•  12
    We are less optimistic than Madole & Harden that family-based genome-wide association studies (GWASs) will lead to significant second-generation causal knowledge. Despite bearing some similarities, family-based GWASs and randomised controlled trials (RCTs) are not identical. Most RCTs assess a relatively homogenous causal stimulus as a treatment, whereas GWASs assess highly heterogeneous causal stimuli. Thus, GWAS results will not translate so easily into second-generation causal knowledge.
  •  52
    Causal reasoning about genetics: synthesis and future directions
    with Ilan Dar Nimrod, Paul Edmund Griffiths, and James Morandini
    Behavior Genetics 2 (49): 221-234. 2019.
    When explaining the causes of human behavior, genes are often given a special status. They are thought to relate to an intrinsic human 'essence', and essentialist biases have been shown to skew the way in which causation is assessed. Causal reasoning in general is subject to other pre-existing biases, including beliefs about normativity and morality. In this synthesis we show how factors which influence causal reasoning can be mapped to a framework of genetic essentialism, which reveals both the…Read more
  •  15
    Affective and calculative solidarity: The impact of individualism and neoliberal capitalism
    with Manolis Kalaitzake
    European Journal of Social Theory 23 (2): 238-257. 2020.
    This article examines the ways in which the self-responsibilized individualism underpinning contemporary concepts of the ideal European citizen, on the one hand (Frericks, 2014), and the inequalities and anti-democratic politics that characterize contemporary neoliberal capitalism, on the other, are co-constituent elements in creating an antipathy to forms of solidarity that are affective as opposed to calculative. The active citizenship framework lacks a full appreciation of the interdependency…Read more
  •  16
    New historical and philosophical perspectives on quantitative genetics
    with Davide Serpico and Theodore M. Porter
    Studies in History and Philosophy of Science Part A 97 (C): 29-33. 2023.
    The aim of this virtual special issue is to bring together philosophical and historical perspectives to address long-standing issues in the interpretation, utility, and impacts of quantitative genetics methods and findings. Methodological approaches and the underlying scientific understanding of genetics and heredity have transformed since the field's inception. These advances have brought with them new philosophical issues regarding the interpretation and understanding of quantitative genetic r…Read more
  • Male guppies differ in daily frequency but not diel pattern of display under daily light changes
    with Samuel O'Neill, Darrell Kemp, and Thomas White
    Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 73 157. 2019.
    Sexually signalling animals must trade off the benefits of attracting mates with the consequences of attracting predators. For male guppies, predation risk depends on their behaviour, colouration, environmental conditions and changing intensity of predation throughout the day. Theoretically, this drives diel patterns of display behaviour in native Trinidadian populations, where males display more under low-light conditions when their most dangerous predator is less active. Here, we observed Aust…Read more
  •  4
    The hidden ethical costs of conservation
    with Daniel T. Blumstein
    Science 370 (6513): 179-180. 2020.
    We agree with N. Sekar and D. Shillers (“Engage with animal welfare in conservation,” Policy Forum, 7 August, p. 629) that welfare considerations are an important part of the myriad values in conservation. However, more humane conservation tactics are often costlier. The money and resources spent on humane conservation practices detract from the resources available for other conservation projects. This hidden ethical cost of humane conservation must be considered when proposing new approaches to…Read more
  • ‘The effect of long-term captive breeding upon adult thermal preference in the Queensland Fruit Fly
    with Darrell Kemp and Thomas White
    Journal of Thermal Biology 78. 2018.
    The Queensland fruit fly (Bactrocera tryoni) is a generalist pest that poses a significant threat to the Australian horticultural industry. This species has become broadly established across latitudes that encompass tropical to temperate climates, and hence populations occupy diverse thermal niches. Successful expansion across this range may have been brokered by evolutionarily labile features of breeding phenology, physiology and/or behaviour. We explored the potential role of behavioural flexi…Read more
  •  3
    Effective conservation
    with Daniel T. Blumstein
    Trends in Ecology and Evolution 35 (10): 857-859. 2020.
    Effective altruism is a growing humanitarian movement with a track record of success in evaluating the effectiveness of charitable spending across a wide range of projects. We suggest ways in which the foundations of this movement can be applied to the complex world of conservation.
  •  12
    Variation in the level of boldness behaviour across individuals, sexes, and strains of the guppy
    with Darrell Kemp and Samantha St Jean
    Marine and Freshwater Research 73 (4): 441-453. 2022.
    The concept of animal personality is based on consistent individual differences in behaviour, yet little is known about the factors responsible for such variation. Theory based on sex-specific selection predicts sexual dimorphism in personality-related traits and, in some cases, differences in trait variances between the sexes. In this study, we examined the sources of individual variation for boldness behaviour in guppies (Poecilia reticulata). We first demonstrated heightened boldness expressi…Read more
  • Genetic essentialism: The mediating role of essentialist biases on the relationship between genetic knowledge and the interpretations of genetic information
    with Ilan Dar Nimrod, Ruth Kuntzman, Georgia MacNevin, Marlon Woods, and James Morandini
    European Journal of Medical Genetics 64 (1): 104119. 2021.
    Purpose Genetic research, via the mainstream media, presents the public with novel, profound findings almost on a daily basis. However, it is not clear how much laypeople understand these presentations and how they integrate such new findings into their knowledge base. Genetic knowledge (GK), existing causal beliefs, and genetic essentialist tendencies (GET) have been implicated in such processes; the current study assesses the relationships between these elements and how brief presentations of …Read more
  •  247
    The meaning of "cause" in genetics
    Combining Human Genetics and Causal Inference to Understand Human Disease and Development. Cold Spring Harbor Perspectives in Medicine. 2021.
    Causation has multiple distinct meanings in genetics. One reason for this is meaning slippage between two concepts of the gene: Mendelian and molecular. Another reason is that a variety of genetic methods address different kinds of causal relationships. Some genetic studies address causes of traits in individuals, which can only be assessed when single genes follow predictable inheritance patterns that reliably cause a trait. A second sense concerns the causes of trait differences within a popul…Read more
  •  31
    How causal are microbiomes? A comparison with the Helicobacter pylori explanation of ulcers
    with Emily C. Parke and Maureen A. O’Malley
    Biology and Philosophy 34 (6): 62. 2019.
    Human microbiome research makes causal connections between entire microbial communities and a wide array of traits that range from physiological diseases to psychological states. To evaluate these causal claims, we first examine a well-known single-microbe causal explanation: of Helicobacter pylori causing ulcers. This apparently straightforward causal explanation is not so simple, however. It does not achieve a key explanatory standard in microbiology, of Koch’s postulates, which rely on manipu…Read more
  •  23
    How causal are microbiomes? A comparison with the Helicobacter pylori explanation of ulcers
    with Emily C. Parke and Maureen A. O’Malley
    Biology and Philosophy 34 (6): 62. 2019.
    Human microbiome research makes causal connections between entire microbial communities and a wide array of traits that range from physiological diseases to psychological states. To evaluate these causal claims, we first examine a well-known single-microbe causal explanation: of Helicobacter pylori causing ulcers. This apparently straightforward causal explanation is not so simple, however. It does not achieve a key explanatory standard in microbiology, of Koch’s postulates, which rely on manipu…Read more
  •  51
    Interpreting Heritability Causally
    Philosophy of Science 84 (1): 14-34. 2017.
    A high heritability estimate usually corresponds to a situation in which trait variation is largely caused by genetic variation. However, in some cases of gene-environment covariance, causal intuitions about the sources of trait difference can vary, leading experts to disagree as to how the heritability estimate should be interpreted. We argue that the source of contention for these cases is an inconsistency in the interpretation of the concepts ‘genotype’, ‘phenotype’, and ‘environment’. We pro…Read more
  •  20
    Much microbiota-gut-brain research focuses on the causal role of microbiomes as a whole, rather than their component parts: microbes. Hooks et al. find these whole-community explanations inadequate; however, they do not provide suggestions for better explanations. By appealing to proportionality – a criterion that can be used to develop more appropriate causal explanations – more accurate causal claims can be made.
  •  85
    How causal are microbiomes? A comparison with the H elicobacter pylori explanation of ulcers
    with Emily C. Parke and Maureen A. O’Malley
    Biology and Philosophy 34 (6): 62. 2019.
    Human microbiome research makes causal connections between entire microbial communities and a wide array of traits that range from physiological diseases to psychological states. To evaluate these causal claims, we first examine a well-known single-microbe causal explanation: of Helicobacter pylori causing ulcers. This apparently straightforward causal explanation is not so simple, however. It does not achieve a key explanatory standard in microbiology, of Koch’s postulates, which rely on manipu…Read more
  •  73
    Heritability and causal reasoning
    Biology and Philosophy 32 (1): 25-49. 2017.
    Gene–environment covariance is the phenomenon whereby genetic differences bias variation in developmental environment, and is particularly problematic for assigning genetic and environmental causation in a heritability analysis. The interpretation of these cases has differed amongst biologists and philosophers, leading some to reject the utility of heritability estimates altogether. This paper examines the factors that influence causal reasoning when G–E covariance is present, leading to interpr…Read more