Females are the ecological sex: Sex‐specific body mass ecogeography in wild sifaka populations (Propithecus spp.)

Previous work in primates has shown that body size often covaries with ecological parameters related to resource or energy availability in the environment. This relationship may differ for males and females as access to resources has greater importance for reproductive success in females. We test the hypotheses that (1) female body mass may be more tightly constrained than male body mass by ecological variables, and (2) female body mass may respond more strongly than male body mass to changes in ecological variables (i.e., population‐specific female mass may vary more across an ecological gradient than male mass). Specifically, we investigate the relationship between climatic variables and sex‐specific body mass in Propithecus, a genus in which species‐specific body mass has already been demonstrated to covary significantly with climatic variables. Data from 733 wild sifakas are used to identify sex‐specific body mass for 27 populations representing all nine described sifaka species, and climatic data for each population are derived from the WorldClim database. We use phylogenetic generalized least squares models to demonstrate that body mass in both sexes is significantly correlated with annual rainfall and number of dry months. Furthermore, coefficients of determination are always higher for female models, and coefficients for each climatic variable are higher for females in all significant models. These results support the two hypotheses tested, indicating that ecological forces can have a greater impact on female mass than on male mass in primates. Am J Phys Anthropol 151:77–87, 2013. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

A resampling approach and implications for estimating the phalangeal index from unassociated hand bones in fossil primates

Primate fossil assemblages often have metacarpals and phalanges from which functional/behavioral interpretations may be inferred. For example, intrinsic hand proportions can indicate hand function and substrate use. But, estimates of intrinsic hand proportions from unassociated hand elements can be imperfect due to digit misattribution. Although isolated metacarpals can be identified to a specific digit, phalanges are difficult to assign to a specific ray. We used a resampling approach to evaluate how estimates of intrinsic hand proportions are affected by such uncertainty. First, the phalangeal index—intermediate phalanx length plus proximal phalanx length divided by metacarpal length—for the third digit was calculated for associated specimens of terrestrial, semiterrestrial, and arboreal taxa. We then used resampling procedures to generate distributions of “composite digits” based on resampled ratios in which phalanges from the second, fourth, and fifth rays, and from different individuals, were chosen randomly. Results confirm that the phalangeal index for associated third digits significantly discriminates groups. We also found that resampled ratios had significantly lower means, indicating that using composite digits is prone to systematic underestimation. Resampled ratios also generated distributions with greater variance around the means that obscured distinctions between groups, although significant differences between the most arboreal and terrestrial taxa are maintained. We conclude that using unassociated phalanges to calculate a phalangeal index is prone to sampling bias. Nevertheless, a resampling approach has the potential to inform estimates of hand proportions for fossil taxa, provided that the comparative sample is constrained to mimic the fossil composition. Am J Phys Anthropol 151:280–289, 2013. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Harmonic Dissonance: Reflections on Dwelling in the Field

Focusing on the idea of dwelling in the field, this paper explores the moral grammar of living with others in field settings, including the texture of membership in one's own family and host families. Through a comparative analysis of two ethnographic research contexts – one on transnational Christian non-governmental organizations in the US and Zimbabwe in 1996 –97, and the other on orphans and philanthropy in India in 2004–05 – I interrogate what it means to inhabit the field. In the world of multi-sited ethnography all research sites are not created equal; both in terms of the kinds of data one can collect and the types of observations one can make. How ethnographers are situated in a web of affliations affects their experience in the field, what they observe, and their research practice. I propose renewed attention to how anthropologists live in the field, including how relationships are interpreted in the field by ethnographers and their informants.     

Epiphytism,anatomy and regressive evolution in trichomanoid filmy ferns (Hymenophyllaceae)

The few studies on the evolution of epiphytism in ferns have mostly focused on xerophytic and humus‐collecting strategies, neglecting hygrophytes that are abundant in rainforests, such as the trichomanoids (Hymenophyllaceae). Using a phylogenetic approach, we studied the acquisition of epiphytism in this lineage, with the aim of identifying ecological anatomical adaptations and verifying the regressive epiphytic ‘bryophyte‐like’ strategy previously suggested for the group. Inferred evolution of anatomy and morphology, regression and ecology (more particularly colonial epiphytism) were analysed and compared using a maximum likelihood approach. Regressive evolution of anatomy and morphology is revealed in the three clades of colonial epiphytes, probably linked to the selection of water acquisition by blades rather than by regressed roots. However, the ‘bryophyte‐like’ strategy is restricted to some taxa (especially Didymoglossum). Furthermore, a relationship is revealed between large metaxylem and climbing habit. Diversification of colonial epiphytes (and some individual epiphytes) and hemi‐epiphytism would have occurred in the upper Cretaceous and Tertiary, in accordance with the timing of diversification of modern ferns and the evolution of epiphytism in other fern families in the first angiosperm‐dominated forests. This was here performed by selecting hygrophilous strategies that are unique in vascular plants. © 2013 The Linnean Society of London, Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society, 2013, 173 , 573–593.     

Efficiency of different methods of extracting the rice root nematode Hirschmanniella oryzae from rice and wheat soil and root samples

The nematode extraction method of centrifugal-floatation proved to be more efficient and significant (p ≤ 0.01) in extracting the rice root nematode, Hirschmanniella oryzae adults and larvae from soil or roots of rice and wheat crops than those extracted by sieving and tissue paper filtration technique. The extracted nematode from rice roots using incubation method is time-dependent and the peak of nematodes occurred four days after incubation. The number of extracted nematode varied according to crop, nematode mobility in soil particles, the number of nematodes present and tissue paper permeability.     

新方法新技术与新型抗生素发现

日趋严峻的细菌耐药性问题给“抗生素传奇时代”带来了严重威胁, 传统的抗菌药物开发手段已很难应对, 因此急需新思路来寻找新型抗生素。近年来, 一些新方法新技术如新型筛选模型的构建、基因组挖掘技术以及组合生物合成等给天然产物的筛选引发了革命性的变革, 也为放线菌来源的新型抗生素的发现带来了新的希望。本文将对这些新技术及其在新型抗生素研发中的应用进展进行阐述。     

陷阱法和Winkler法调查土壤节肢动物多样性比较:以千岛湖岛屿封闭生境研究为例

陷阱法和Winkler法是调查土壤动物的两种常规方法,然而这两种方法的调查效率各有优劣。本研究于2010年秋季,在千岛湖中心湖区选取了15个面积不同的岛屿,同时采用Winkler法和陷阱法采集岛屿上的土壤节肢动物,在岛屿这一封闭生境中比较两种方法收集土壤节肢动物的效率。结果表明,两种方法捕获土壤动物类群丰富度差异不显著,但多样性指数差异极显著。Winkler法对常规土壤节肢动物类群的采集效率优于陷阱法,尤其对运动较缓慢、活动范围较小的土壤节肢动物类群的采集具有优势;陷阱法则更优于采集运动能力较强、活动范围较大的类群。基于样方的稀疏曲线结果说明,Winkler法能用少量样方快速获取研究区域的土壤节肢动物群落基本组成,推荐在面积较小的岛屿上使用;而在面积较大的岛屿上使用陷阱法能够获取更多的类群。ChaoJaccard相似性系数比较则显示两种方法所取的土壤节肢动物相似性在大型岛屿上差异较大,说明大样本数据的采集需要两种方法同时使用能够提高数据的完整性和可靠性。本研究的结果为土壤节肢动物研究的方法选择提供了数据支持,具有一定的实际应用性。     

Sequence-Dependent Stability of Intramolecular DNA Triple Helices

Abstract

A set of 21 oligodeoxynucleotides were designed to fold into intramolecular triple helices of the pyrimidine motif under appropriate conditions. UV melting experiments on the triplexes which only differ in the number and distribution of third strand cytosines reveal the influence of sequence and pH on triplex stability and can be summarized as follows: (1) increasing the cytosine content in the third strand results in a higher thermal stability of the triplex at acidic pH but lowers the triplex to duplex melting temperature at neutral pH; (2) cytosines at terminal positions destabilize the triple helical structure as compared to non-terminal positions; (3) contiguous cytosines lead to a pH dependent destabilization of the triplex, the destabilizing effect being more pronounced at higher pH. Analysis of these effects in terms of the various interactions within a triple helical complex indicate that the sequence-dependent stabilities are largely determined by the extent of protonation for individual third strand cytosines.