Limiting factors for seed production in Cynoglossum officinale

Summary Over three years of study, small plants of Cynoglossum officinale consistently produced more flowers per unit of dry weight than large plants. In contrast to earlier results, weight of all seeds tended to increase more than proportional to size. As a result a positive correlation existed between seed set per flower and plant size. The correlation between the mean number of pollinator visits per flower and size was positive but not significant. In a field experiment we found that resources rather than pollen were limiting seed set. Thus, it is unlikely that enhanced pollination of the largest plants causes the size-dependency of seed set per flower. Alternative hypotheses are discussed briefly.Publication of the Meijendel Comité, New Series No. 96     

Sex Determination in Caenorhabditis elegans

In Caenorhabditis elegans, the decision to develop as a hermaphrodite or male is controlled by a cascade of regulatory genes. These genes and other tissue-specific regulatory genes also control sexual fate in the hermaphrodite germline, which makes sperm first and then oocytes. In this review, we summarize the genetic and molecular characterization of these genes and speculate how they mutually interact to specify sexual fate.     

Plant size,geitonogamy and seed set in Ipomopsis aggregata

Summary We used powdered fluorescent dyes to estimate receipt of self vs. outcross pollen in the self-incompatible species Ipomopsis aggregata (Polemoniaceae). Flowers on small and large plants received equal amounts of outcross pollen, whereas flowers on large plants received more self pollen, so the proportion of self pollen delivered through geitonogamy increased with plant size. In natural populations emasculation of all flowers on a plant raised average seed set per flower from 5.19 to 6.99 and also raised fruit set, though not significantly. From these results one expects a negative correlation between plant size and seeds per flower. The opposite trend was observed in a sample of plants in the field, suggesting that deleterious effects of geitonogamy on female fecundity in large plants can be overruled by other factors such as size-related fruit or seed abortion. Results are discussed in relation to the evolution of gynodioecy.     

Observations on the life history of the belted sandfish,Serranus subligarius (Serranidae)

Synopsis The biology of Serranus subligarius, a typical inhabitant of low limestone reef outcroppings and artificial reefs from North Carolina to Florida and in the northern Gulf of Mexico, was studied on inshore jetties in the northeastern Gulf of Mexico from February 1974 to April 1975. The length-weight relationship was expressed by the equation W = 0.000006L^3.431. Growth was greatest in the first year (43.5 mm SL) and declined in the remaining three years of life (17.3, 10.5, and 7.1, respectively). In individuals larger than 40 mm SL, gammaridean and caprellid amphipods were the most numerous food items but crabs, shrimp, and fishes were the most important food items by weight. In individuals less than 40 mm SL, copepods were the most numerous food item, but gammaridean amphipods and shrimp were the most important items by weight. Two incidents of cannibalism were recorded. The ovotestis of the belted sandfish is composed of two lobes which are broadly united posteriorly, with the testicular tissue restricted to a broad band encircling the posterior region of the gonad. Age-group 1 fish are functional synchronous hermaphrodites. Testicular tissue matures in the fall or winter of a fish's first year (all specimens examined histologically, including those from the nonspawning season, contained flagellated spermatozoa) while ovarian tissue matures in the following spring. Spawning season in 1974 extended from late April or early May to September. Crossfertilization is the usual reproductive mode, although individuals are capable of selffertilization.     

Seasonal reproductive cycle in the mussel,Lamellidens corrianus

Seasonal reproductive cycle of the freshwater mussel, Lamellidens corrianus has been studied. These mussels are functional or simultaneous hermaphrodites. The spawning was at its peak during the months of September to December. The gonads were in growing stages with reduced gonadal activity during January to April, whereas the maturation of gonads was found to be intense during May to August.     

An intersexual migratory (silver) longfinned New Zealand eel and its gonadal response to treatment with salmon pituitary homogenate

An intersexual adult New Zealand longfinned eel Anguilla dieffenbachii , displaying testicular tissue within its ovaries, is described. Gonad samples were collected at 0, 21, 42 (by biopsy) and 54 days (autopsy) after the start of an experiment that aimed to induce ovarian maturation by repeated treatment with 5 mg kg⁻¹ salmon pituitary homogenate (SPH). Very small patches of testicular tissue (almost always single seminiferous tubules), not visible macroscopically, were observed on all sampling dates. Treatment with SPH resulted in advanced stages of spermatogenesis in these seminiferous tubules, synchronous with the development of oocytes, which reached the migratory nucleus stage after 53 days. This finding is discussed in relation to current knowledge on sexual development in anguillid eels.     

Different effects of mating group size as male and as female on sex allocation in a simultaneous hermaphrodite

Sex allocation theory predicts that the optimal sexual resource allocation of simultaneous hermaphrodites is affected by mating group size (MGS). Although the original concept assumes that the MGS does not differ between male and female functions, the MGS in the male function (MGSm; i.e., the number of sperm recipients the focal individual can deliver its sperm to plus one) and that in the female function (MGSf; the number of sperm donors plus one) do not always coincide and may differently affect the optimal sex allocation. Moreover, reproductive costs can be split into “variable” (e.g., sperm and eggs) and “fixed” (e.g., genitalia) costs, but these have been seldom distinguished in empirical studies. We examined the effects of MGSm and MGSf on the fixed and variable reproductive investments in the sessilian barnacle Balanus rostratus. The results showed that MGSm had a positive effect on sex allocation, whereas MGSf had a nearly significant negative effect. Moreover, the “fixed” cost varied with body size and both aspects of MGS. We argue that the two aspects of MGS should be distinguished for organisms with unilateral mating.     

Repeated Mating and Female Fecundity in the Simultaneously Hermaphroditic Land Snail Arianta arbustorum

Summary

To evaluate the influence of repeated mating on female fecundity in the simultaneously hermaphroditic, self-incompatible land snail Arianta arbus-torum, the number and size of clutches, egg size and hatching success of individuals from 3 populations were determined under conditions of isolation and grouping during one breeding season in a field cage experiment. Only adult snails which had mated and oviposited in the preceding year were used.

Sperm storage enabled isolated individuals to continue with the production of fertilized eggs. Snails kept singly or in groups differed neither in number of clutches laid nor in egg size. But isolated snails laid smaller clutches than did grouped snails. As a result isolated snails produced fewer eggs per breeding season. Hatching success varied greatly between populations and rearing conditions. In general, isolated snails had fewer hatchlings than grouped snails, indicating that individuals prevented from remating suffered a reduced fitness.     

Three new species of Pristionchus (Nematoda: Diplogastridae) show morphological divergence through evolutionary intermediates of a novel feeding‐structure polymorphism

Developmental plasticity is often correlated with diversity and has been proposed as a facilitator of phenotypic novelty. Yet how a dimorphism arises or how additional morphs are added is not understood, and few systems provide experimental insight into the evolution of polyphenisms. Because plasticity correlates with structural diversity in Pristionchus nematodes, studies in this group can test the role of plasticity in facilitating novelty. Here, we describe three new species, Pristionchus fukushimae sp. nov. , Pristionchus hoplostomus sp. nov. , and the hermaphroditic Pristionchus triformis sp. nov. , which are characterized by a novel polymorphism in their mouthparts. In addition to showing the canonical mouth dimorphism of diplogastrid nematodes, comprising a stenostomatous (‘narrow‐mouthed’) and a eurystomatous (‘wide‐mouthed’) form, the new species exhibit forms with six, 12, or intermediate numbers of cheilostomatal plates. Correlated with this polymorphism is another trait that varies among species: whereas divisions between plates are complete in P. triformis sp. nov. , which is biased towards a novel ‘megastomatous’ form comprising 12 complete plates, the homologous divisions in the other new species are partial and of variable length. In a reconstruction of character evolution, a phylogeny inferred from 26 ribosomal protein genes and a partial small subunit rRNA gene supported the megastomatous form of P. triformis sp. nov. as the derived end of a series of split‐plate forms. Although split‐plate forms were normally only observed in eurystomatous nematodes, a single 12‐plated stenostomatous individual of P. hoplostomus sp. nov. was also observed, suggesting independence of the two types of mouth plasticity. By introducing these new species to the Pristionchus model system, this study provides further insight into the evolution of polymorphisms and their evolutionary intermediates. © 2013 The Linnean Society of London