Color pan traps often catch less when there are more flowers around

How to catch more prey with less effective traps: explaining the evolution of temporarily inactive traps in carnivorous pitcher plants

Carnivorous Nepenthes pitcher plants capture arthropods with specialized slippery surfaces. The key trapping surface, the pitcher rim (peristome), is highly slippery when wetted by rain, nectar or condensation, but not when dry. As natural selection should favour adaptations that maximize prey intake, the evolution of temporarily inactive traps seems paradoxical. Here, we show that intermittent...

When Less is More

engine and airframe manufacturers for decades have cited the direct relationship between engine wear and high exhaust gas temperature (EGT) in recommending that operators use less than maximum takeoff thrust whenever possible. While the cost benefits of reduced-thrust takeoffs are thoroughly documented, the safety benefits are not as well understood. Thus, there is a common perception that usin...

When Less is More.

minimum level. Sometimes more really is more, and less really is less. But often, less is more. If all this piece does is open up the question of whether less is more —if all it does is remind the reader that this is a question, and that our answers to it have important repercussions— then it will have served its purpose. Many ethicists in the ancient tradition argued that human lives could be ...

Are Sale Signs Less Effective When More Products Have Them?

We analyze data from a variety of sources, including historical data from a women’s clothing catalog, a field study in that catalog, survey responses to catalog stimuli, and grocery store data for frozen juice, toothpaste, and tuna. The analysis yields three conclusions. First, sale signs are less effective at increasing demand when more items have them. Second, total category sales are maximiz...

Introduction: When More Becomes Less