropping increased the survival of seedlings and the production of flowers and new shoots for older plants. Individual plants showed relatively stable tendencies in their emission of active cues and also in their responses to cues. In other words\, they showed tendencies that were consistent over time and also consistent across different situations\, i.e.\, they exhibited personalities. For example\, individuals that were good receivers were also good emitters. Recognizing that plants communicate via volatile cues expands our view of the sophisticated behaviors that plants are capable of. It may also allow us to design more effective pest management strategies. Recognizing that plants have individual personalities forces us to think about their past experiences and to consider correlations between behaviors. \n  \nZoom link for those unable to attend in person: \nhttps://ucla.zoom.us/j/94308730584?pwd=0YGsaJFEdLd5cMsOhTh465nwJubz9o.1 \nMeeting ID: 943 0873 0584 \nPasscode: 308291
URL:https://bec.ucla.edu/event/richard-karban-uc-davis-title-tba/
LOCATION:352 Haines Hall
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20251020T120000
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20251020T133000
DTSTAMP:20260416T220511
CREATED:20250821T022838Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20251009T182103Z
UID:111364-1760961600-1760967000@bec.ucla.edu
SUMMARY:Stacy Rosenbaum (Univ. Michigan) - "The long arm of “childhood:” what can other primates teach us about the early life origins of aging and resiliency?"
DESCRIPTION:Early life experiences are widely thought to shape adult behavior\, health\, and fitness across the tree of life. The deep evolutionary roots of these “early life effects”—seen in organisms ranging from plants to primates—have sparked considerable interest in their biological underpinnings. While individual variation in responses to early life adversity is well recognized\, new research suggests that species-level differences may also be considerable. In this talk\, I present longitudinal data from wild savannah baboons and mountain gorillas showing that similar forms of early life adversity can have dramatically different outcomes depending on the species. I explore the socioecological factors that may drive this variation and discuss how these insights can inform our broader understanding of aging and resilience in primates\, including humans. \n  \nChange of plans: Our speaker will not be able to attend in person  and will give her talk via Zoom. \nEnrolled students are still expected to attend in person to watch the zoom presentation together (in 352 Haines Hall). We will still have individual meetings between the speaker and students. \nhttps://ucla.zoom.us/j/94308730584?pwd=0YGsaJFEdLd5cMsOhTh465nwJubz9o.1 \nMeeting ID: 943 0873 0584 \nPasscode: 308291
URL:https://bec.ucla.edu/event/stacy-rosenbaum-univ-michigan-title-tba/
LOCATION:352 Haines Hall
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20250929T120000
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20250929T133000
DTSTAMP:20260416T220511
CREATED:20250821T022646Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250925T185119Z
UID:111361-1759147200-1759152600@bec.ucla.edu
SUMMARY:Stephan Kaufhold\, UCSD.   Title: Situated Simian Minds: Why Context Matters for Modeling Primate Behavior
DESCRIPTION:Unlike humans\, who can maintain relationships and communities beyond temporal and spatial boundaries\, nonhuman primates’ relationships are fundamentally grounded in embodied\, immediate interactions. In this talk\, I present two empirical studies on resource conflicts in semi-naturalistic primate groups\, showing how their behavior and decision-making are best understood by considering social and ecological contexts. \nThe first study examines food transfers in socially housed orangutans. We found that transfer strategies (e.g.\, taking\, co-feeding\, requesting) are not independent events\, but dynamically calibrated by preceding interactions within dyads. \nThe second study investigates social tolerance in Japanese macaques\, using a hybrid computer vision approach to quantify how monkeys socially navigate in the presence of food resources. Macaques maintained greater-than-chance distances from conspecifics when entering a food-baited circle inside their enclosures. This was especially evident in subordinate males\, who took more circuitous routes and maximized their distance from others when approaching the resource in the presence of alpha males. Our results show how macaques’ movement trajectories are socially situated and balance social risk with resource access. \nI conclude by discussing how a relational\, situated approach is particularly important when designing machine learning datasets in primate research. By grounding models in function and context\, we can advance our understanding of primate behavior and communication and avoid pitfalls of projecting human frameworks onto other species. \nFor more about Stephan’s work see his website: \nhttps://www.stephankaufhold.com/ \nZoom link for those unable to attend in person: \nhttps://ucla.zoom.us/j/94308730584?pwd=0YGsaJFEdLd5cMsOhTh465nwJubz9o.1 \nMeeting ID: 943 0873 0584 \nPasscode: 308291
URL:https://bec.ucla.edu/event/stephen-kaufhold-ucsd-title-tba/
LOCATION:352 Haines Hall
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20250602T120000
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20250602T133000
DTSTAMP:20260416T220511
CREATED:20250312T202947Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250606T201621Z
UID:7826-1748865600-1748871000@bec.ucla.edu
SUMMARY:Erin Riley - Roadside primates: Balancing risks and rewards in anthropogenic environments
DESCRIPTION:Roadside primates: Balancing risks and rewards in anthropogenic environments\nErin Riley\nProfessor\, Anthropology\, San Diego State University\nIn the contemporary era it is becoming increasingly difficult to find a primate population that has not experienced some form of anthropogenic influence. Primates living in anthropogenic spaces may benefit from access to novel food resources\, such as agricultural crops or provisioned foods\, but they also must deal with potential negative outcomes from the presence of humans and their activities. The complexity of these human-primate interfaces necessitates the use of interdisciplinary approaches that draw from both the natural and social sciences. In this talk\, I will discuss my research on the human-macaque interface in Sulawesi\, Indonesia\, highlighting the mixed methods approaches my colleagues and I are using to examine how macaques and people are co-adapting to ever-expanding shared landscapes. \n 
URL:https://bec.ucla.edu/event/erin-riley-roadside-primates-balancing-risks-and-rewards-in-anthropogenic-environments/
LOCATION:352 Haines Hall
CATEGORIES:2025,Past Presentation,Presentation
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20250512T120000
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20250512T133000
DTSTAMP:20260416T220511
CREATED:20250312T202757Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250527T195022Z
UID:7823-1747051200-1747056600@bec.ucla.edu
SUMMARY:Annie E. Wertz - How infants learn to eat plants (and why they may not want to)
DESCRIPTION:How infants learn to eat plants (and why they may not want to)\nAnnie E. Wertz\nAssistant Professor\, Psychological & Brain Sciences\nUniversity of California\, Santa Barbara\nLife is mostly plants. Plants constitute an estimated 80% of the biomass on Earth and are concentrated in terrestrial environments. Millions of animal species rely on plants to survive and the organismic design of plants and animals have been tightly interwoven in intricate ways over evolutionary time. Humans are no exception. Plants have been a foundational component of human diets across evolutionary time\, yet many plants can be toxic or even fatal if ingested. In this talk\, I will present research exploring the cognitive adaptations human infants use to negotiate this paradox and safely learn which plants they can eat. \n 
URL:https://bec.ucla.edu/event/annie-e-wertz-how-infants-learn-to-eat-plants-and-why-they-may-not-want-to/
LOCATION:352 Haines Hall
CATEGORIES:2025,Past Presentation,Presentation
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20250428T120000
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20250428T133000
DTSTAMP:20260416T220511
CREATED:20250312T202548Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250501T191219Z
UID:7820-1745841600-1745847000@bec.ucla.edu
SUMMARY:Katrine Whiteson - May the Fiber Be with You: Gut Microbiomes from a remote Amazon village to the undergraduate lab
DESCRIPTION:May the Fiber Be with You: Gut Microbiomes from a remote Amazon village to the undergraduate lab\nKatrine Whiteson\nUniversity of California Irvine School of Biological Sciences\, co-Director\, UCI Microbiome Center\nBacterial and viral colonization of the human body has profound implications for human health\, yet our understanding of what constitutes a “healthy microbiome” remains incomplete—especially in the context of industrialization. Over the past century\, global diets have shifted dramatically\, with increased consumption of processed foods and a steep decline in dietary fiber intake. These changes have left our colons depleted of critical substrates that fuel gut microbial communities\, with potential consequences for immune function\, metabolic health\, and chronic disease risk. \nTo explore what a less industrialized microbiome might look like\, we studied the gut\, oral\, and fermented food microbiomes of women and children from 28 households in Conambo\, a remote Indigenous community along the Conambo River in the Ecuadorian Amazon. This community is largely isolated from urban infrastructure\, with minimal exposure to processed foods or modern medical care. Microbiome profiles from Conambo participants revealed high diversity and a dominance of microbial taxa such as Prevotellaceae. \nWe also analyzed chicha\, a traditional fermented manioc beverage prepared by mastication of boiled cassava tubers. Our findings revealed microbial succession during fermentation and close taxonomic overlaps with oral and gut microbiota—underscoring the intimate links between diet\, tradition\, and microbial transmission. Within Conambo\, household co-residence emerged as a strong driver of microbiome similarity across fecal\, saliva\, and chicha samples. \nFinally\, we contextualized the Conambo microbiomes by comparing them to global reference datasets\, including UC Irvine undergraduates participating in dietary fiber intervention studies. Together\, these datasets reveal how environmental exposure\, diet\, and social structure shape the human microbiome—and offer a lens into both human microbial history and the future of microbiome-informed health. \n 
URL:https://bec.ucla.edu/event/katrine-whiteson-may-the-fiber-be-with-you-gut-microbiomes-from-a-remote-amazon-village-to-the-undergraduate-lab/
LOCATION:352 Haines Hall
CATEGORIES:2025,Past Presentation,Presentation
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20250414T120000
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20250414T133000
DTSTAMP:20260416T220511
CREATED:20250307T215048Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250501T191343Z
UID:7774-1744632000-1744637400@bec.ucla.edu
SUMMARY:Ny Vasil - Generic generalizations within and across contexts
DESCRIPTION:Generic generalizations within and across contexts\nNy Vasil\nAssistant Professor\nPsychology Department\, California State University East Bay\nGeneric generalizations about natural and social kinds (e.g.\, “Raccoons have rabies”; “Trader Joe’s cashiers are friendly”) shape how agents learn\, explain and intervene on their environment. Yet\, there’s no consensus about what underwrites people’s endorsement of generic generalizations. This talk brings together ideas from psychology\, philosophy and linguistics to argue that stability of the described relationship – the extent to which it holds across various contexts\, real or hypothetical – plays an important role in people’s endorsement of generic generalizations about natural and social kinds\, and about causal relationships in these domains. In a series of empirical studies\, we explore how agents navigate the world composed of both broad and narrow patterns\, how the search for robust non-accidental regularities is flexibly adapted to handle “sociocultural bubbles” and other exceptions to universality\, and how this capacity develops. In conclusion\, I will discuss how the proposed account coheres with the psychological functions of generalizations. \n 
URL:https://bec.ucla.edu/event/ny-vasil-generic-generalizations-within-and-across-contexts/
LOCATION:352 Haines Hall
CATEGORIES:2025,Past Presentation,Presentation
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20250331T120000
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20250331T133000
DTSTAMP:20260416T220511
CREATED:20250311T192630Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250501T191814Z
UID:7811-1743422400-1743427800@bec.ucla.edu
SUMMARY:Hillard Kaplan - An evolutionary-physiological model of human energy management and the emergence of novel non-communicable diseases
DESCRIPTION:An evolutionary-physiological model of human energy management and the emergence of novel non-communicable diseases\nHillard Kaplan\nProfessor\, Anthropology\, University of New Mexico\nResearch Affiliate\, Economic Science Institute\, Chapman University\nThis talk presents recent findings obtained with Tsimane and Moseten Native South Americans showing that they 1) engage in high levels of physical activity\, and have a high burden of infectious disease and high fertility rates; 2) have a very low prevalence of heart disease and dementia; 3) have slower rates of brain volume loss with age than U.S. and European populations; and 4) evidence a curvilinear relationship of BMI and non-HDL cholesterol with brain volume. Based on those results\, I propose a theoretical model of the evolved human energy management system\, focusing on the regulation and use of macronutrients in supporting physical activity\, brain function\, immunity\, and reproduction. This is followed by a quantitative model that examines how natural selection would act on exogenous changes in energy supply and expenditure. The final part of the talk utilizes the model to explore how recent rapid changes in energy supply\, physical activity\, pathogen burden and reproduction result in increased risk of diabetes\, heart disease\, dementia\, and cancer.
URL:https://bec.ucla.edu/event/hillard-kaplan-an-evolutionary-physiological-model-of-human-energy-management-and-the-emergence-of-novel-non-communicable-diseases/
LOCATION:352 Haines Hall
CATEGORIES:2025,Past Presentation,Presentation
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20250310T120000
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20250310T133000
DTSTAMP:20260416T220511
CREATED:20250106T225009Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250501T191717Z
UID:7711-1741608000-1741613400@bec.ucla.edu
SUMMARY:Tage Rai - Incentivized punishers and moralistic offenders destabilize cooperation
DESCRIPTION:Incentivized punishers and moralistic offenders destabilize cooperation\nTage Rai\nAssistant Professor\nRady School of Management\nUniversity of California\, San Diego\nPunishment is classically theorized to be essential for the evolution of cooperation in human societies and is the primary means by which states attempt to directly reduce crime. Yet\, empirically\, punishment is often ineffective at bringing about its desired changes in behavior. In this talk\, I describe a series of papers from my lab that investigate moral motivation and signaling dynamics between punishers and offenders that reduce the effectiveness of punishment and destabilize cooperation. These studies draw on economic games\, secondary analyses of crime\, and vignette study methods\, and are conducted with participants from general and criminalized populations. I then revisit the question of why we punish\, whether it ever makes sense\, and what our alternatives are.
URL:https://bec.ucla.edu/event/tage-rai-incentivized-punishers-and-moralistic-offenders-destabilize-cooperation/
LOCATION:352 Haines Hall
CATEGORIES:2025,Past Presentation,Presentation
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20250303T120000
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20250303T133000
DTSTAMP:20260416T220511
CREATED:20241230T234554Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250501T191530Z
UID:7692-1741003200-1741008600@bec.ucla.edu
SUMMARY:Daniel L. Bowling - Music and Health: Biological Foundations and Applications *Rescheduled from 1/13/25*
DESCRIPTION:Music and Health: Biological Foundations and Applications\nDaniel L. Bowling\nStanford University School of Medicine\, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences\nStanford University School of Humanities and Sciences\, Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics (CCRMA)\nEvery day\, hundreds of millions of people turn to music to regulate their mood\, take pleasure\, and socialize. These effects apply directly to core dimensions of mental health\, including affect\, reward\, and social functioning. This correspondence is attracting attention from public and private investors (e.g.\, the National Institutes of Health and Universal Music Group). The evidence at hand includes hundreds of controlled trials examining music therapies\, meta-analyses of which show clinically significant effects across a broad range of major functional disorders (e.g.\, of mood\, anxiety\, sociality\, psychosis\, and dementia). Building on this success\, a variety of new and developing music-based treatments are being sold and tested in support of health and wellness. In this talk\, I will present our growing understanding of music’s underlying biology alongside recent work to combine music neuroscience\, therapy\, composition\, and technology towards new applications designed to increase treatment access and biomedical integration. \n 
URL:https://bec.ucla.edu/event/daniel-l-bowling-music-and-health-biological-foundations-and-applications/
LOCATION:352 Haines Hall
CATEGORIES:2025,Past Presentation,Presentation
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20250224T120000
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20250224T133000
DTSTAMP:20260416T220511
CREATED:20250106T224931Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250225T204705Z
UID:7707-1740398400-1740403800@bec.ucla.edu
SUMMARY:Mike Frank - Bridging the data gap between children and AI models
DESCRIPTION:Bridging the data gap between children and AI models\nMike Frank\n\nBenjamin Scott Crocker Professor of Human Biology\, Stanford University\n\nLarge language and language-vision models show intriguing emergent behaviors\, yet they receive at least three to four – and sometimes as much as six – orders of magnitude more language data than human children. What accounts for this vast difference in sample efficiency? I will describe steps towards a paradigm in which we can address this question. In particular\, I’ll discuss the use of child language and egocentric video data for model training\, and the use of developmental data for model evaluation. This paradigm provides a model-based framework for exploring the nature of children’s early language learning. \n 
URL:https://bec.ucla.edu/event/mike-frank-bridging-the-data-gap-between-children-and-ai-models/
LOCATION:352 Haines Hall
CATEGORIES:2025,Past Presentation,Presentation
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20250210T120000
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20250210T133000
DTSTAMP:20260416T220511
CREATED:20250106T224749Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250225T203806Z
UID:7700-1739188800-1739194200@bec.ucla.edu
SUMMARY:Ryan Nichols - Lineage Fitness Theory and the Lineage Manipulation and Mutualism Mechanism: Bridging Evolutionary Social Sciences & Cultural Evolution
DESCRIPTION:Lineage Fitness Theory and the Lineage Manipulation and Mutualism Mechanism: Bridging Evolutionary Social Sciences & Cultural Evolution\nRyan Nichols\nDepartment of Philosophy\, California State University Fullerton\nLineage fitness theory aims to improve integration of cultural evolution with evolutionary psychological and social sciences by explaining the onset and maintenance of key traditions as products of gene-culture co-evolutionary selection of a mechanism. The lineage fitness hypothesis is deduced from inclusive fitness theory\, corresponding middle-level evolutionary hypotheses\, and stated assumptions pertaining to cumulative culture. The lineage manipulation and mutualism mechanism refers to the causal processes by which ancestors exploited intra-lineage cumulative cultural traditions to marginally raise their fitness by partially controlling inputs to evolved psychological modules of descendants. This caused increases in rates of co-descendant survival\, in welfare tradeoff ratio amongst distant co-descendants\, and led to manipulation of mating preferences and behaviors of co-descendants. Unique predictions of this theory that are not entailed by kin selection theory are identified. The posterior probability of this theory is raised by attention to studies demonstrating effects of cultural traditions on patrilineal investment\, and by a case study of Han Chinese culture and genomics. A Bayesian argument noting several limitations concludes the discussion by affirming (only) that the lineage fitness hypothesis merits further investigation by experts. \n 
URL:https://bec.ucla.edu/event/ryan-nichols-lineage-fitness-theory-and-the-lineage-manipulation-and-mutualism-mechanism-bridging-evolutionary-social-sciences-cultural-evolution/
LOCATION:352 Haines Hall
CATEGORIES:2025,Past Presentation,Presentation
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20250127T120000
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20250127T133000
DTSTAMP:20260416T220512
CREATED:20250106T224658Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250131T185844Z
UID:7697-1737979200-1737984600@bec.ucla.edu
SUMMARY:Justin Lund - Storytelling\, sovereignty\, and STEM
DESCRIPTION:Storytelling\, sovereignty\, and STEM\nJustin Lund\nPostdoctoral Fellow\nDepartment of Anatomy and Cell Biology\nOSU Center for Health Sciences\nInclusive and engaged research and education are essential for fostering equity and mutual respect. Yet\, academic approaches to culturally appropriate knowledge production and community engagement vary widely. Indigenous communities have long been a focus of research\, often emphasizing their ways of living\, biologies\, and narratives—frequently without equitable collaboration. To move toward more just engagement\, educators and researchers must embrace decolonization practices that prioritize Tribal sovereignty and self-determination. While “decolonization” is often invoked as a buzzword\, its practical application can be deeply transformative. In this talk\, Dr. Lund will share insights from education and research initiatives co-created with Indigenous communities and students. These efforts aim to honor Tribal sovereignty and cultivate a new generation of Indigenous scientists\, setting a model for equitable and impactful collaborations.
URL:https://bec.ucla.edu/event/justin-lund-storytelling-sovereignty-and-stem/
LOCATION:352 Haines Hall
CATEGORIES:2025,Past Presentation,Presentation
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20250106T120000
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20250106T133000
DTSTAMP:20260416T220512
CREATED:20241230T232157Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250108T194525Z
UID:7687-1736164800-1736170200@bec.ucla.edu
SUMMARY:Nicholas Grebe - Snark Hunting and Non-Traditional Models for the Biology of Monogamy
DESCRIPTION:Snark Hunting and Non-Traditional Models for the Biology of Monogamy\nNicholas Grebe\nAssistant Professor\nDepartment of Psychology\nOccidental College\nSince the 1950s\, the field of organismal biology has warned against a single-minded focus on common\, easy-to-study animal models—the lab rat being the canonical example—that comes at the expense of understanding both diversity and commonality in the mechanisms of behavior. Historically\, research on the biology of monogamy has been dominated by rodent models\, and in primates\, by callitrichids (marmosets and tamarins). A large body of often elegant research in these animals has proven foundational to contemporary theories in organismal biology. At the same time\, looking beyond these popular models has revealed a diversity of behavior under the umbrella of ‘monogamy’\, and in many cases\, a corresponding diversity in underlying physiological mechanisms. This talk will cover research on the biology and evolution of monogamy in two non-traditional primate models—lemurs and mountain gorillas—and will discuss what can be gained from studying the social worlds of non-model organisms. \n 
URL:https://bec.ucla.edu/event/nicholas-grebe-snark-hunting-and-non-traditional-models-for-the-biology-of-monogamy/
LOCATION:352 Haines Hall
CATEGORIES:2025,Past Presentation,Presentation
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20241202T120000
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20241202T133000
DTSTAMP:20260416T220512
CREATED:20241023T222117Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20241203T192241Z
UID:7634-1733140800-1733146200@bec.ucla.edu
SUMMARY:David Pietraszewski - The evolutionary psychology of psychology
DESCRIPTION:The evolutionary psychology of psychology\nDavid Pietraszewski\nPsychological and Brain Sciences\, UCSB\nSciences progress when the perspective-dependence of their inquiry is taken into account and corrected for. This happened in astronomy\, physics\, and chemistry\, but it has not yet happened in the psychological and behavioral sciences. Because human beings have no choice but to use their mind to understand the mind\, the mental mechanisms brought to bear on that endevour—the evolutionary psychology of psychology—constitute psychology’s perspective-dependence. In this talk\, I will show how thinking about the psychology underlying the study of the mind explains (1) the problem of free will and (2) broad assumption(s) about mental processes that are perennially re-discovered and then later shown to be insufficient. Accounting for the structure of our evolved cognitive mechanisms is a necessary meta-scientific endeavour that clears away mysteries and highlights problems that need to be solved\, allowing us to side-step prejudices of the mind.
URL:https://bec.ucla.edu/event/david-pietraszewski-the-evolutionary-psychology-of-psychology/
LOCATION:352 Haines Hall
CATEGORIES:2024,Past Presentation,Presentation
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20241118T120000
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20241118T133000
DTSTAMP:20260416T220512
CREATED:20240909T212137Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20241118T222302Z
UID:7567-1731931200-1731936600@bec.ucla.edu
SUMMARY:Andreas Wilke - The adaptivity of children’s search processes
DESCRIPTION:The adaptivity of children’s search processes\nAndreas Wilke\nClarkson University\, Department of Psychology\nHumans and other organisms must search effectively for the resources they need\, whether these are physical (e.g.\, food or shelter) or informational (e.g.\, patterns in the world\, or concepts stored in memory). Most human search studies have focused on brief (static) laboratory tasks\, but being effective in realistic search settings requires adapting to changing environments over both short and long terms\, and to changing individual abilities developmentally. In this talk\, I will report on two ongoing projects that investigate how young children grow to understand searchable patterns as clusters and sequences. \nA tendency to perceive illusory streaks or clumps in random sequences of data—the hot hand phenomenon—has been identified as a human universal tied to our evolutionary history of foraging for clumpy resources. In the first project\, we investigated how this misperception of randomness and ecologically relevant statistical thinking broadly develops ontogenetically. Based on our work with adults\, we developed three iPad-based decision-making tasks that assess how 3- to 10-year-old children decide that sequential events will continue in a streak or not\, their understanding of randomness\, and their ability to reason in spatially dependent terms. In a second project\, we assessed more specifically to what extent children can differentiate among objective alternation probabilities of various kinds\, specifically when they are non-random and do indeed contain statistical regularities. The distributions that were used included clumpy ones (where a hit is more likely to predict another hit nearby or vice versa) and dispersed ones (where a hit is more likely to predict a miss nearby or vice versa). Our project collected data at research sites in the United States and in Germany. Our analyses suggest that children\, indeed\, hold strong expectations of clumpy resources when they search through and reason with various statistical distributions.
URL:https://bec.ucla.edu/event/andreas-wilke-the-adaptivity-of-childrens-search-processes/
LOCATION:352 Haines Hall
CATEGORIES:2024,Past Presentation,Presentation
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20241104T120000
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20241104T133000
DTSTAMP:20260416T220512
CREATED:20240909T212358Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20241112T201215Z
UID:7574-1730721600-1730727000@bec.ucla.edu
SUMMARY:Cody Moser - Models of Collective Problem Solving: Bringing the Individual into Collective Intelligence
DESCRIPTION:Models of Collective Problem Solving: Bringing the Individual into Collective Intelligence\nCody Moser\nCognitive and Information Sciences\, UC Merced\nThe field of collective intelligence focuses on how group communication\, interaction\, and organization shape collective outcomes. Computational models of collective systems have been instrumental in identifying which structures promote optimal group performance. While these models often converge on common theories and principles\, they typically do so at an epiphenomenal level\, overlooking the causal mechanisms that drive group-level success. A significant challenge in developing a formal theory of collective intelligence lies in accounting for the role of individuals within the group. In this talk\, I will discuss ongoing work aimed at addressing this gap\, exploring how individual contributions influence group performance and collective problem-solving abilities. \n 
URL:https://bec.ucla.edu/event/cody-moser-models-of-collective-problem-solving-bringing-the-individual-into-collective-intelligence/
LOCATION:352 Haines Hall
CATEGORIES:2024,Past Presentation,Presentation
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20241021T120000
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20241021T133000
DTSTAMP:20260416T220512
CREATED:20240909T212303Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250116T200154Z
UID:7571-1729512000-1729517400@bec.ucla.edu
SUMMARY:Irene Godoy - Kinship as constraint: Social aging in kin-structured groups
DESCRIPTION:Kinship as constraint: Social aging in kin-structured groups\nIrene Godoy\nCentre for Research in Animal Behaviour (CRAB)\, University of Exeter\nThe dramatic increase in human life expectancy poses new challenges for health care systems. Among those challenges is that social isolation and loneliness as risk factors for mortality are highest among the elderly. We know that the social networks of adults tend to decrease in size with advancing age. However\, what factors influence the rate at which an individual’s social network decreases? The answers to this question are critical to inform interventions aimed at improving late-life outcomes. In my talk\, I will discuss comparative research in free-ranging\, long-lived species to address age-related declines in human social integration. I will focus on non-human primates because of their close evolutionary link to humans and their long lifespans. Research in non-human primates has demonstrated similar age-related declines in sociality\, though the drivers of these patterns are not well-understood. Group-living primates typically show strong kin biases in their association patterns. One key factor that may thus contribute to individual differences in social aging is kinship dynamics\, as the type and number of close kin available changes across an individual’s lifespan. Drawing on data from a wild capuchin population\, I will present results showing that both males and females show declines in their rates of spatial association as they age. Interestingly\, age-related declines vary depending on the kinship relationship with social partners\, and these effects are sex dependent. I will discuss how these (and other) results shed light on some of the myriad ways in which kinship dynamics may place constraints on how ‘social’ individuals can remain across development.
URL:https://bec.ucla.edu/event/irene-godoy-kinship-as-constraint-social-aging-in-kin-structured-groups/
LOCATION:352 Haines Hall
CATEGORIES:2024,Past Presentation,Presentation
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20241010T120000
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20241010T133000
DTSTAMP:20260416T220512
CREATED:20240903T000634Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20241018T172826Z
UID:7559-1728561600-1728567000@bec.ucla.edu
SUMMARY:Gary Brase - How to incite a scientific revolution: A practical framework of converging evidence for behavioral sciences integration [Note special time and location]
DESCRIPTION:How to incite a scientific revolution: A practical framework of converging evidence for behavioral sciences integration\nGary Brase\nKansas State University\nIf science is about the pursuit of truth\, why do so many scientists disagree? Everyone should agree\, at least on most things\, according to the idea that there is a consistency of sciences. Others point out that science instead has repeated revolutions\, in which one worldview is overthrown for a new worldview. The aim of this work is to outline a way to move behavioral sciences towards greater unity with an integrated framework (possibly inciting revolutions in the process). This is a more practical rather than philosophical approach\, that is designed for researchers and others to use as a framework for better evaluating and advancing their chosen research topics. This work integrates previous frameworks (Marr’s computational framework\, Tinbergen’s four questions\, Schmitt & Pilcher’s converging evidence model) to be more comprehensive\, complete\, and specifically for the behavioral sciences. The goal is to help behavioral scientists\, and other people who pay attention to and evaluate science\, with a framework for thinking about topics. We will talk about the advantages and issues of this integrated framework\, and examples of using the framework for specific topics. \nNote: This event will be held on a Thursday\, at the Discourse Lab in Haines Hall\, which has limited space (15 people max). Arrive early to get a seat. Also\, lunch will not be served for this event. \n 
URL:https://bec.ucla.edu/event/gary-brase-how-to-incite-a-scientific-revolution-a-practical-framework-of-converging-evidence-for-behavioral-sciences-integration/
LOCATION:Haines 332 (Discourse Lab)
CATEGORIES:2024,Past Presentation,Presentation
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20241007T180000
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20241007T210000
DTSTAMP:20260416T220512
CREATED:20240903T000223Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20240921T184608Z
UID:7553-1728324000-1728334800@bec.ucla.edu
SUMMARY:Chimp Empire - A Screening and Panel Discussion with the Filmmakers [RSVP required; Note special time and location]
DESCRIPTION:Chimp Empire – A Screening and Panel Discussion with the Filmmakers\nFeaturing \nSara Edelson\nManager of Original Documentary Programming\, Netflix \nJames Reed\nDirector\, Chimp Empire \nJohn Mitani\nProfessor Emeritus of Anthropology\, University of Michigan \nmoderated by\nClark Barrett\nProfessor\, UCLA Department of Anthropology and\nDirector\, UCLA Center for Behavior\, Evolution and Culture \nand \nAbigail Bigham\nAssociate Professor\, UCLA Department of Anthropology\nVice Chair for Undergraduate Studies \n  \nReception to follow \nThis event is open to the public\, RSVP required. Please RSVP at: https://eventsrsvp.ucla.edu/ChimpEmpire/logon.aspx?NoID=Y
URL:https://bec.ucla.edu/event/chimp-empire-a-screening-and-panel-discussion-with-the-filmmakers/
LOCATION:CNSI
CATEGORIES:2024,Presentation,Upcoming Presentation
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20240930T120000
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20240930T133000
DTSTAMP:20260416T220512
CREATED:20240902T235653Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20241016T215557Z
UID:7550-1727697600-1727703000@bec.ucla.edu
SUMMARY:Peter M. Todd - How people forage in space and mind
DESCRIPTION:How people forage in space and mind\nPeter M. Todd\nProvost Professor of Cognitive Science\, Psychology\, and Informatics\nIndiana University\, Bloomington\nHow do we decide when to search for something better and when to stick with what we’ve got?  People and other organisms must adaptively trade off between exploring and exploiting their environment to obtain the resources they need.  This applies to whatever space they are searching\, including external spatial environments\, looking for patches of food\, and internal information environments\, seeking concepts in memory. Similar evolved underlying mechanisms may be used to address the explore/exploit tradeoff in each domain and lead people to behave as predicted by theories of foraging.  In this talk\, I will describe how we are studying connections between spatial search and cognitive search in a range of spaces and a range of intelligent agents. \n 
URL:https://bec.ucla.edu/event/peter-m-todd-how-people-forage-in-space-and-mind/
LOCATION:352 Haines Hall
CATEGORIES:2024,Past Presentation,Presentation
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20240603T120000
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20240603T133000
DTSTAMP:20260416T220512
CREATED:20240531T190430Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20240604T192356Z
UID:7441-1717416000-1717421400@bec.ucla.edu
SUMMARY:Kyle Wiley - Embodiment of Stress and Trauma in the Perinatal Period
DESCRIPTION:Embodiment of Stress and Trauma in the Perinatal Period\nKyle Wiley\nRecent UCLA post-doctoral researcher\nThe associations between adverse social experiences and poor health outcomes are well-documented and consistent across societies. My work interrogates intergenerational patterns of health disparities by combining methods and perspectives across biological anthropology\, human biology\, psychoneuroendocrinology and -immunology\, and public health. In this talk\, I will use data from several projects in the United States and Brazil to discuss how stress and trauma impact maternal and infant health and development in the perinatal period. Using a biosocial perspective\, I will present evidence of 1) the intergenerational consequences of trauma exposure; 2) a novel adaptive immune biomarker of psychological distress during pregnancy; and 3) the influence of early caregiving environments on the infant gastrointestinal microbiome.
URL:https://bec.ucla.edu/event/kyle-wiley-embodiment-of-stress-and-trauma-in-the-perinatal-period/
LOCATION:352 Haines Hall
CATEGORIES:2024,Past Presentation,Presentation
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20240520T120000
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20240520T133000
DTSTAMP:20260416T220512
CREATED:20240418T233628Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20240521T221939Z
UID:7360-1716206400-1716211800@bec.ucla.edu
SUMMARY:Nelson Ting - Primate Extinction in the Anthropocene and the Tail of Miss Waldron’s Red Colobus
DESCRIPTION:Primate Extinction in the Anthropocene and the Tail of Miss Waldron’s Red Colobus\nNelson Ting\nProfessor\, Department of Anthropology & Institute of Ecology and Evolution\, University of Oregon\nThere have been five mass extinction events in the history of Earth\, and it is thought we are in the midst of a sixth. The consequences of this current event are far reaching\, from losses in biodiversity and ecosystem services to damages in human food systems and global health security. Thus far\, only one primate is thought to have recently gone extinct – Miss Waldron’s red colobus monkey. A dried tail procured from a hunter 25 years ago may provide clues as to how primates fit into this sixth extinction. Using results from whole genome sequencing from this specimen\, I attempt to piece together the factors that drove this animal to extinction and discuss the implications for current conservation policy for primates. Based on these results and other lines of evidence\, I argue that red colobus monkeys may play an important role in the conservation of tropical forests in Africa\, and that holistic approaches to the protection of these animals will benefit both biodiversity and human livelihoods. Finally\, to this end\, I highlight recent activities my colleagues and I have undertaken as we implement recommendations from the IUCN Red Colobus Conservation Action Plan. \n 
URL:https://bec.ucla.edu/event/nelson-ting-primate-extinction-in-the-anthropocene-and-the-tail-of-miss-waldrons-red-colobus/
LOCATION:352 Haines Hall
CATEGORIES:2024,Past Presentation,Presentation
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20240429T120000
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20240429T133000
DTSTAMP:20260416T220512
CREATED:20240418T232528Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20240430T230002Z
UID:7352-1714392000-1714397400@bec.ucla.edu
SUMMARY:Marcia Inhorn - Motherhood on ice: The mating gap and why women freeze their eggs
DESCRIPTION:Motherhood on ice: The mating gap and why women freeze their eggs\nMarcia Inhorn\nProfessor of Anthropology and International Affairs\, Yale University\nWhy are women freezing their eggs in record numbers? Contrary to media reports\, which suggest that women’s career ambitions are the main determinant of women’s fertility postponement\, women themselves offer different explanations for fertility preservation through egg freezing. The growing momentum toward this new reproductive technology masks an underlying but little discussed global reality—namely\, a mating gap\, in which women in the United States and more than half the world’s nations (including Australia) are outperforming men in higher education\, resulting in the lack of eligible\, educated\, and equal partners with whom to pursue marriage and childbearing. Although egg freezing is touted for its “revolutionary” potential\, it is a costly technological concession to growing gender inequalities\, whereby educated women are “buying time” while experiencing reproductive partnership problems beyond their individual control. \n 
URL:https://bec.ucla.edu/event/marcia-inhorn-motherhood-on-ice-the-mating-gap-and-why-women-freeze-their-eggs/
LOCATION:352 Haines Hall
CATEGORIES:2024,Past Presentation,Presentation
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20240422T120000
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20240422T133000
DTSTAMP:20260416T220512
CREATED:20240410T181946Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20240521T222345Z
UID:7331-1713787200-1713792600@bec.ucla.edu
SUMMARY:Michael Greenfield - Rhythm coordination in animal species\, including humans: Entrainment from bushcricket chorusing to the philharmonic orchestra
DESCRIPTION:Rhythm coordination in animal species\, including humans: Entrainment from bushcricket chorusing to the philharmonic orchestra.\nMichael Greenfield\nENES Bioacoustics Research Lab\, CRNL\, University of Saint-Etienne\, CNRS\nDepartment of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology\, University of Kansas\nRepetitive cycles of an activity or state\, generally known as rhythm\, are ubiquitous in living organisms\, occurring in all branches of the tree of life.  In animal species rhythms play prominent roles in physiology and behavior\, and they are commonly expressed as long-term (period > 12 h) cycles\, entrained to recurring astronomical phenomena\, at one end of the temporal spectrum\, or as very short (< 10 s) ultradian cycles at the other.  In behavior\, ultradian rhythms often involve movement or the broadcast of communication signals\, and in some species neighboring individuals coordinate their rhythms in time.  Such coordination fascinates us because of its flawless precision and complexity\, the horde of individuals that may participate\, and the resulting crescendo of the communal display.  But aesthetic sensibilities aside\, coordinated rhythms pose major questions concerning mechanisms and evolution :  How is coordination achieved\, which individuals in a local population participate\, why do neighbors bother to coordinate their activity and what is the phylogenetic distribution of these displays among animal taxa? \nThis seminar covers the diverse ways in which animals coordinate relatively fast behavioral rhythms.  We concentrate on the coordination of rhythms expressed in sexual advertisement and social communication\, as these tend to be conspicuous to observers and their parameters can normally be measured unambiguously.  We begin with the various timing schemes found in rhythm coordination\, noting the relative timing of the signaling by individual participants\, how those participants tend to be arranged in space\, and the signaling modalities used.  From the receiver’s perspective\, we ask who perceives the signals\, where these potential receivers are located (whether within or outside of the coordinated group)\, and how receivers may respond to the group display.  Because of moderate to extreme precision found in coordinated group displays\, we pay special attention to the mechanisms with which individual signaling rhythms are aligned in different animal species.  We show how an understanding of mechanism is critical for the next step : evaluating adaptive explanations for synchrony and other group coordinations.  Although our survey of rhythm coordination among animals is certainly incomplete and probably reflects sampling bias favouring signals and species that are readily observed and that have been studied traditionally\, some striking patterns emerge.  Rhythm coordination of both moderate and high precision appears mostly among certain arthropods and ‘lower’ vertebrates in the chordates\, but also in humans where synchronous coordination is central in music\, dance and other group activities.  We consider this curious\, disjunct phylogenetic distribution\, and specifically ask how and why strictly timed rhythmic synchrony operates in these very different organisms.  Importantly\, this comparative approach holds promise for unraveling the origins of human musicality. \n  \n 
URL:https://bec.ucla.edu/event/michael-greenfield-rhythm-coordination-in-animal-species-including-humans-entrainment-from-bushcricket-chorusing-to-the-philharmonic-orchestra/
LOCATION:352 Haines Hall
CATEGORIES:2024,Past Presentation,Presentation
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20240415T120000
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20240415T133000
DTSTAMP:20260416T220512
CREATED:20240410T175739Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20240521T222548Z
UID:7327-1713182400-1713187800@bec.ucla.edu
SUMMARY:Kelsey Jorgensen - Surviving the heights: Environmental adaptations and multispecies genetics in the Andes
DESCRIPTION:Surviving the heights: Environmental adaptations and multispecies genetics in the Andes\nKelsey Jorgensen\nPostdoctoral Scholar\, Department of Anthropology\, UCLA\nHuman populations have thrived in the Peruvian Andes for thousands of years despite extreme environmental stressors of hypoxia\, cold temperatures\, and times of food scarcity. These evolutionary environmental pressures have shaped unique genetic adaptations and continue to influence health in human populations today. In this talk\, I bridge genotype-phenotype to identify genetic variants in modern Peruvians linked to diet and high-altitude resulting from evolutionary environmental adaptation. In addition\, I explore this intersection of biology\, culture\, and environment to infer ancient human migration patterns across the Andes in the absence of aDNA by using multispecies genetics.
URL:https://bec.ucla.edu/event/kelsey-jorgensen-surviving-the-heights-environmental-adaptations-and-multispecies-genetics-in-the-andes/
LOCATION:352 Haines Hall
CATEGORIES:2024,Past Presentation,Presentation
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20240408T120000
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20240408T133000
DTSTAMP:20260416T220512
CREATED:20240329T021007Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20240410T175144Z
UID:7287-1712577600-1712583000@bec.ucla.edu
SUMMARY:Jazlyn Mooney - On the Number of Genealogical Ancestors: Tracing to the Source Groups of an Admixed Population
DESCRIPTION:On the Number of Genealogical Ancestors: Tracing to the Source Groups of an Admixed Population\nJazlyn Mooney\nDept. of Quantitative and Computational Biology\, University of Southern California\nIn genetically admixed populations\, admixed individuals possess ancestry from multiple source groups. Studies of human genetic admixture frequently estimate ancestry components corresponding to fractions of individual genomes that trace to specific ancestral populations. However\, the same numerical ancestry fraction can represent a wide array of admixture scenarios. Using a mechanistic model of admixture\, we characterize admixture genealogically: how many distinct ancestors from the source populations does the admixture represent? We consider African Americans\, for whom continent-level estimates produce a 75-85% value for African ancestry on average and 15-25% for European ancestry. Genetic studies together with key features of African-American demographic history suggest ranges for model parameters. Using the model\, we infer that if genealogical lineages of a random African American born during 1960-1965 are traced back until they reach members of source populations\, the expected number of genealogical lines terminating with African individuals is 314\, and the expected number terminating in Europeans is 51. Across discrete generations\, the peak number of African genealogical ancestors occurs for birth cohorts from the early 1700s. The probability exceeds 50% that at least one European ancestor was born more recently than 1835. Our genealogical perspective can contribute to further understanding the admixture processes that underlie admixed populations. For African Americans\, the results provide insight both on how many of the ancestors of a typical African American might have been forcibly displaced in the Transatlantic Slave Trade and on how many separate European admixture events might exist in a typical African-American genealogy.
URL:https://bec.ucla.edu/event/jazlyn-mooney-on-the-number-of-genealogical-ancestors/
LOCATION:352 Haines Hall
CATEGORIES:2024,Past Presentation,Presentation
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20240401T120000
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20240401T133000
DTSTAMP:20260416T220512
CREATED:20240329T013639Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20240604T192502Z
UID:7281-1711972800-1711978200@bec.ucla.edu
SUMMARY:David Reby - What can deer tell us about our voice? How sexual selection may have shaped human vocal diversity
DESCRIPTION:What can deer tell us about our voice? How sexual selection may have shaped human vocal diversity\nDavid Reby\nProfessor of Ethology\, Equipe de Neuro-Ethologie Sensorielle\, Université Jean Monnet of Saint-Etienne\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nMany animal species use vocal communication\, but humans are unique in the ability to control the vocal production of an incredible diversity of sounds\, enabling us to exchange information of extreme complexity. In this talk\, I will propose that sexual selection\, which is responsible for the evolution of astonishing visual and auditory signals in many animal species\, may have played a key role in the emergence of our vocal diversity. I will show that in a wide range of polygynous species\, sexual selection has modified the vocal apparatus of males to support the exaggeration of body size conveyed by vocalizations. These modifications have in turn opened up the acoustic space along a male/female continuum\, where low frequencies convey dominance and/or masculinity\, and high frequencies convey subordination and/or femininity. I will suggest that this widening of the vocal space\, which can be found in modern humans in the expression of gender in children’s and adults’ voices\, may have favored the evolution of vocal control by allowing us to play along this frequency continuum to signal emotions and motivations. I will also suggest that size exaggeration may even have shaped the evolution of mechanisms necessary for the production and perception of vowels in speech. \n\n\n 
URL:https://bec.ucla.edu/event/david-reby-spring2024/
LOCATION:352 Haines Hall
CATEGORIES:2024,Past Presentation,Presentation
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20240311T120000
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20240311T133000
DTSTAMP:20260416T220513
CREATED:20240103T220246Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20240214T185552Z
UID:6960-1710158400-1710163800@bec.ucla.edu
SUMMARY:Holly Dunsworth - To Save Humankind\, Kill Off the Hero’s Journey of Human Evolution
DESCRIPTION:To Save Humankind\, Kill Off the Hero’s Journey of Human Evolution\nHolly Dunsworth\nUniversity of Rhode Island\nIn Narratives of Human Evolution\, Misia Landau revealed that late 19th and early 20th century fathers of human evolutionary theory\, including Charles Darwin\, unconsciously conformed their stories to the key structural elements of Russian folktales. Dunsworth argues that the enduring habit—within science\, academia\, and throughout popular culture—of projecting a hero’s journey onto lineages that blend and weave across deep time is fundamental to the perpetuation of untrue patriarchal and racist reconstructions of human origins and human nature\, which we continue to enact to our peril\, and to the planet’s. In this presentation\, Dunsworth breaks down the hero’s journey into its parts and compares them to contemporary human evolutionary biology. In the end\, the hero’s journey does not triumph. This presentation is based on a chapter in Dunsworth’s upcoming book (Viking/Penguin\, 2025).
URL:https://bec.ucla.edu/event/holly-dunsworth-to-save-humankind/
LOCATION:352 Haines Hall
CATEGORIES:2024,Presentation,Upcoming Presentation
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20240304T120000
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20240304T133000
DTSTAMP:20260416T220513
CREATED:20240103T220143Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20240228T080341Z
UID:6957-1709553600-1709559000@bec.ucla.edu
SUMMARY:Patricia Greenfield
DESCRIPTION:Patricia Greenfield\nDistinguished Professor\, UCLA Department of Psychology\nAssociate\, Harvard Department of Human Evolutionary Biology\nA Theoretical and Empirical Approach to Cultural Evolution: Intergenerational Transmission\, Cognition\, and Creativity\nFor the theoretical approach\, I will present my multilevel theory of ecological change\, cultural evolution\, and human development. For the empirical evidence\, I will report findings from longitudinal study of a Zinacantec Maya community in Chiapas\, Mexico over a span of 43 years. This research has explored the intergenerational transmission of weaving\, cognitive development\, and creativity in three generations of mothers and children. From Generation 1 to Generation 2\, the main ecological change was the transition from subsistence agriculture to money and commerce. From Generation 2 to Generation 3\, the main ecological change was from informal education at home to formal education at school. In the domain of intergenerational transmission\, the first shift created more independent weaving learners; the second shift created more school-like transmission of weaving technique. Both ecological shifts moved cognition towards greater abstraction and creativity towards greater innovation. These ecological shifts also produced cultural losses: Fewer girls learning to weave on a backstrap loom\, less detail-oriented visual representation\, and the declining importance of traditional\, community-wide woven patterns. The processes of cultural evolution identified in this Maya community are similar to cultural shifts going on in many communities around the world\, communities have transitioned from subsistence ecologies to commercial\, urbanized\, and technologically more sophisticated environments.
URL:https://bec.ucla.edu/event/patricia_greenfield_a_theoretical_and_empirical_approach_to_cultural_evolution/
LOCATION:352 Haines Hall
CATEGORIES:2024,Presentation,Upcoming Presentation
END:VEVENT
END:VCALENDAR