@article{taylor_allf_hopkins_irwin_jewell_nevo_nichols_valeron_evans_sorensen_et al._2023, title={Nature's chefs: Uniting the hidden diversity of food making and preparing species across the tree of life}, volume={4}, ISSN={["1525-3244"]}, DOI={10.1093/biosci/biad026}, abstractNote={Abstract There may be no such thing as a free meal, but many species have evolved mechanisms for other species to consume the literal fruits of their labors. In the present article, inspired by a chef's recognition that such species are “nature's chefs,” we consider food-making species from the plant, animal, and fungal kingdoms, which produce food or mimic food to increase their own fitness. We identify three ways that species can produce or prepare meals—as food, drinks, or lures—and further distinguish between those providing an honest meal and those deceiving consumers with food mimics. By considering these species holistically, we highlight new hypotheses about the ecology and evolution of the widespread phenomenon of organisms that produce food for other organisms. We find surprising and useful generalities and exceptions among species as different as apple trees and anglerfish by examining species interactions across taxa, systems, and disciplines.}, journal={BIOSCIENCE}, author={Taylor, Brad W. and Allf, Bradley and Hopkins, Skylar R. and Irwin, Rebecca E. and Jewell, Michelle and Nevo, Omer and Nichols, Lauren M. and Valeron, Nabila Rodriguez and Evans, Joshua D. and Sorensen, Pia M. and et al.}, year={2023}, month={Apr} }
 @article{allf_cooper_larson_dunn_futch_sharova_cavalier_2022, title={Citizen Science as an Ecosystem of Engagement: Implications for Learning and Broadening Participation}, volume={72}, ISSN={0006-3568 1525-3244}, url={http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/biosci/biac035}, DOI={10.1093/biosci/biac035}, abstractNote={Abstract The bulk of research on citizen science participants is project centric, based on an assumption that volunteers experience a single project. Contrary to this assumption, survey responses (n = 3894) and digital trace data (n = 3649) from volunteers, who collectively engaged in 1126 unique projects, revealed that multiproject participation was the norm. Only 23% of volunteers were singletons (who participated in only one project). The remaining multiproject participants were split evenly between discipline specialists (39%) and discipline spanners (38% joined projects with different disciplinary topics) and unevenly between mode specialists (52%) and mode spanners (25% participated in online and offline projects). Public engagement was narrow: The multiproject participants were eight times more likely to be White and five times more likely to hold advanced degrees than the general population. We propose a volunteer-centric framework that explores how the dynamic accumulation of experiences in a project ecosystem can support broad learning objectives and inclusive citizen science.}, number={7}, journal={BioScience}, publisher={Oxford University Press (OUP)}, author={Allf, Bradley C and Cooper, Caren B and Larson, Lincoln R and Dunn, Robert R and Futch, Sara E and Sharova, Maria and Cavalier, Darlene}, year={2022}, month={Jun}, pages={651–663} }
 @article{allf_sparkman_pfennig_2021, title={Microevolutionary change in mimicry? Potential erosion of rattling behaviour among nonvenomous snakes on islands lacking rattlesnakes}, volume={33}, ISSN={["1828-7131"]}, DOI={10.1080/03949370.2020.1837962}, abstractNote={Batesian mimics – harmless species that converge on the warning signals of a dangerous species – are spectacular examples of adaptation, but few documented cases involve acoustic signals. Even fewer studies have documented microevolutionary change in mimicry of any kind. Here, we describe a potential evolutionary change in acoustic mimicry. Many nonvenomous snakes vibrate their tail tip when threatened, making a sound resembling venomous rattlesnakes, which can vibrate their tail rapidly and for a long duration. When we compared this behavior between Gophersnakes from mainland California (where rattlesnakes are present) versus nearby derived island populations (where rattlesnakes are absent), we found that mainland snakes vibrated their tail for a longer duration, thereby producing a signal more similar to rattlesnakes. At the same time, we did not find evidence that island snakes differ from mainland snakes in the rate at which they vibrate their tails, or their propensity to vibrate their tails. Taken together, these data lend some support to the longstanding hypothesis that defensive tail vibration by nonvenomous snakes represents acoustic mimicry of rattlesnakes. These data further suggest that this mimetic signal may be undergoing erosion in populations where rattlesnakes are absent.}, number={2}, journal={ETHOLOGY ECOLOGY & EVOLUTION}, author={Allf, Bradley C. and Sparkman, Amanda M. and Pfennig, David W.}, year={2021}, month={Mar}, pages={125–136} }