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Conservation ethics (i.e. moral concern for non-human organisms) are widespread, but we lack a comprehensive explanation for why people care about other species at all, and why they express strong moral concern for some species but not others. Recent theory suggests that conservation ethics might be rooted in cooperation between humans and members of other species. Building on central predictions of this eco-evolutionary theory, we conducted an online study ( N = 651) and exploratory factor analysis to develop two scales that independently measure perceived fitness interdependence (PFI) and conservation ethics. The PFI scale measures perceived shared fate as a proximate indicator of human fitness interdependence with non-human organisms (i.e. the degree to which humans and other organisms influence each other's evolutionary success, that is, survival and reproduction). We designed the conservation ethics scale to measure moral beliefs and attitudes regarding those organisms. Both scales are composed of two factors and demonstrate good internal reliability. By combining insights from various branches of the evolutionary human sciences, including evolutionary anthropology, evolutionary psychology and human behavioural ecology, we offer empirical tools to investigate eco-evolutionary foundations of conservation ethics and behaviour.

Diet and exercise are important for the wellbeing of people with cancer and their family caregivers. Unfortunately, little is known about their behaviors over time or factors that may influence their engagement in these behaviors. This exploratory study examined the influence of chronic conditions, symptom distress, and perceived social support on exercise and diet behaviors of patients with advanced cancer and their caregivers using the actor–partner interdependence mediation model (APIMeM) and interdependence theory as guiding frameworks. This secondary analysis uses self-report data from a large RCT (N = 484 patient–caregiver dyads) at three time points: baseline data was collected within three months of the diagnosis, at 3 months post-baseline, and 6 months post-baseline. A number of actor effects were observed: patient and caregiver prior exercise and diet were significant predictors of their own future exercise and diet behaviors; more patient-reported social support was associated with less patient exercise; more patient symptom distress was associated with poorer patient diet; and, more caregiver-reported social support was associated with more caregiver exercise and better caregiver diet. Partner effects were also observed: more patient exercise was positively associated with more caregiver exercise; more patient comorbidities were associated with better caregiver diet; more caregiver-reported social support was associated with better patient diet; and, more patient-reported social support was associated with better caregiver diet. Despite the challenges of advanced cancer and caregiving, past exercise and diet behavior remained a significant predictor of future behavior. Other health problems and perceptions of social support within the dyad may exert a positive or negative influence on patient/caregiver diet and exercise.