Systematics and evolution of syllids (Annelida,Syllidae)

A large, combined phylogenetic analysis (including morphological and molecular data from 18S rDNA, 16S rDNA and cytochrome c oxidase subunit I), with the highest number of species and genera of Syllidae studied to date (213 terminals), is examined. The data were explored with different parameters and optimality criteria (parsimony, likelihood, and bayesian inference). The monophyly of Syllidae and most of the traditional subfamilies is supported. The subfamily Eusyllinae is polyphyletic, as currently delineated, but it is herein reorganized and its diagnosis modified to be a valid group. Additional well supported clades arise. The phylogenetic relationships of the well known and established genera, as well as several enigmatic genera (e.g. Anguillosyllis, Paraopisthosyllis and Parahaplosyllis), the position of which in syllid taxonomy was uncertain or dubious to date, are clarified. The results corroborate previous hypotheses about the evolution of the reproductive and brooding modes. Within Syllinae, the nature of the stolon is phylogenetically informative. The classification of the whole family is revised and discussed on the basis of this phylogenetic hypothesis. © The Willi Hennig Society 2011.     

Bioelectronic monitoring of parasite-induced stress in brown trout and roach

A non-contact bioelectronic monitoring system was used to record changes in heart rate, ventilation rate and swimming activity in brown trout Salmo trutta and roach Rutilus rutilus , following exposure to two species of cercariae of digenean trematodes: Diplostomum pseudospathaceum which is a common parasite in the lens of fishes and xiphidiocercariae of Plagiorchis elegans , a parasite of anatid birds, both of which have the snail Lymnaea stagnalis as their first intermediate host. Swimming activity increased significantly in roach exposed to Diplostomum cercariae at densities as low as 3.8l⁻¹ and remained elevated for 24–36 h post exposure. Brown trout showed no response when exposed to low densities of Diplostomum (2.9 and 5.7 cercariae 1⁻¹) but there was a significant response at higher cercarial exposure densities (>501⁻¹). Total activity of brown trout increased immediately, peaking after 2 h and returning to pre-exposure levels within 5–6 h. There was a simultaneous increase in heart and ventilation rates which both declined following the reduction in activity of the fish. Heart rate then increased for a second time to a maximum level at 14–16 h and thereafter declined to reach a steady state at 3 days post-exposure. During this period there was no significant change in total activity. The qualitative nature of the heart response was identical in five infected brown trout although the magnitude of the response varied widely among fish. Exposure to cercariae of P. elegans elicited no response in either fish species. (c) 1996 The Fisheries Society of the British Isles     

Randomization Analyses: Mimicry, Geographic Variation and Cultural Evolution of Song in Brood-Parasitic Straw-Tailed Whydahs, Vidua fischeri

Although bird song has been an important model for investigating questions of behavior development, cultural evolution and population differentiation, the quantitative methods of analysis have been problematic. Here we develop and apply quantitative randomization methods to test hypotheses about these processes in a natural population of birds. Songs of the African brood-parasitic straw-tailed whydahs ( Vidua fischeri ) and songs of their host species, the purple grenadier ( Granatina ianthinogaster ), were compared in audiospectrograms for similarity to test the following hypotheses: Whydahs mimic the songs of their host species, they have local song dialects, neighboring males match their song themes, local males match the songs of local hosts, remote populations have different songs according to their geographic distance, and songs undergo cultural evolution over time across generations. Randomization analyses were completed using (1) Mantel matrix statistics and (2) tree-based measures employing Sankoff optimization of Manhattan matrices and approximate randomizations. Our results provide evidence for song mimicry, local song dialects, matching song themes between neighboring males, song matching of local whydah mimics and grenadier song models, correspondence of song differences and geographic distance, and cultural continuity with change in song traditions within a local population. These randomization methods may be useful in other studies of animal communication, and they are sufficiently general for use both with distance matrices derived either from naturalistic impressions of song similarity as in our example or from acoustic measurements.     

Strong seasonal disequilibrium measured between the oxygen isotope signals of leaf and soil CO2 exchange

The oxygen isotope composition (δ¹⁸O) of atmospheric CO₂ is among a very limited number of tools available to constrain estimates of the biospheric gross CO₂ fluxes, photosynthesis and respiration at large scales. However, the accuracy of the partitioning strongly depends on the extent of isotopic disequilibrium between the signals carried by these two gross fluxes. Chamber‐based field measurements of total CO₂ and CO¹⁸O fluxes from foliage and soil can help evaluate and refine our models of isotopic fractionation by plants and soils and validate the extent and pattern of isotopic disequilibrium within terrestrial ecosystems. Owing to sampling limitations in the past, such measurements have been very rare and covered only a few days. In this study, we coupled automated branch and soil chambers with tuneable diode laser absorption spectroscopy techniques to continuously capture the δ¹⁸O signals of foliage and soil CO₂ exchange in a Pinus pinaster Aït forest in France. Over the growing season, we observed a seasonally persistent isotopic disequilibrium between the δ¹⁸O signatures of net CO₂ fluxes from leaves and soils, except during rain events when the isotopic imbalance became temporarily weaker. Variations in the δ¹⁸O of CO₂ exchanged between leaves, soil and the atmosphere were well explained by theory describing changes in the oxygen isotope composition of ecosystem water pools in response to changes in leaf transpiration and soil evaporation.     

Mites as biological tags of their hosts

Movements and spatial distribution of host populations are expected to shape the genetic structure of their parasite populations. Comparing the genetic patterns of both interacting species may improve our understanding of their evolutionary history. Moreover, genetic analyses of parasites with horizontal transmission may serve as indicators of historical events or current demographic processes that are not apparent in the genetic signature of their hosts. Here, we compared mitochondrial variation in populations of the ectoparasitic mite Spinturnix myoti with the genetic pattern of its host, the Maghrebian bat Myotis punicus in North Africa and in the islands of Corsica and Sardinia. Mite mitochondrial differentiation among populations was correlated with both host mitochondrial and nuclear differentiation, suggesting spatial co‐differentiation of the lineages of the two interacting species. Therefore our results suggest that parasite dispersal is exclusively mediated by host movements, with open water between landmasses as a main barrier for host and parasite dispersal. Surprisingly the unique presence of a continental European mite lineage in Corsica was inconsistent with host phylogeographical history and strongly suggests the former presence of European mouse‐eared bats on this island. Parasites may thus act as biological tags to reveal the presence of their now locally extinct host.     

DNA barcoding reveals Mexican diversity within the freshwater leech genus Helobdella (Annelida: Glossiphoniidae)

We investigated the genetic distances and taxonomic status among species of Helobdella, a genus of non-blood-feeding leeches, based on mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I sequences. Sampling included 20 specimens representing nine nominal species collected in 11 states in Mexico as well as previously published sequences of different species of Helobdella from several places. A neighbor-joining tree, as well as identification of diagnostic nucleotides, was used to suggest the presence of seven species of Helobdella in Mexico including potentially two undescribed forms.     

Absence of post-Miocene Red Sea land bridges: biogeographic implications

In a large number of studies concerned with species movements between Africa and Eurasia, including the migrations of hominids out of Africa, a frequently‐cited dispersal route is across a hypothetical land bridge in the southern Red Sea, which is suggested to have emerged during glacial sea‐level lowstands. This paper, however, unequivocally demonstrates that palaeoceanographic and palaeoecological data are incompatible with the existence of Red Sea land bridges since the Miocene. The case is made by presenting the first quantitative history of water depth above the Red Sea sill for the last 470,000 years, a time period that includes the four most recent glacial–interglacial cycles, and by discussing the predictable consequences of any land bridge formation on the Red Sea sedimentary and microfossil records. The absence of post‐Miocene Red Sea land bridges has extensive implications for biogeographic models in the Afro‐Arabian region. Genetic, morphometric and palaeontological patterns reported in the literature cannot be related to dispersals over a land bridge, or in the case of marine organisms, separation of the Red Sea from the Indian Ocean by a land bridge. If such patterns in terrestrial species are only congruent with a southern Red Sea dispersal route, then they need to be considered in terms of sweepstake rafting, anthropogenic introduction, or in the particular case of the Out‐of‐Africa migration by modern humans, seafaring. The constraints imposed by our palaeoenvironmental record on biogeographic reconstructions within and around the Red Sea will hopefully encourage both the review of previous works and the preference for multidisciplinary approaches in future studies.     

Calorimetric analysis of thermodynamic stability and aggregation for apo and holo amyotrophic lateral sclerosis-associated Gly-93 mutants of superoxide dismutase

Differential scanning calorimetry was used to measure changes in thermodynamic stability and aggregation for glycine 93 mutants of human copper, zinc-superoxide dismutase (SOD). Glycine 93 is a conserved residue at position i + 3 of a tight turn and has been found to be a mutational hot spot in familial amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (fALS). The fALS-associated mutations, G93A, G93S, G93R, G93D, and G93V, were made in a pseudo wild-type background containing no free cysteines, which prevented the formation of aberrant disulfide bonds upon thermal unfolding, and enabled quantitative thermodynamic analysis of the effects of the mutations. Thermal unfolding was highly reversible for all the SODs in both the fully metallated (holo) and metal-free (apo) forms. The data for all the holo-SODs and for the apo-pseudo-wild-type SOD were well fit by a 2-state unfolding model for native dimer (N2) to two unfolded monomers (2U), N2 <--> 2U. The holo- and apo-forms of the mutants are significantly destabilized (by 1.5-3.5 kcal mol(-1) monomer) relative to the corresponding forms of pseudo wild-type, with the relative stabilities being correlated with statistical preferences for amino acids in this structural context. Although van't Hoff (DeltaHvH) to calorimetric (DeltaHcal) enthalpy ratios are close to unity for all the holo-SODs and for apo-pseudo-wild-type, consistent with a 2-state transition, DeltaHvH is considerably larger than DeltaHcal for all the apo-mutants. This suggests that the mutations cause apo-SOD to have an increased propensity to misfold or aggregate, which may be linked to increased toxic mutant SOD aggregation in fALS.