DOCSLIB.ORG

The Sexual Selection Continuum

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text

Load more

Received 23January 2002 Accepted 18March 2002 Publishedonline 11 June 2002 Thesexual selection continuum Hanna Kokko1*,Robert Brooks 2,JohnM. McNamara 3 and AlasdairI. Houston 4 1Division ofEnvironmentaland EvolutionaryBiology, Institute ofBiomedical and Life Sciences, University ofGlasgow, Glasgow G12 8QQ, UK 2Schoolof Biological, Earth and EnvironmentalScience, TheUniversity ofNew SouthWales, Sydney 2052,NSW, Australia 3Schoolof Mathematics, University ofBristol, University Walk,Bristol BS8 1TW, UK 4Schoolof Biological Sciences, University ofBristol, Woodland Road, Bristol BS8 1UG, UK The evolution ofmate choicefor geneticbene ts has becomethe tale oftwo hypotheses: Fisher’ s ‘run- away’and ‘ goodgenes’ , or viability indicators.These hypotheses are oftenpitted against eachother as alternatives, with evidencethat attractive males sire more viable offspring interpretedas support for good genesand with anegative ornull relationship betweenmating successof sons and other componentsof tnessinterpreted as favouring theFisher process.Here, we build ageneral modelof female choicefor indirect benets that capturesthe essence of both the‘ Fisherian’and ‘ good-genes’models. All versions ofour model point toa single processthat favours female preferencefor males siring offspring ofhigh reproductive value. Enhancedmating successand survival are thereforeequally valid geneticbene ts of mate choice,but their relative importance varies dependingon female choicecosts. The relationship betweenmale attractivenessand survival may bepositive or negative, dependingon life-history trade- offsand mating skew.This relationship canchange sign in responseto increased costliness of choice or environmental change.Any form offemale preferenceis subjectto self-reinforcing evolution,and any relationship (or lack thereof)between male display andoffspring survival is inevitably an indicator of offspring reproductive values.Costly female choicecan be maintained with or withouthigher offspring survival. Keywords: Fisher process;runaway evolution;good genes; mate choice;indirect benets; sexual selection 1. INTRODUCTION cessdemonstrated that in apopulation wheresome mate choiceoccurs already, andwhere preference and display Anytrait evolvesin directresponse to natural selection are heritable, thebuild-up of ageneticcorrelation between andin indirect responseto selectionon genetically corre- preferenceand display is inevitable (Lande1981) and lated traits. In thecase of mating preferencesfor exagger- leadsto runaway coevolution(Lande 1981; Kirkpatrick atedsexual displays, direct tnessbene ts and costs 1982). Positive preference–display geneticcorrelations imposedirect selection on mate-choice behaviour, but have beenfound in nature(Bakker 1993; Wilkinson & indirect selectiondue to geneticcovariation betweenmate Reillo 1994; Houde1994; Gray &Cade1999) andtheir choiceand other tnesscomponents is also thought tobe rapid build-upunder experimental conditionshas been widespread(Andersson 1994). Fisher (1930) pointedout empirically veried (Blows 1999). that it wouldbe adaptive for femalesto prefer mating with In recentyears, attention has shiftedagain tothe rst males that bear atrait that is favouredby natural selection. componentof Fisher’ s theory—the evolution ofprefer- Furthermore, Fisher recognizedthat asa preference encesfor male traits that indicate tnessin contextsother increasesin frequency,the attractiveness of thetrait itself than mate choice.This has beenspurred by many factors, will amplify theadvantage ofmate choice.The ensuing including thearticulation by Zahavi (1975) ofthe handi- ‘runaway’process of coevolution would exaggerate the cap principle, aconsiderablebody oftheoretical modelling display trait beyondits naturally selectedoptimum. Dis- (e.g.Pomiankowski 1988; Grafen1990 a,b; Iwasa et al. play exaggeration is halted by atrade-offbetween male 1991; Houle& Kondrashov2002), theobservation that attractivenessand other componentsof tness,and prefer- in many speciespreferred males are more vigorous and encesfail toexaggerate whenmale survival is socurtailed long-lived than non-preferredmales (Jennions et al. 2001) that thereis nolonger any benet tofemales of mating andoften produce offspring ofhigher viability (Møller & with attractive males. Alatalo 1999) andarguments that additive geneticvari- Fisher’s namehas becomeassociated in thesexual- ation in tnesscomponents can be maintained by pro- selectionliterature with thesecond component of his cessessuch as host– parasite coevolution(Hamilton &Zuk theory—the runaway coevolutionbetween preference and 1982), genotypeby environmentinteraction (Kotiaho et display (Fisher 1930). Early attempts tomodel this pro- al. 2001) andmutation– selection balance (Rowe& Houle 1996). Anunfortunate consequence of the success of good-genesindicators has beenan overemphasis ofthe * Authorfor correspondence ([email protected]). differencebetween these so-called ‘ goodgenes’ or ‘indi- Proc.R. Soc.Lond. B (2002) 269, 1331–1340 1331 Ó 2002 TheRoyal Society DOI10.1098/ rspb.2002.2020 1332H. Kokko andothers Thesexual selection continuum cator’ modelsand the Fisherian runaway process.One choiceevolution whetherthe viability ofattractive males couldbe forgiven for thinking, uponreading thecontem- is greater than,less than or equal tothat ofunattractive porary literature, that Fisherian runaway andgood-genes males. indicators werealternative theoriesfor theevolution of mate choiceand that themain goal ofthe eldis todis- 2. THE MODEL tinguish betweenthese as alternative hypotheses. Considerableempirical attentionhas focusedon the Weconsider a population in which births anddeaths phenotypic andgenetic relationships betweenmale sexual occurcontinuously and the primary sexratio is 1:1. Mate display andsurvival, becauseviability is oneof the most choicefor indirect bene tscan operate only whenmales important tnesscomponents that may beindicated by vary in someheritable trait. To provide aconceptually sexual displays. Alarge numberof studies estimate the simple example, weassume the existence of a genewith phenotypic (Jennions et al. 2001) orgenetic(Reynolds & twoalternative alleles, i = 0and2, that is expressedin Gross1992; Norris 1993; Petrie 1994; Jones et al. 1998; males only.The genein uencesthe male ’sappearance in Møller &Alatalo 1999; Wedell &Tregenza 1999; Brooks waysdescribed in thefollowing paragraphs, andit can 2000) associationbetween attractiveness, survival, fec- covary with survival positively, negatively or notat all. It undityand other tnesscomponents (Petrie 1994; canthus also bethought tore ect the ‘quality’ of a male. Møller &Alatalo 1999; Wedell& Tregenza 1999; Brooks However,to avoid any unnecessaryconnotations with ter- 2000). Apositive relationship betweenmale attractiveness minology that is biasedin favour ofone (runaway) or the andoffspring survival (or other aspectsof tness) is other (indicator) direction,we simply refer tomales carry- thought tosupport the good-genes hypothesis (Norris ing thesealleles asmale ‘types’ i = 1and2, andnote that 1993; Petrie 1994; M øller &Alatalo 1999; Jennions et al. wedo not necessarily assume a correlation betweenmale 2001), whereasa negative relationship combinedwith sig- type andsurvival. ni cantheritability ofattractiveness is interpretedas fav- Weassumehaploid inheritance ofthe gene. Any model ouring aFisherian mechanism alone (Etges1996; Jones et ofsexual selectionfor indirect bene tswill require a al. 1998; Wedell &Tregenza 1999; Brooks 2000). How- mechanism tomaintain variation in males.As our focus ever,it is conceivable within apurely good-genesframe- is noton solving thelek paradox, wesimply assumethat workthat males with thehighest geneticquality advertise sucha mechanism exists:allele 1mutatesto allele 2with sointensely that their survival becomesworse than that of a rate of m1 per generation,and allele 2toallele 1with males ofpoorer quality (Grafen1990 a;Kokko1998, a rate of m2 (seetable 1for afull list ofvariables and 2001; Eshel et al. 2000). their de nitions). In dealing with therelationship betweensexual attract- The type ofa male cannotbe observed directly. How- ivenessand survival, it is crucial toremember that costly ever,a male oftype i also expressesa sexually selected sexual advertisementis alife-history trait subjectto trade- trait denotedby Di (for ‘display’; if Di = 0themale lacks offswith other componentsof reproductive effortand with thedisplay trait). Additionally, both males andfemales futuresurvival andfecundity (Partridge &Endler1987; carry apreferencegene P that dictatesfemale preferences Grafen 1990a;Gustafsson et al. 1995; Kokko1997, 1998, for large values of Di.Female preferencescan vary con- 2001; Ho¨glund& Sheldon1998). Anegative relationship tinuouslyfrom absent( P = 0) tostrong (large P). A high betweenreproductive effort(including advertisement)and value of P meansthat afemale spendsmuch effort in her survival is consistentwith life-history theory (Hansen& mate choiceto nda male with alarge D,butthis effort Price 1995; Kokko1998). Thus,under many conditions, also reducesher fecundity, F(P): ¶ F/¶ P , 0(sothat the it is conceivable that apreferencefor males with high lev- costof choice C(P) = (F(0) 2 F(P))/F(0); see gure 1). elsof costly advertisement and poor survival prospectscan Basedon the function F(P),we distinguish betweentwo still deliver an indirect tness bene ttofemales,based on conceptsof costs of choice. The environmentally determ- superior tnessof offspring.It wouldfollow that adistinc- inedcostliness
Recommended publications
  • History and Philosophy of Systematic Biology

    History and Philosophy of Systematic Biology

    History and Philosophy of Systematic Biology Bock, W. J. (1973) Philosophical foundations of classical evolutionary classification Systematic Zoology 22: 375-392 Part of a general symposium on "Contemporary Systematic Philosophies," there are some other interesting papers here. Brower, A. V. Z. (2000) Evolution Is Not a Necessary Assumption of Cladistics Cladistics 16: 143- 154 Dayrat, Benoit (2005) Ancestor-descendant relationships and the reconstruction of the Tree of Lif Paleobiology 31: 347-353 Donoghue, M.J. and J.W. Kadereit (1992) Walter Zimmermann and the growth of phylogenetic theory Systematic Biology 41: 74-84 Faith, D. P. and J. W. H. Trueman (2001) Towards an inclusive philosophy for phylogenetic inference Systematic Biology 50: 331-350 Gaffney, E. S. (1979) An introduction to the logic of phylogeny reconstruction, pp. 79-111 in Cracraft, J. and N. Eldredge (eds.) Phylogenetic Analysis and Paleontology Columbia University Press, New York. Gilmour, J. S. L. (1940) Taxonomy and philosophy, pp. 461-474 in J. Huxley (ed.) The New Systematics Oxford Hull, D. L. (1978) A matter of individuality Phil. of Science 45: 335-360 Hull, D. L. (1978) The principles of biological classification: the use and abuse of philosophy Hull, D. L. (1984) Cladistic theory: hypotheses that blur and grow, pp. 5-23 in T. Duncan and T. F. Stuessy (eds.) Cladistics: Perspectives on the Reconstruction of Evolutionary History Columbia University Press, New York * Hull, D. L. (1988) Science as a process: an evolutionary account of the social and conceptual development of science University of Chicago Press. An already classic work on the recent, violent history of systematics; used as data for Hull's general theories about scientific change.
  • Natural Selection and Adaptation, Part I

    Natural Selection and Adaptation, Part I

    Natural Selection and Adaptation, Part I 36-149 The Tree of Life Christopher R. Genovese Department of Statistics 132H Baker Hall x8-7836 http://www.stat.cmu.edu/~genovese/ . Plan • Review of Natural Selection • Detecting Natural Selection (discussion) • Examples of Observed Natural Selection ............................... Next Time: • Adaptive Traits • Methods for Reasoning about and studying adaptations • Explaining Complex Adaptations (discussion) 36-149 The Tree of Life Class #10 -1- Overview The theories of common descent and natural selection play different roles within the theory of evolution. Common Descent explains the unity of life. Natural Selection explains the diversity of life. An adaptation (or adaptive trait) is a feature of an organism that enhances reproductive success, relative to other possible variants, in a given environment. Adaptations become prevalent and are maintained in a population through natural selection. Indeed, natural selection is the only mechanism of evolutionary change that can satisfactorily explain adaptations. 36-149 The Tree of Life Class #10 -2- Darwin's Argument Darwin put forward two main arguments in support of natural selection: An analogical argument: Artificial selection A logical argument: The struggle for existence (As we will see later, we now have more than just argument in support of the theory.) 36-149 The Tree of Life Class #10 -3- The Analogical Argument: Artificial Selection 36-149 The Tree of Life Class #10 -4- The Analogical Argument: Artificial Selection 36-149 The Tree of Life Class #10 -5- The Analogical Argument: Artificial Selection Teosinte to Corn 36-149 The Tree of Life Class #10 -6- The Analogical Argument: Artificial Selection • Darwin was intimately familiar with the efforts of breeders in his day to produce novel varieties.
  • 1. Adaptation and the Evolution of Physiological Characters

    1. Adaptation and the Evolution of Physiological Characters

    Bennett, A. F. 1997. Adaptation and the evolution of physiological characters, pp. 3-16. In: Handbook of Physiology, Sect. 13: Comparative Physiology. W. H. Dantzler, ed. Oxford Univ. Press, New York. 1. Adaptation and the evolution of physiological characters Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, ALBERT F. BENNETT 1 Irvine, California among the biological sciences (for example, behavioral CHAPTER CONTENTS science [I241). The Many meanings of "Adaptationn In general, comparative physiologists have been Criticisms of Adaptive Interpretations much more successful in, and have devoted much more Alternatives to Adaptive Explanations energy to, pursuing the former rather than the latter Historical inheritance goal (37). Most of this Handbook is devoted to an Developmentai pattern and constraint Physical and biomechanical correlation examination of mechanism-how various physiologi- Phenotypic size correlation cal systems function in various animals. Such compara- Genetic correlations tive studies are usually interpreted within a specific Chance fixation evolutionary context, that of adaptation. That is, or- Studying the Evolution of Physiological Characters ganisms are asserted to be designed in the ways they Macroevolutionary studies Microevolutionary studies are and to function in the ways they do because of Incorporating an Evolutionary Perspective into Physiological Studies natural selection which results in evolutionary change. The principal textbooks in the field (for example, refs. 33, 52, 102, 115) make explicit reference in their titles to the importance of adaptation to comparative COMPARATIVE PHYSIOLOGISTS HAVE TWO GOALS. The physiology, as did the last comparative section of this first is to explain mechanism, the study of how organ- Handbook (32). Adaptive evolutionary explanations isms are built functionally, "how animals work" (113).
  • Science Georgia Standards of Excellence SCIENCE - Zoology

    Science Georgia Standards of Excellence SCIENCE - Zoology

    Science Georgia Standards of Excellence SCIENCE - Zoology The Science Georgia Standards of Excellence are designed to provide foundational knowledge and skills for all students to develop proficiency in science. The Project 2061’s Benchmarks for Science Literacy and the follow up work, A Framework for K-12 Science Education were used as the core of the standards to determine appropriate content and process skills for students. The Science Georgia Standards of Excellence focus on a limited number of core disciplinary ideas and crosscutting concepts which build from Kindergarten to high school. The standards are written with the core knowledge to be mastered integrated with the science and engineering practices needed to engage in scientific inquiry and engineering design. Crosscutting concepts are used to make connections across different science disciplines. The Science Georgia Standards of Excellence drive instruction. Hands-on, student-centered, and inquiry-based approaches should be the emphasis of instruction. The standards are a required minimum set of expectations that show proficiency in science. However, instruction can extend beyond these minimum expectations to meet student needs. Science consists of a way of thinking and investigating, as well a growing body of knowledge about the natural world. To become literate in science, students need to possess sufficient understanding of fundamental science content knowledge, the ability to engage in the science and engineering practices, and to use scientific and technological information correctly. Technology should be infused into the curriculum and the safety of the student should always be foremost in instruction. In this course, students will recognize key features of the major body plans that have evolved in animals and how those body plans have changed over time resulting in the diversity of animals that are evident today.
  • Evolutionary and Historical Biogeography of Animal Diversity Learning Objectives

    Evolutionary and Historical Biogeography of Animal Diversity Learning Objectives

    Evolutionary and historical biogeography of animal diversity Learning objectives • The students can explain the common ancestor of animal kingdom. • The students can explain the historical biogeography of animal. • The students can explain the invasion of animal from aquatic to terrestrial habitat. • The students can explain the basic mechanism of speciation, allopatric and non-allopatric. The Common Ancestor of Animal Kingdom Characteristics of Animals • Animals or “metazoans” are typically heterotrophic, multicellular organisms with diploid, eukaryotic cells. • Trichoplax adhaerens is defined as an animal by the presence of different somatic (i.e., non-reproductive) cell types and by impermeable cell–cell connections. Trichoplax adhaerens Blackstone, 2009 Two Hypotheses for the Branching Order of Groups at the Root of the Metazoan Tree 1 2 The choanoflagellates serve as an outgroup in the Bilaterians are the sister group to the placozoan + analysis, and sponges are the sister group to the sponge + ctenophore + cnidarian clade, while placozoans placozoan + cnidarian + ctenophore + bilaterian are the sister group to the sponge + ctenophore + clade. cnidarian clade. Blackstone, 2009 Ancestry and evolution of animal–bacterial interactions • Choanoflagellates as the last common ancestor of animal kingdom. • Urmetazoan is the group of animal with multicellular and produce differentiated cell types (ex. Egg & sperm) R.A. Alegado & N. King, 2014 Conserved morphology and ultrastructure of Choanoflagellates and Sponge choanocytes The collar complex is conserved in choanoflagellates (A. S. rosetta) and sponge collar cells (B. Sycon coactum) flagellum (fL), microvilli (mv), a nucleus (nu), and a food vacuole (fv) Brunet & King, 2017 The Historical Biogeography of Animal Zoogeographic regions Old New Cox, 2001 Plate tectonic regulation of global marine animal diversity A.
  • Auditory Experience Controls the Maturation of Song Discrimination and Sexual Response in Drosophila Xiaodong Li, Hiroshi Ishimoto, Azusa Kamikouchi*

    Auditory Experience Controls the Maturation of Song Discrimination and Sexual Response in Drosophila Xiaodong Li, Hiroshi Ishimoto, Azusa Kamikouchi*

    RESEARCH ARTICLE Auditory experience controls the maturation of song discrimination and sexual response in Drosophila Xiaodong Li, Hiroshi Ishimoto, Azusa Kamikouchi* Graduate School of Science, Nagoya University, Nagoya, Japan Abstract In birds and higher mammals, auditory experience during development is critical to discriminate sound patterns in adulthood. However, the neural and molecular nature of this acquired ability remains elusive. In fruit flies, acoustic perception has been thought to be innate. Here we report, surprisingly, that auditory experience of a species-specific courtship song in developing Drosophila shapes adult song perception and resultant sexual behavior. Preferences in the song-response behaviors of both males and females were tuned by social acoustic exposure during development. We examined the molecular and cellular determinants of this social acoustic learning and found that GABA signaling acting on the GABAA receptor Rdl in the pC1 neurons, the integration node for courtship stimuli, regulated auditory tuning and sexual behavior. These findings demonstrate that maturation of auditory perception in flies is unexpectedly plastic and is acquired socially, providing a model to investigate how song learning regulates mating preference in insects. DOI: https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.34348.001 Introduction Vocal learning in infants or juvenile birds relies heavily on the early experience of the adult conspe- cific sounds. In humans, early language input is necessary to form the ability of phonetic distinction *For correspondence: and pattern detection in the phase of auditory learning (Doupe and Kuhl, 1999; Kuhl, 2004). [email protected] Because of the strong parallels between speech acquisition of humans and song learning of song- Competing interests: The birds, and the difficulties to investigate the neural mechanisms of human early auditory memory at authors declare that no cellular resolution, songbirds have been used as a predominant model in studying memory formation competing interests exist.
  • Of Socially Selected Traits Via Indirect Genetic Effects

    Of Socially Selected Traits Via Indirect Genetic Effects

    Social runaway: Fisherian elaboration (or reduction) of socially selected traits via indirect genetic effects Nathan W. Bailey1,2 and Mathias Kölliker3 1Centre for Biological Diversity, School of Biology, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, Fife KY16 9TH, United Kingdom 2E-mail: [email protected] 3Natural History Museum Fribourg, 1700 Fribourg, Switzerland RUNNING TITLE Social Runaway via Indirect Genetic Effects AUTHOR CONTRIBUTIONS NWB and MK conceived the idea for the study, constructed the models, and wrote the manuscript. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS We are grateful to Graeme D. Ruxton and Michael B. Morrissey for valuable discussion and advice. Two associate editors, Louis Miguel-Chevin and Jarle Tufto, three anonymous reviewers, and the Editor in Chief Mohamed Noor provided helpful remarks that improved the study. NWB was funded by fellowships from the UK Natural Environment Research Council [NE/G014906/1 and NE/L011255/1]. DATA ACCESSIBILITY No data are associated with the manuscript. This article has been accepted for publication and undergone full peer review but has not been through the copyediting, typesetting, pagination and proofreading process, which may lead to differences between this version and the Version of Record. Please cite this article as doi: 10.1111/evo.13791. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved. Social runaway: Fisherian elaboration (or reduction) of socially selected traits via indirect genetic effects Our understanding of the evolutionary stability of socially-selected traits is dominated by sexual selection models originating with R. A. Fisher, in which genetic covariance arising through assortative mating can trigger exponential, runaway trait evolution. To examine whether non- reproductive, socially-selected traits experience similar dynamics—social runaway—when assortative mating does not automatically generate a covariance, we modelled the evolution of socially-selected badge and donation phenotypes incorporating indirect genetic effects (IGEs) arising from the social environment.
  • Reducing Risks Through Adaptation Actions | Fourth National Climate

    Reducing Risks Through Adaptation Actions | Fourth National Climate

    Impacts, Risks, and Adaptation in the United States: Fourth National Climate Assessment, Volume II 28 Reducing Risks Through Adaptation Actions Federal Coordinating Lead Authors Review Editor Jeffrey Arnold Mary Ann Lazarus U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Cameron MacAllister Group Roger Pulwarty National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Chapter Lead Robert Lempert RAND Corporation Chapter Authors Kate Gordon Paulson Institute Katherine Greig Wharton Risk Management and Decision Processes Center at University of Pennsylvania (formerly New York City Mayor’s Office of Recovery and Resiliency) Cat Hawkins Hoffman National Park Service Dale Sands Village of Deer Park, Illinois Caitlin Werrell The Center for Climate and Security Technical Contributors are listed at the end of the chapter. Recommended Citation for Chapter Lempert, R., J. Arnold, R. Pulwarty, K. Gordon, K. Greig, C. Hawkins Hoffman, D. Sands, and C. Werrell, 2018: Reducing Risks Through Adaptation Actions. In Impacts, Risks, and Adaptation in the United States: Fourth National Climate Assessment, Volume II [Reidmiller, D.R., C.W. Avery, D.R. Easterling, K.E. Kunkel, K.L.M. Lewis, T.K. Maycock, and B.C. Stewart (eds.)]. U.S. Global Change Research Program, Washington, DC, USA, pp. 1309–1345. doi: 10.7930/NCA4.2018.CH28 On the Web: https://nca2018.globalchange.gov/chapter/adaptation Impacts, Risks, and Adaptation in the United States: Fourth National Climate Assessment, Volume II 28 Reducing Risks Through Adaptation Actions Key Message 1 Seawall surrounding Kivalina, Alaska Adaptation Implementation Is Increasing Adaptation planning and implementation activities are occurring across the United States in the public, private, and nonprofit sectors. Since the Third National Climate Assessment, implementation has increased but is not yet commonplace.
  • The Evolution of Bird Song: Male and Female Response to Song Innovation in Swamp Sparrows

    The Evolution of Bird Song: Male and Female Response to Song Innovation in Swamp Sparrows

    ANIMAL BEHAVIOUR, 2001, 62, 1189–1195 doi:10.1006/anbe.2001.1854, available online at http://www.idealibrary.com on The evolution of bird song: male and female response to song innovation in swamp sparrows STEPHEN NOWICKI*, WILLIAM A. SEARCY†, MELISSA HUGHES‡ & JEFFREY PODOS§ *Evolution, Ecology & Organismal Biology Group, Department of Biology, Duke University †Department of Biology, University of Miami ‡Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University §Department of Biology, University of Massachusetts at Amherst (Received 27 April 2000; initial acceptance 24 July 2000; final acceptance 19 April 2001; MS. number: A8776) Closely related species of songbirds often show large differences in song syntax, suggesting that major innovations in syntax must sometimes arise and spread. Here we examine the response of male and female swamp sparrows, Melospiza georgiana, to an innovation in song syntax produced by males of this species. Young male swamp sparrows that have been exposed to tutor songs with experimentally increased trill rates reproduce these songs with periodic silent gaps (Podos 1996, Animal Behaviour, 51, 1061–1070). This novel temporal pattern, termed ‘broken syntax’, has been demonstrated to transmit across generations (Podos et al. 1999, Animal Behaviour, 58, 93–103). We show here that adult male swamp sparrows respond more strongly in territorial playback tests to songs with broken syntax than to heterospecific songs, and equally strongly to conspecific songs with normal and broken syntax. In tests using the solicitation display assay, adult female swamp sparrows respond more to broken syntax than to heterospecific songs, although they respond significantly less to conspecific songs with broken syntax than to those with normal syntax.
  • Description of an Eyeless Species of the Ground Beetle Genus Trechus Clairville, 1806 (Coleoptera: Carabidae: Trechini)

    Description of an Eyeless Species of the Ground Beetle Genus Trechus Clairville, 1806 (Coleoptera: Carabidae: Trechini)

    Zootaxa 4083 (3): 431–443 ISSN 1175-5326 (print edition) http://www.mapress.com/j/zt/ Article ZOOTAXA Copyright © 2016 Magnolia Press ISSN 1175-5334 (online edition) http://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4083.3.7 http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:C999EBFD-4EAF-44E1-B7E9-95C9C63E556B Blind life in the Baltic amber forests: description of an eyeless species of the ground beetle genus Trechus Clairville, 1806 (Coleoptera: Carabidae: Trechini) JOACHIM SCHMIDT1, 2, HANNES HOFFMANN3 & PETER MICHALIK3 1University of Rostock, Institute of Biosciences, General and Systematic Zoology, Universitätsplatz 2, 18055 Rostock, Germany 2Lindenstraße 3a, 18211 Admannshagen, Germany. E-mail: [email protected] 3Zoological Institute and Museum, Ernst-Moritz-Arndt-University, Loitzer Str. 26, D-17489 Greifswald, Germany. E-mail: [email protected] Abstract The first eyeless beetle known from Baltic amber, Trechus eoanophthalmus sp. n., is described and imaged using light microscopy and X-ray micro-computed tomography. Based on external characters, the new species is most similar to spe- cies of the Palaearctic Trechus sensu stricto clade and seems to be closely related to the Baltic amber fossil T. balticus Schmidt & Faille, 2015. Due to the poor conservation of the internal parts of the body, no information on the genital char- acters can be provided. Therefore, the systematic position of this fossil within the megadiverse genus Trechus remains dubious. The occurrence of the blind and flightless T. eoanophthalmus sp. n. in the Baltic amber forests supports a previ- ous hypothesis that these forests were located in an area partly characterised by mountainous habitats with temperate cli- matic conditions.
  • The Unique Skeleton of Siliceous Sponges (Porifera; Hexactinellida and Demospongiae) That Evolved first from the Urmetazoa During the Proterozoic: a Review

    The Unique Skeleton of Siliceous Sponges (Porifera; Hexactinellida and Demospongiae) That Evolved first from the Urmetazoa During the Proterozoic: a Review

    Biogeosciences, 4, 219–232, 2007 www.biogeosciences.net/4/219/2007/ Biogeosciences © Author(s) 2007. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License. The unique skeleton of siliceous sponges (Porifera; Hexactinellida and Demospongiae) that evolved first from the Urmetazoa during the Proterozoic: a review W. E. G. Muller¨ 1, Jinhe Li2, H. C. Schroder¨ 1, Li Qiao3, and Xiaohong Wang4 1Institut fur¨ Physiologische Chemie, Abteilung Angewandte Molekularbiologie, Duesbergweg 6, 55099 Mainz, Germany 2Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 7 Nanhai Road, 266071 Qingdao, P. R. China 3Department of Materials Science and Technology, Tsinghua University, 100084 Beijing, P. R. China 4National Research Center for Geoanalysis, 26 Baiwanzhuang Dajie, 100037 Beijing, P. R. China Received: 8 January 2007 – Published in Biogeosciences Discuss.: 6 February 2007 Revised: 10 April 2007 – Accepted: 20 April 2007 – Published: 3 May 2007 Abstract. Sponges (phylum Porifera) had been considered an axial filament which harbors the silicatein. After intracel- as an enigmatic phylum, prior to the analysis of their genetic lular formation of the first lamella around the channel and repertoire/tool kit. Already with the isolation of the first ad- the subsequent extracellular apposition of further lamellae hesion molecule, galectin, it became clear that the sequences the spicules are completed in a net formed of collagen fibers. of sponge cell surface receptors and of molecules forming the The data summarized here substantiate that with the find- intracellular signal transduction pathways triggered by them, ing of silicatein a new aera in the field of bio/inorganic chem- share high similarity with those identified in other metazoan istry started.
  • Classification of Botany and Use of Plants

    Classification of Botany and Use of Plants

    SECTION 1: CLASSIFICATION OF BOTANY AND USE OF PLANTS 1. Introduction Botany refers to the scientific study of the plant kingdom. As a branch of biology, it mainly accounts for the science of plants or ‘phytobiology’. The main objective of the this section is for participants, having completed their training, to be able to: 1. Identify and classify various types of herbs 2. Choose the appropriate categories and types of herbs for breeding and planting 1 2. Botany 2.1 Branches – Objectives – Usability Botany covers a wide range of scientific sub-disciplines that study the growth, reproduction, metabolism, morphogenesis, diseases, and evolution of plants. Subsequently, many subordinate fields are to appear, such as: Systematic Botany: its main purpose the classification of plants Plant morphology or phytomorphology, which can be further divided into the distinctive branches of Plant cytology, Plant histology, and Plant and Crop organography Botanical physiology, which examines the functions of the various organs of plants A more modern but equally significant field is Phytogeography, which associates with many complex objects of research and study. Similarly, other branches of applied botany have made their appearance, some of which are Phytopathology, Phytopharmacognosy, Forest Botany, and Agronomy Botany, among others. 2 Like all other life forms in biology, plant life can be studied at different levels, from the molecular, to the genetic and biochemical, through to the study of cellular organelles, cells, tissues, organs, individual plants, populations and communities of plants. At each of these levels a botanist can deal with the classification (taxonomy), structure (anatomy), or function (physiology) of plant life.