Influence of intertree distance on foraging behaviour of Rhagoletis pomonella in the field

Abstract. 1. We tested a prediction from contemporary foraging theory that animals should decrease their allocation of energy to the searching of individual patches when interpatch travel costs decrease.
2. We used individual Rhagoletis pomonella Walsh (Diptera: Tephritidae) females foraging for oviposition sites (= Crataegus fruit) in a host tree which was surrounded by four other trees at varying distances.
3. We found that flies generally invested less search, measured as time spent searching a tree or number of leaves visited on a tree, when neighbouring trees were nearby than when farther away.
4. Under our test conditions, flies appeared to have difficulty locating neighbouring trees at a distance of more than 1.6 m.
5. Our study calls into question the interpretation of search effort by insects within resource patches in the absence of information on interpatch distances.     

Integration of Local and Regional Perspectives on the Species Richness of Coral Assemblages

SYNOPSIS. We have evaluated the relationship between regionalspecies richness and the number of species occurring withinlocal, quantitatively sampled assemblages of scleractinian corals.Our data have been extracted from the published literature describingrichness patterns from over 100 locations around the world.In general, we find a positive relationship between local andregional richness. Local richness is not independent of regionalrichness as posited by conventional theory and there is no hardupper limit indicating saturation. Instead, local coral assemblagesare regionally enriched. This result suggests that these assemblagesare open to regional sources of species. The degree of regionalenrichment is geographically variable. In the Indo-Pacific,assemblages in speciose regions appear to be less open and muchmore sensitive to local depth and habitat gradients than thosein more depauperate regions. Other large-scale geographicaland historical effects on local richness in the Indo-Pacificinclude the degree of isolation from high-diversity regionsand distance from the equator. In contrast, local richness inthe relatively homogeneous and depauperate western Atlanticis insensitive to the large-scale variables we examined. Asin most ecological communities, membership in local assemblagesof corals is not absolutely limited (by biotic interactionsor local environmental factors) nor is it totally open to regionalpools of species. Understanding the dynamics of coral communitieswill require integrating the local ecological perspective withlarge-scale phenomena (i.e., physical TECO processes [Myers,1994] and evolutionary history [Hugueny et al. 1997]). Suchan integration will necessarily encompass multiple spatial andtemporal scales.     

Regeneration of Vitamin A Deficient Rat Tracheal Epithelium After Mild Mechanical Injury

Mild mechanical abrasion of tracheal epithelium of Vitamin A deficient rats removed the superficial cells and spared basal cells which divided to repopulate the damaged area. The proliferative cells passed through a period of DNA synthesis with the greatest numbers of thymidine incorporating cells in samples labelled 22 h after injury. A peak of cell division occurred at 32 h and there was no further DNA synthesis or cell division. The area of wounding exhibited squamous metaplasia while normal pseudostratified muco-ciliary structure was retained by adjacent epithelium which had not been injured. The data indicates that squamous metaplasia in the respiratory epithelium in longstanding Vitamin A deficiency is due to redirected differentiation of basal cells and is seen only after mitotic activity has occurred.     

Glycosaminoglycans and Epithelial Organ Formation

The concept that extracellular matrix materials are involvedin the morphogeuetic process is supported by substantial indirectevidence. Essential morphogenetically active materials are obscurewith regard to their nature, their mode of action, and whetherthey are causally involved in tissue interactions. Studies are presented indicating that glycosaminoglycans arecomponents of embryonic epithelial basal laminae, and that materialswithin the basal lamina which are, at least in part, glycosaminoglycanare required for establishing and maintaining braching epithelialmorphogenesis. The tissue of origin and molecular nature ofbasal laminar glycosaminoglycan are described and speculationsare made regarding its possible mode of action in the contextof a model for branching morphogenesis.