Duration of synchronous cleavage cycles and rate of development at different temperatures in the Baltic herring

The duration of one synchronous cleavage cycle (τ₀) in Clupea harengus membras at different temperatures ( T ) was given by: (logτ₀)= 2.4349–0–0684T for T= 0.9–13°C, and (logτ₀)= 1.61010–oooit for t= 13–18–7°C.     

PROBLEMS WITH TESTING INBREEDING AVOIDANCE: THE CASE OF THE COLLARED FLYCATCHER

Four year's data on collared flycatchers, Ficedula albicollis, breeding in a nestbox plot on the island of Gotland, Sweden, was used to investigate whether individuals avoid mating with close kin (i.e., parents or sibs). Only one case of close inbreeding (0.5% of all pairs) was observed during the years of study. The observed frequency of close inbreeding was compared to expected frequencies based on two different null models. Assuming no inbreeding avoidance behaviors (e.g., dispersal or kin recognition), but taking into account the fact that mortality, and different arrival and pairing times of individuals reduce the probability of mating with close kin, the expected frequency of close inbreeding is 10% and 15% for female and male recruits (i.e., born in the study plot), respectively. However, assuming mating to be random within the study plot reduced the expected frequency of close inbreeding to 1% or less for both males and females. Consequently, conclusions drawn concerning inbreeding avoidance depend on the null model used. Contrasting estimated costs of tolerating close inbreeding with those of avoiding it (by dispersal to other plots), however, suggests that the costs of avoiding close inbreeding are substantially greater than those of tolerating it. Therefore, although inbreeding avoidance cannot be rejected as a cause of dispersal of this species, it is not the primary cause, and particularly not for sex-biased dispersal. The general problems of investigating inbreeding avoidance are discussed. It is argued that all previous null models based on random mating in finite populations produce expected frequencies of close inbreeding that in fact include inbreeding avoidance, since they implicitly assume random dispersal within a finite population. Thus, comparisons between observed and expected frequencies of close inbreeding based on random mating are inadequate. The most promising method of investigating inbreeding avoidance is to experimentally study individual movements and mating preferences in the presence and absence of close kin.     

DEVELOPMENTAL STABILITY IN LEAVES OF CLARKIA TEMBLORIENSIS (ONAGRACEAE) AS RELATED TO POPULATION OUTCROSSING RATES AND HETEROZYGOSITY

Four natural populations of Clarkia tembloriensis, whose levels of heterozygosity and rates of outcrossing were previously found to be correlated, are examined for developmental instability in their leaves. From the northern end of the species range, we compare a predominantly selfing population (t? = 0.26) with a more outcrossed population (t? = 0.84), which is genetically similar. From the southern end of the range, we compare a highly selfing population (t? = 0.03) with a more outcrossed population (t? = 0.58). We measured developmental stability in the populations using two measures of within-plant variation in leaf length as well as calculations of fluctuating asymmetry (FA) for several leaf traits. Growth-chamber experiments show that selfing populations are significantly more variable in leaf length than more outcrossed populations. Developmental instability can contribute to this difference in population-level variance. Plants from more homozygous populations tend to have greater within-plant variance over developmentally comparable nodes than plants from more heterozygous populations, but the difference is not significant. At the upper nodes of the plant, mature leaf length declines steadily with plant age, allowing for a regression of leaf length on node. On average, the plants from more homozygous populations showed higher variance about the regression (MSE) and lower R² values, suggesting that the decline in leaf length with plant age is less stable in plants from selfing populations than in plants from outcrossing populations. Fluctuating asymmetry (FA) was calculated for four traits within single leaves at up to five nodes per plant. At the early nodes of the plant where leaf arrangement is opposite, FA was also calculated for the same traits between opposite leaves at a node. Fluctuating asymmetry is significantly greater in the southern selfing population than in the neighboring outcrossed population. Northern populations do not differ in FA. Fluctuating asymmetry can vary significantly between nodes. The FA values of different leaf traits were not correlated. We show that developmental stability can be measured in plants using FA and within-plant variance. Our data suggest that large differences in breeding system are associated with differences in stability, with more inbred populations being the least stable.     

EVOLUTIONARY LOSS OF LARVAL FEEDING: DEVELOPMENT,FORM AND FUNCTION IN A FACULTATIVELY FEEDING LARVA,BRISASTER LATIFRONS

Species with large eggs and nonfeeding larvae have evolved many times from ancestors with smaller eggs and feeding larvae in numerous groups of aquatic invertebrates and amphibians. This change in reproductive allocation and larval form is often accompanied by dramatic changes in development. Little is known of this transformation because the intermediate form (a facultatively feeding larva) is rare. Knowledge of facultatively feeding larvae may help explain the conditions under which nonfeeding larvae evolve. Two hypotheses concerning the evolutionary loss of larval feeding are as follows: (1) large eggs evolve before modifications in larval development, and (2) the intermediate form (facultatively feeding larva) is evolutionarily short-lived. I show that larvae of a heart urchin, Brisaster latifrons, are capable of feeding but do not require food to complete larval development. Food for larvae appears to have little effect on larval growth and development. The development, form, and suspension feeding mechanism of these larvae are similar to those of obligate-feeding larvae of other echinoids. Feeding rates of Brisaster larvae are similar to cooccurring, obligate-feeding echinoid larvae but are low relative to the large size of Brisaster larvae. The comparison shows that in Brisaster large egg size, independence from larval food, and relatively low feeding rate have evolved before the heterochronies and modified developmental mechanisms common in nonfeeding echinoid larvae. If it is general, the result suggests that hypotheses concerning the origin of nonfeeding larval development should be based on ecological factors that affect natural selection for large eggs, rather than on the evolution of heterochronies and developmental novelties in particular clades. I also discuss alternative hypotheses concerning the evolutionary persistence of facultative larval feeding as a reproductive strategy. These hypotheses could be tested against a phylogenetic hypothesis.     

Localization of constitutive heat shock proteins in developing ascidians

Heat shock proteins (HSP) are a group of highly conserved proteins that regulate protein folding and ameliorate the effects of environmental stress. In the present study, the question of whether or not ascidian oocytes, embryos and larvae constitutively synthesize HSP was studied using HSP 60 and HSP 70 antibodies. Developmental stages obtained from Boltenia villosa, Cnemidocarpa finmarkiensis, Styela montereyensis and Corella willmeriana were examined for HSP using indirect immunocytochemistry. Myoplasm in oocytes and unfertilized eggs reacted with HSP 60 and 70 antibodies. HSP signals dramatically moved into the vegetal egg cytoplasm during ooplasmic segregation and colocalized with the myoplasm. In cleavage-stage embryos, HSP signals were partitioned with the myoplasm into muscle progenitor blastomeres and HSP signals were evident in the tail muscle cells of larvae. Immunoblots of proteins extracted from oocytes, eggs, embryos and larvae indicate that anti-HSP 60 recognizes a single band having an estimated molecular weight of 60 kDa. Egg centrifugation experiments suggest that most of the ascidian myoplasmic HSP are mitochondrial proteins. These results raise an intriguing possibility that mitochondria associated with the myoplasm perform biochemical functions that are unique to the embryonic muscle cell lineage.     

Centrifugal bisection of starfish oocytes

Immature oocytes or mature eggs of starfish were centrifuged in a sucrose density gradient. They were then separated into two fractions of fragments, nucleate light fragments and anucleate heavy fragments. Vital-staining experiments showed that the oocytes were elongated along the animal-vegetal (AV) axis during the centrifugation in a contrast to centrifuged eggs whose centrifugal axis was not related to the AV axis. The light and heavy oocyte fragments were comprised of animal and vegetal halves of oocytes, respectively. When matured and fertilized, most of the light oocyte fragment-derived embryos failed gastrulation and developed into Dauerblastulae. Two-dimensional gel electrophoretic analysis of fragments revealed that three basic proteins were predominantly enriched in the heavy oocyte fragments but scarcely detected in the light oocyte fragments. One of these proteins, App20, was identified as a homologue of cyclophilin (peptidyl-prolyl cis-trans isomerase). The present study provides a simple means of separating a population of starfish oocytes into animal and vegetal halves, thereby enabling us to analyze any difference of components between animal and vegetal cytoplasm of the oocytes.     

Predator-induced phenotypic plasticity in Daphnia pulex: uncoupling morphological defenses and life history shifts

Chemical cues from a predator Chaoborus sp. induce morphological defense (neck spine) and life history shifts (later reproduction, decreased fecundity but larger juvenile size) in the waterflea Daphnia pulex. These shifts have been interpreted either as costs of defense or as separate adaptation. In order to investigate if the life history shifts can be separated from the morphological defense, Daphnia pulex individuals were exposed to chemical cues from Chaoborus at different stages of life for variable periods. The daphnids that were exposed to Chaoborus started their reproduction later than the controls, although the differences were not statistically significant. Neck spine was induced only if daphnids were exposed to Chaoborus in an early stage of their life. Numbers of eggs produced were not affected by the different treatments, but egg mortality was higher in mothers exposed to Chaoborus. With these treatments it was possible to see neck spine induction without measurable life history changes or costs. On the other hand, irrespective of neck spine presence, the Chaoborus chemical(s) had an effect on Daphnia pulex mothers.Publication no 2159. Netherlands Institute of Ecology, Centre for LimnologyPublication no 2159. Netherlands Institute of Ecology, Centre for Limnology     

Relationships between mesohabitats, ichthyological communities and IBI metrics adapted to a European river basin (The Meuse, Belgium)

We investigated the influence of mesohabitats on fish communities and on attributes of a multimetric index of fish integrity in the River Meuse basin. Three consecutive 150 m sectors in a Meuse tributary (Ourthe, Belgium), each divided in two or three sub-sections presenting various percentages of mesohabitats (riffles, runs and pools), were sampled by electrofishing. In each sub-section, relative and absolute biomasses of each fish species were estimated. The presence of limnophilic cyprinids was inversely correlated (r ² = 0.70 and 0.56 for absolute and relative biomass, respectively) with the percentage of riffles. Salmonids preferred runs and their absolute biomass was highly dependent (r ² = 0.71) on the proportion of this mesohabitat, whereas biomass of limnophilic cyprinids was highly correlated (r ² = 0.75 and r ² = 0.82 for absolute and relative biomass, respectively) with pools. A positive correlation (r ² = 0.58) was established between relative biomass of predators and the percentage of this mesohabitat. An IBI was calculated for the three sectors on the basis of results from the entire Meuse catchment. Scores of most metrics showed low variation among sectors but values of two metrics (% of individuals as tolerant, % of individuals as ubiquitous spawners) were greatest in sector 2, where pools predominated. Further, the lowest IBI score (51/65, integrity class: fair to good) was recorded in sector 2 where pools dominated, while sector 1 (where runs dominated) obtained the highest score (63/65, integrity class: excellent). Sector 3 which has a balanced proportion of riffles and runs obtained an intermediate score (57/65). Considering the response of IBI to the natural variation of mesohabitat proportions, it appears that an accurate sampling requires the prospection of a variety of mesohabitats (with a majority of runs) for the evaluation of river quality.     

Statistical analysis for the spatial validity of a model to forecast the daily number of forest fires

In earlier papers a qualitative and quantitative model was developed for predicting the number of forest fires occurring per day. This model permits the forecast at 00.00 hours Universal Time Convention (UTC) of any day (d), the number of forest fires per day for a range of several days (d tod+5) over a particular region. Input data are the number of forest fires in the region during two preceding days (d–2 andd–1) and the type of day (real and evaluated from radiosonde ford–2,d–1,d and predicted from meteorological medium-range forecasts, i.e. of European Centre, ford+1,d+2,d+3,d+4 andd+5. As this model requires data obtained by radiosonde, particularly temperatures and geopotentials at 850 and 700 hPa and dew points (or specific humidity) at 850 hPa, this study investigates the spatial validity of the model in relation to the distance from the radiosonde station (RS). The highest quality forecast is obtained for the region immediately surrounding the RS, and diminishes with increasing distance from it, this being due to the data obtained from the RS not being representative of the atmospheric column over the region. Hence, the derivation of the critical distance for a particular quality level of measurement. Conversely, fixed quality level implies a specific separation between RS and the region for the prediction, with a higher predictive quality implying a shorter distance.