Jeffrey V. YuleUtah Tech University
Jeffrey V. Yule
Ph.D., Ecology and Evolution; Ph.D., English
About
40
Publications
15,599
Reads
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60
Citations
Introduction
I have broad interests in predator ecology and environmental studies, centering especially on the causes and consequences of extinction and the roles and functions of science in society.
Additional affiliations
June 2015 - March 2020
Position
- Professor (Full)
Description
- In addition to teaching interdisciplinary classes on topics including Extinction and Science and Nature Writing, I am a professor and former chair of the Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences Department and Director of the Booth Honors Program.
June 2007 - May 2015
Education
September 2004 - June 2007
Publications
Publications (40)
Late Pleistocene extinctions occurred globally over a period of about 50,000 years, primarily affecting mammals of > or = 44 kg body mass (i.e., megafauna) first in Australia, continuing in Eurasia and, finally, in the Americas. Polarized debate about the cause(s) of the extinctions centers on the role of climate change and anthropogenic factors (e...
On the whole, the conservation biology com-munity doesn't support the use of cloning to return extinct species to life, but there are persuasive philoso-phical and practical reasons for giving the idea another hearing. To begin with, there's little reason to fear Ju-rassic Park-type scenarios. The idea that dinosaur DNA could be extracted from ambe...
Human actions have altered global environments and reduced biodiversity by causing extinctions and reducing the population sizes of surviving species. Increasing human population size and per capita resource use will continue to have direct and indirect ecological and evolutionary consequences. As a result, future generations will inhabit a planet...
Although Late Pleistocene extinctions disproportionately affected larger mammalian species, numerous smaller species were also lost. To date, no satisfactory explanation has been presented to account for this pattern. Beginning with the assumption that human predation caused the extinctions, we offer and test the first such explanatory hypothesis,...
A good theory is focused without being blurred by extraneous detail or overgenerality. Yet ecological theories frequently fail to achieve this desirable middle ground. Here, we review the reasons for the mismatch between what theorists seek to achieve and what they actually accomplish. In doing so, we argue on pragmatic grounds against mathematical...
This is a positive dual review of two conservation biology books: Rewilding Agricultural Landscapes: A California Study in Rebalancing the Needs of People and Nature, edited by H. Scott Butterfield, T. Rodd Kelsey, and Abigail K. Hart (Island Press, 2021) and Standing between Life and Extinction: Ethics and Ecology of Conserving Aquatic Species in...
This is a positive review of Ross D. E. MacPhee's book END OF THE MEGAFAUNA: THE FATE OF THE WORLD’S HUGEST, FIERCEST, AND STRANGEST ANIMALS that also pays attention to Peter Schouten's illustrations.
This is a positive book review of Ross D. E. MacPhee's End of the Megafauna: The Fate of the World’s Hugest, Fiercest, and Strangest Animals (2019). It addresses both MacPhee's text and the paleoart by Peter Schouten that illustrate the book.T
A slightly positive book review of Britt Wray's RISE OF THE NECROFAUNA: THE SCIENCE, ETHICS, AND RISKS OF DE-EXTINCTION (2017).
Effectively integrating writing into biology classes gives students the opportunity to develop a better understanding of and engagement with course content. Yet many instructors remain reluctant to emphasize writing. Some are concerned about the time commitment writing assessment requires. Others shy away from emphasizing writing in their classes b...
This is a positive review of Darin A. Croft's 2016 book HORNED ARMADILLOS AND RAFTING MONKEYS: THE FASCINATING FOSSIL MAMMALS OF SOUTH AMERICA that also pays attention to artist Velizar Simeonovski's illustrations.
Educators must often measure the effectiveness of their instruction. We designed, developed, and preliminarily evaluated a multiple-choice assessment tool that requires students to apply what they have learned to evaluate scientific abstracts. This examination methodology offers the flexibility to both challenge students in specific subject areas a...
This is a positive book review of the 2013 second edition of Andre F. Clewell and James Aronson's ECOLOGICAL RESTORATION: PRINCIPLES, VALUES, AND STRUCTURES OF AN EMERGING PROFESSION.
A practical analysis of the technological, ethical, ecological, and environmental issues and challenges surrounding extinct species cloning
A positive review of Mark Barrow's book NATURE'S GHOSTS: CONFRONTING EXTINCTION FROM THE AGE OF JEFFERSON TO THE AGE OF ECOLOGY
X. Wang, R. H. Tedford. 2008. Dogs: Their Fossil Relatives and Evolutionary History. Columbia University Press, New York, New York, 219 pp. ISBN 978-0-231-13528-3, price (hardbound), $29.95.
With the help of illustrator Mauricio Anton, authors Xiaoming Wang and Richard H. Tedford provide an exemplary overview of canid evolution and an admirable co...
Questions
Questions (2)
I'm interested in getting feedback to determine whether people's examples of anthropogenic vertebrate extinction are either consistent or relatively consistent globally or whether they vary by country or region. In addition to sharing your example(s), please share your logic/criteria in making the selection(s) you did; your country of origin and/or residence; and whether any particular aspects of your background contributed to the choice(s) you made (e.g., if as an ornithologist you were inclined to select a bird species). I will be checking back for responses for at least a year after making the initial post (i.e., through December 2018), and I will add an update here letting people know when I'm no longer looking for feedback.
Thanks very much for your time and input. I appreciate both.
I'm interested in getting feedback to determine whether people's examples of anthropogenic vertebrate extinction are either consistent or relatively consistent globally or whether they vary by country or region. In addition to sharing your example(s), please share your logic/criteria in making the selection(s) you did; your country of origin and/or residence; and whether any particular aspects of your background contributed to the choice(s) you made (e.g., if as an ornithologist you were inclined to select a bird species). I will be checking back for responses for at least a year after making the initial post (i.e., through December 2018), and I will add an update here letting people know when I'm no longer looking for feedback.
Thanks very much for your time and input. I appreciate both.
