Seasonal dynamics of agonistic behavior and hormones in an ex situ all‐male colony of large flying foxes

Large flying foxes (Pteropus vampyrus) are a socially complex species. In situ colonies typically comprise thousands of individuals in small harems of one male to many females. In ex situ environments, all‐male colonies are becoming more common due to a surplus of males in the population. There is limited information describing the hormonal and behavioral patterns of all‐male colonies during the breeding season. We assessed seasonal changes in hormones and behavior in an all‐male colony of 12 large flying foxes at Disney's Animal Kingdom^®. We validated hormone assays using morning urine and fecal samples to assess seasonal changes in excreted immunoreactive testosterone and glucocorticoid metabolites. We collected behavior data using an all‐occurrence method, recording agonistic behaviors related to territorial defense (hooking, biting, wing flexing, vocalizing, and wrestling), and sexual behavior (mounting and frontal grabbing). Results indicated that (i) we could reliably measure testosterone and glucocorticoid metabolites concentrations from fecal and urine samples collected from individual bats; (ii) there were distinct relationships between changes in levels of agonism and hormone concentrations throughout the year; and (iii) three agonistic behaviors (chasing, wrestling, and open‐mouth threat) peaked prior to the increase in testosterone and glucocorticoid hormones measured during the breeding season. These three behaviors could potentially be used as early indicators to signal the onset of the breeding season and allow time to implement ex situ management changes to reduce the incidence of agonism between individuals.     

Gene flow patterns of the euphausiid, Meganyctiphanes norvegica, in the NW Atlantic based on mtDNA sequences for cytochrome b and cytochrome oxidase I

Population genetic structure and patterns of gene flow are describedfor the euphausiid, Meganyctiphanes norvegica, in the NW AtlanticOcean based on DNA sequence variation of two regions of mitochondrialDNA (mtDNA). DNA sequences were determined for portions of cytochromeoxidase I (COI; 400 base pairs; 76 individuals) and cytochromeb (CYB; 300 base pairs; 101 individuals) for euphausiids collectedfrom the Gulf of Maine in 1991, the Gulf of St Lawrence in 1993and 1994, the Scotian Shelf in 1994, and Georges Bank in 1994.For comparison, M.norvegica collected from the fjords of westernNorway in 1992 were sequenced for COI (20 individuals) and CYB(18 individuals). COI was less variable than CYB, based on bothhaplotype (h=0.6847 for COI; 0.9077 for CYB) and nucleotidediversities (     

MORPHOLOGY OF THE DIATOM GENUS CAMPYLONEIS (BACILLARIOPHYCEAE,BACILLARIOPHYTA), WITH A DESCRIPTION OF CAMPYLONEIS JULIAE SP. NOV. AND AN EVALUATION OF THE FUNCTION OF THE VALVOCOPULAE1

A revision of the monoraphid pennate diatom genus Campyloneis Grunow was carried out based on LM and EM observations. The material examined originated from various herbarium collections and from extant epiphytic diatom communities on leaves of Posidonia spp. We also examined the generitype C. grevillei (Smith) Grunow and the fossil material of C. gheyselinchi Reinhold from which the author extracted the type. Our results clarified the fine structure of C. grevillei and C. gheyselinchi. Of the various varieties of C. grevillei, only the variety argus (Grunow) Cleve was retained. This differs from the nominate variety in the arrangement and shape of the areolae adjacent to the sternum of the araphid valve. The newly described taxon Campyloneis juliae De Stefano differs from all Campyloneis species in areolae ultrastructure and morphology of the valvocopulae. As for the fossil species C. gheyselinchi, the sternum valve areolae are similar to those of C. grevillei, but scarcity of frustules in the type material prohibited evaluation of its variability. For this reason we provisionally maintained its rank of species. The elaborate linking systems among the valvocopulae and valves in Campyloneis species appear to provide structural reinforcement against pressure from neighboring epiphytic diatoms and scouring of seagrass leaves.     

Brood size manipulations reveal relationships among physiological performance,body condition and plumage colour in Northern Flicker Colaptes auratus nestlings

Visual signals of quality in offspring, such as plumage colour, should honestly advertise need and/or body condition, but links between nutritional status, physiological performance and the expression of colours are complex and poorly understood. We assess how food stress during rearing affected two physiological measures (T‐cell‐mediated immune function and corticosterone level in feathers: CORT_f) and how these two variables were related to carotenoid and melanin coloration in Northern Flicker Colaptes auratus nestlings. We were also interested in how these two physiological measures were influenced by the sex of the nestling. We experimentally manipulated brood size to alter levels of food availability to nestlings during development. We measured carotenoid‐based colour (chroma and brightness) in wing feathers and the size of melanin spots on breast feathers. In agreement with our prediction, nestlings in the reduced brood treatment had better body condition and stronger immune responses than those in the control and brood enlargement treatments. This supports the hypothesis that immune responses are energetically costly. In contrast, CORT_f was not related to nestling body condition or sex and was unaffected by brood size manipulation. Nestlings of both sexes with stronger T‐cell‐mediated immune responses had larger melanin spots but only males with higher immune responses also had brighter flight feathers. Feather brightness decreased with increasing CORT_f levels. Our study is one of the few to examine the relationship between multiple physiological and plumage measures in nestlings and shows that plumage colour and immune function signalled body condition of nestlings, but that feather corticosterone levels did not.     

Clinical Characteristics and Outcomes in Patients with Pulmonary Blastomycosis

Background  Blastomycosis is an uncommon granulomatous infection caused by the thermally dimorphic fungus Blastomyces dermatitidis. The most frequent clinical infections involve the lung, skin, and bone. Pulmonary manifestations range from asymptomatic self-limited infection to severe diffuse pneumonia causing respiratory failure. Objectives  To establish the clinical characteristics and outcomes of patients with pulmonary blastomycosis diagnosed at hospitals in Manitoba and northwestern Ontario, Canada. Methods  A retrospective review of medical records was done for 318 patients with blastomycosis in these regions. Results  The majority of patients were Caucasian (198 (62.5%) patients), male (193 (61%) patients), and residents of Ontario (209 (65.7%) patients). Most patients were treated in an inpatient hospital ward (266 (84%) patients) and survived (294 (92%) patients). Pulmonary involvement, either alone or associated with other sites, was present in 296 (93%) of the 318 patients; 22 (7%) patients had no evidence of pulmonary blastomycosis. The majority of patients had localized lung disease (1–3 quadrants on chest radiograph involved; 225 (82%) patients). Of 294 (92%) patients requiring hospitalization, 266 (90%) patients received all inpatient care on a general medical ward; 28 (10%) patients received some care in the intensive care unit (ICU). Factors associated with ICU admission included diffuse pulmonary disease (four quadrants involved on chest radiograph), diabetes, and prior use of antimicrobial therapy. Twenty-four (8%) patients died, and multivariate analysis showed that older age and Aboriginal ethnicity were the significant risk factors for death from blastomycosis. Conclusion  Blastomycosis is a cause of serious, potentially life-threatening pulmonary infection in this geographic region. Electronic supplementary material  The online version of this article (doi:) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

Parental Sex Differences in Food Allocation to Junior Brood Members as Mediated by Prey Size

Individual offspring within a brood may receive different amounts of provisioning from the male and female parents. Some hypotheses suggest that this bias is the result of an active and adaptive choice by parents. An alternative hypothesis is that feeding biases arise as a result of a constraint of fitting large prey items into small gapes. In an experiment with pied flycatchers, Ficedula hypoleuca , we tested for sex-biased allocation to junior nestlings in asynchronous broods and whether this could be explained by active parental choice or by passive allocation according to prey size and gape size. In both control broods and broods with experimentally increased degree of asynchrony, prey types did not differ between parents but females brought smaller prey than males at younger but not older nestling stages. At younger but not older nestling stages, the majority of feeds to junior nestlings were from females, and the smaller nestlings consumed smaller prey than older siblings. However, there was no evidence of active preference of small nestlings by females as parents did not differ in the tendency to bypass a begging senior nestling in order to feed a junior nestling. Provisioning rates by females were lower than those by males when nestlings were young and we suggest that foraging time constraints caused by the need to brood offspring result in females bringing smaller prey than males. In turn, the larger prey brought by males was more often transferred to larger offspring after the smaller ones failed to swallow it. In such cases, 'preferential' feeding of small nestlings by females may simply be a passive side effect of foraging constraints and gape-size limitations.     

Macroecology meets macroevolution: evolutionary niche dynamics in the seaweed Halimeda

Aim Because of their broad distribution in geographical and ecological dimensions, seaweeds (marine macroalgae) offer great potential as models for marine biogeographical inquiry and exploration of the interface between macroecology and macroevolution. This study aims to characterize evolutionary niche dynamics in the common green seaweed genus Halimeda, use the observed insights to gain understanding of the biogeographical history of the genus and predict habitats that can be targeted for the discovery of species of special biogeographical interest. Location Tropical and subtropical coastal waters. Methods The evolutionary history of the genus is characterized using molecular phylogenetics and relaxed molecular clock analysis. Niche modelling is carried out with maximum entropy techniques and uses macroecological data derived from global satellite imagery. Evolutionary niche dynamics are inferred through application of ancestral character state estimation. Results A nearly comprehensive molecular phylogeny of the genus was inferred from a six‐locus dataset. Macroecological niche models showed that species distribution ranges are considerably smaller than their potential ranges. We show strong phylogenetic signal in various macroecological niche features. Main conclusions The evolution of Halimeda is characterized by conservatism for tropical, nutrient‐depleted habitats, yet one section of the genus managed to invade colder habitats multiple times independently. Niche models indicate that the restricted geographical ranges of Halimeda species are not due to habitat unsuitability, strengthening the case for dispersal limitation. Niche models identified hotspots of habitat suitability of Caribbean species in the eastern Pacific Ocean. We propose that these hotspots be targeted for discovery of new species separated from their Caribbean siblings since the Pliocene rise of the Central American Isthmus.     

Isolation and characterization of polymorphic microsatellite loci for the northern flicker (Colaptes auratus; Aves)

To investigate the mating system of northern flickers (Colaptes auratus), we developed primers for 14 microsatellite loci and screened them in 68 unrelated adults and their offspring. All markers were highly polymorphic with 9 to +36 alleles per locus. One marker was Z‐chromosome linked; one marker exceeded the size standard range and could not be analysed further. We checked the other 12 markers for Mendelian inheritance in 36 broods for which the social parents were known. Seven markers showed evidence for the presence of null alleles, and three of those showed significant deviation from Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium. Markers were generally unlinked.