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PUBLICATIONS

  1. Watson, P.J. and Vasquez, M. 1981. Comparative ecology of Woodsia scopulina sporophytes and gametophytes. American Fern Journal 71, 3-9. (Thanks to the amazing Dr. Herb Wagner for helping me perform my first published research.) get PDF​

  2. Watson, P.J. 1986. Transmission of a female sex pheromone thwarted by males in the spider Linyphia litigiosa(Linyphiidae). Science 233, 219-221. get PDF ; also see this.​

  3. Watson, P.J. 1988. The adaptive function of sequential polyandry in the spider Linyphia litigiosa(Linyphiidae). Ph.D. Thesis. Ithaca, New York: Cornell University.

  4. Watson, P.J. 1990. Female-enhanced male competition determines the first mate and principal sire in the spider Linyphia litigiosa (Linyphiidae). Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 26,77-90. get PDF​

  5. Watson, P.J. 1991. Multiple paternity and first mate sperm precedence in the sierra dome spider, Linyphia litigiosa. Animal Behaviour 41, 135-148. get PDF​

  6. Watson, P.J. 1991. Multiple paternity as genetic bet-hedging in female sierra dome spiders (Linyphia litigiosa: Linyphiidae). Animal Behaviour 41, 343-360. get PDF​

  7. Watson, P.J. 1993. Foraging advantage of polyandry for female sierra dome spiders (Linyphia litigiosa: Linyphiidae) and assessment of alternative direct benefit hypotheses. American Naturalist 141, 440-465. get PDF

  8. Watson, P.J. and Thornhill, R. 1994. Fluctuating asymmetry and sexual selection. Trends in Ecology and Evolution 9, 21-25. get PDF 

  9. Watson, P.J. and Lighton, J.R.B. 1994. Sexual selection and the energetics of copulatory courtship in the sierra dome spider, Linyphia litigiosa. Animal Behaviour 48, 615-626. get PDF

  10. Watson, P.J. 1995. Dancing in the dome. Natural History 104(3), 40-43. link to full article or get quality PDF​

  11. Watson, P.J. 1998. Nonrandom multi-male mating by females increases offspring growth rates in the spider Neriene litigiosa (Linyphiidae). Animal Behaviour 55, 387-403. get PDF ​

  12. Watson, P.J., Arnqvist, G. and Stallman, R.R. 1998. Sexual conflict and the energetic costs of mating and mate choice in water striders. American Naturalist 151, 46-58. get PDF​

  13. Watson, P.J. and Andrews, P.W. 2002. Toward a revised evolutionary adaptationist analysis of depression: the social navigation hypothesis. Journal of Affective Disorders 72, 1-14. get PDF​

  14. Radwan, J., Watson, P.J., Farslow, J., and Thornhill, R. 2003. Procrustean analysis of fluctuating asymmetry in the bulb mite, Rhizoglyphus robiniClaparede (Astigmata: Acaridae). Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 80, 499-505. get PDF​

  15. deCarvalho, T.N., Watson, P.J., and Field, S. 2004. Costs increase as ritualized fighting progresses within and between phases in the sierra dome spider, Neriene litigiosa. Animal Behaviour 68, 473-482. get PDF​

  16. Cline-Brown, K., and Watson, P.J. 2005. Investigating major depressive disorder from an evolutionary adaptationist perspective: fitness hindrances and the social navigation hypothesis. In: Focus on Depression Research. Devito, J.T., editor. Nova Science Publishers, Inc. Hauppauge, NY.

  17. Hagen, E.H., Watson, P.J. and Hammerstein, P. 2008. Gestures of Despair and Hope: A View on Deliberate Self-harm From Economics and Evolutionary Biology. Biological Theory 3, 123-138. get PDF​

  18. Keil P.L., and Watson, P.J. 2010. Assessment of self, opponent, and resource assessment during male-male contests in the sierra dome spider, Neriene litigiosa: Linyphiidae. Animal Behaviour 80, 809-820. get PDF See note on silly misrepresentation of sierra dome contests in Elwood and Arnott (2012) "Understanding how animals fight..." Anim. Behav. 84, 1095-1102.

MANUSCRIPTS IN PROGRESS

  • Watson, P.J. The Informational Boundaries Hypothesis of Religiosity (IBH): An Expanded Honest Signaling Framework for Understanding Ingroup and Outgroup Religious Diversity as an Evolutionary Adaptation.

  • For additional results concerning decision-making processes during male-male fights in sierra dome spiders, see the doctoral dissertation of my graduate student Pamela L. Keil.

  • Watson, P.J., Submitted, under revision. Contingent behavioral incitation of male-male fighting by penultimate female sierra dome spiders. Animal Behaviour. See Carleton College press release.

  • Hagen, E., Watson, P.J., and Thomson, J.A. Submitted. Loves Labours Lost: Major depression as an evolutionary adaptation to obtain help from those with whom one is in conflict. Lancet.

  • deCarvalho, T.N., and Watson, P.J. Energetic consequences for soapberry bugs of feeding on preferred versus non-preferred chemically protected seeds. In Prep.

  • Watson, P.J. The energetic costs of copulatory courtship in the sierra dome spider and female choice for metabolic power. In Prep.

  • Watson, P.J. A genetic trade-off faced by females between sexually competitive and rapidly ageing sires in the sierra dome spider. In Prep.

  • Watson, P.J., Fagerlund, R., Willingham, M., Polinsky, K, Kang, J. and Kayser, A. Submitted, extended MS In Prep. Evidence of injurious male-male aggression and female chemical incitation in the lek mating system of a new species of fairy moth (Incurvariidae; Lepidoptera). view abstract

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