A redescription of Cythere japonica Hanai, 1959 (Podocopida: Ostracoda)

Cythere japonica was proposed by Hanai (1959) as a new species of the genus Cythere , from the Pleistocene Sawane Formation in Sado Island, Niigata Prefecture, Japan. The characters of carapace were already known, but the appendages have not been previously described. The authors formerly considered that this species should be separate from the genus Cythere sensu stricto because it has twice as many sieve-type pore systems as typical Cythere species, and a markedly higher carapace. The existence of living Cythere japonica in the tidal zone of north-west Japan is confirmed, and its taxonomic position re-examined on the basis of its appendages and the ontogeny of pore systems. The appendages, except for the copulatory organ, are almost identical with those of other Cythere species, and their pore systems share the same pattern in and before the A-4 moult stage. On the basis of these features this species should be retained in the genus Cythere. Phylogenetic relationships are considered on the basis of the ontogeny of pore systems.
The abdominal segments of podocopid Ostracoda, which have always been regarded as difficult to observe because of their fusion, are shown clearly by the SEM.     

The Chemoreceptive Lattice Organs in Cypris Larvae Develop from Naupliar Setae (Thecostraca: Cirripedia, Ascothoracida and Facetotecta)

Lattice organs are peculiar chemoreceptors found only in the Crustacea Thecostraca (Facetotecta, Ascothoracida, Cirripedia). In these taxa, five pairs occur in the head shield (carapace) of the terminal larval instar (y-cyprid, ascothoracid larva, cyprid), which is the settlement stage. Lattice organs represent an autapomorphy for the Thecostraca but their evolutionary origin and possible homologues in other Crustacea remain obscure. We have used scanning electron microscopy to describe the setation pattern of the head shield in late nauplii of one species of Ascothoracida, one species of Facetotecta and several species of the Cirripedia Thoracica, Acrothoracica, and Rhizocephala. The naupliar head shield always carries two pairs setae situated anteriorly near the midline. Each of these setae carry a single pore, and positional, structural and ontogenetic evidence show that these setae are homologous in all the examined species and that they represent precursors of the two anterior pairs of lattice organs of the succeeding larval stage, viz., the ascothoracid larva (Ascothoracida), y-cyprid (Facetotecta), and cyprid (Cirripedia). This leads us to infer that lattice organs are among the most highly modified sensilla in all Crustacea and they have in most cases lost all external resemblance to a seta. The nauplii of the Rhizocephala carry an additional three pairs of setae situated more posteriorly on the head shield and they could be precursors of the three posterior pairs of lattice organs. All other species examined lack these posterior setae, except the Facetotecta which have one posteriorly situated pair.     

Ontogeny, phylogeny, and morphology in anuran larvae: morphometric analysis of cranial development and evolution in Rana tadpoles (Anura: Ranidae)

Comparative studies of chondrocranial morphology in larval anurans are typically qualitative in nature, focusing primarily on discrete variation or gross differences in the size or shape of individual structures. Detailed data on chondrocranial allometry are currently limited to only two species, Rana sylvatica and Bufo americanus. This study uses geometric morphometric and multivariate statistical analyses to examine interspecific variation in both larval chondrocranial shape and patterns of ontogenetic allometry among six species of Rana. Variation is interpreted within the context of hypothesized phylogenetic relationships among these species. Canonical variates analyses of geometric morphometric datasets indicate that species can be clearly discriminated based on chondrocranial shape, even when whole ontogenies are included in the analysis. Ordinations and cluster analyses based on chondrocranial shape data indicate the presence of three primary groupings (R. sylvatica; R. catesbeiana + R. clamitans; and R. palustris + R. pipiens + R. sphenocephala), and patterns of similarity closely reflect phylogenetic relationships. Analysis of chondrocranial allometry reveals that some patterns are conserved across all species (e.g., most measurements scale with negative allometry, those associated with the posterior palatoquadrate tend to scale with isometry or positive allometry). Ontogenetic scaling along similar allometric trajectories, lateral transpositions of individual trajectories, and variable allometric relationships all contribute to shape differences among species. Overall patterns of similarity among ontogenetic trajectories also strongly reflect phylogenetic relationships. Thus, this study demonstrates a tight link between ontogeny, phylogeny, and morphology, and highlights the importance of including both ontogenetic and phylogenetic data in studies of chondrocranial evolution in larval anurans.     

Myodocopa (Crustacea: Ostracoda) as models for evolutionary studies of light and vision: multiple origins of bioluminescence and extreme sexual dimorphism

Evolutionists often use phylogeny to examine independent evolutionary events in search of generality. Therefore, groups of organisms rich in such independent character transitions are particularly valuable for the study of evolution. With respect to eyes, vision, and light-related characters, one such group is Ostracoda (Crustacea). Phylogenies of ostracods, derived from DNA sequence data and morphological characters, are presented. These inferred relationships largely agree with previous assessments of ostracod phylogeny, with the exception of paraphyletic Philomedidae. Based on methods of character reconstruction using these inferred relationships, different groups of ostracods probably evolved both bioluminescence and extreme sexual dimorphism (females lack eyes, males have large eyes) multiple times. Furthermore, myodocopid ostracods may have evolved compound eyes independently of other arthropods. For these and other reasons, it is proposed that the Ostracoda are an exceptionally important group for studying the evolution of vision- and light-related characters.     

Differential gene expression patterns in the autogamous plant Hordeum euclaston (Poaceae)

Sib-seedlings of 95 strains of the strictly autogamous grass Hordeum euclaston were analyzed by horizontal polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis for four isoenzyme systems at a specific ontogenetic stage. We found differences in the activity of some genes among individuals of this species. Hence, an ontogenetic analysis was carried out to investigate 12 strains at five ontogenetic stages, to determine the patterns of expression of these genes during development. The differences in the presence versus absence of certain isoenzyme bands may be due to differential regulatory activation in response to environmental differences, as all plants showed the same structural genes, although these genes were active in different tissues and/or times of development. These results indicate the importance of differential gene activation in the metabolic phenotype variability of this strictly autogamous, highly homozygous species. The same structural alleles for isoenzymes showed the active form of the enzymes (phenotypic expression) to be present in different tissues and/or stages of development. Differential isoenzyme gene activation was shown to be directly responsible for the enzymatic variability (metabolic phenotype) presented by the plants, which seem to possess almost no heterozygosis.     

松辽盆地白垩纪介形类生物地层学特征

本文详细论述了松辽盆地白垩系介形类属、种数量及壳饰变化在纵向上的分布规律和介形类组合特征的生物地层学意义。认为介形类属的分布是岩石地层组划分的重要依据,种的分布控制了岩石地层段的划分,并可将萨尔图油层、葡萄花油层和高台子油层进一步细分。同时指出松辽盆地介形类的盛衰与湖盆的发育关系密切,介形类的演化周期与湖盆的发育、收缩和沉积旋回相一致,在湖盆最发育的时期,也是介形类繁盛的高峰,湖盆发育的初期和末期,往往是介形类的发生和衰退期。     

Trophic niche and habitat shifts of sympatric Gerreidae

The diet and mouth growth rates of three Gerreidae species (Eugerres brasilianus, Eucinostomus melanopterus and Diapterus rhombeus) were assessed at different ontogenetic phases (juveniles, sub‐adults and adults) in order to detect allometric growth, and whether they are related to habitat and seasonal changes in the Goiana Estuary, north‐east Brazil. The importance of each prey for each ontogenetic phase was described using the index of relative importance. The three species showed seasonal ontogenetic shifts in diet and allometric growth of mouth morphology. They also had an exclusively zoobenthic diet, comprising mainly Polychaeta, Copepoda, Ostracoda, Gastropoda and Bivalvia. Mouth development showed a possible influence on diet changes for E. melanopterus. Significant interactions (P < 0·01) were detected among seasons, areas and ontogenetic phases for the most important prey for E. brasilianus and E. melanopterus. Diet overlaps are evidence of intra and interspecific competition among gerreids for specific prey. A conceptual model of the competition and seasonal diet shifts among ontogenetic phases of gerreids is given. The sediment ingested due to the feeding mechanisms of Gerreidae species could also partially explain the ingestion of synthetic items observed for all ontogenetic phases, which indicates one of a myriad effects of human activities (e.g. artisanal fishery) in this estuary.     

The Ontogeny of Neonesidea oligodentata (Bairdioidea, Ostracoda, Crustacea)

This is the first detailed ontogenetic study of the appendages and carapace of a bairdioidean ostracod. This paper uses the development of the appendages and changes in the pore systems of the carapace through ontogeny to help determine the relationship between the Bairdioidea and other podocope groups. Neonesidea oligodentata has eight post-embryonic stages: one fewer than the Cypridoidea, Cytheroidea and Darwinuloidea. The first instar of N. oligodentata resembles that of the second instar of the Cypridoidea and Cytheroidea in terms of appendages, and it is postulated that there is an additional instar stage of N. oligodentata that molts within the egg. The general sequence of appearance of the limbs from instar A-7 onwards is similar to that of the Cypridoidea and Cytheroidea, but different from that of the Darwinuloidea. Like the Cypridoidea and Cytheroidea, N. oligodentata has a gap in its ontogenetic development during instar A-6, where no new Anlage is added. Pore system analysis of A-7 instars suggests that the Bairdioidea may be more closely related to the Cypridoidea than to the Cytheroidea.     

Taxonomy and sexual dimorphism of a new species of Loxoconcha (Podocopida: Ostracoda) from the Pleistocene of the Japan Sea

A new ostracod, Loxoconcha kamiyai sp. nov. in the Family Loxoconchidae, is described from the Pleistocene Omma Formation of Japan. Its geological and geographical distributions suggest that this species was once endemic to the Japan Sea, where it would have evolved until the Pliocene. Since the early Pleistocene, this species would have become extinct within this marginal sea during glacial maxima, probably due to its narrower salinity tolerances and geographical distributions than those of extant species inhabiting the euryhaline environments in other seas. The distributional patterns of pore systems in this species strongly suggest its closest phylogenetic affinities to a living species, Loxocorniculum mutsuense . These two species show a unique adult sexual dimorphism in the anterior element of the hingement. Taking the female hingement morphology as a standard, the male hingement can be explained in terms of heterochrony, i.e. paedomorphosis. Sexual hingement dimorphism with paedomorphosis occurs in only one phylogenetic group of the genus Loxoconcha , which is distinguished by the ontogenetic distributional patterns of pore systems. This morphology may represent relict primitive characters of ancient ostracods and could be an important character for evaluating the history of sexual dimorphism in ostracods since the Palaeozoic.  © 2008 The Linnean Society of London, Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society , 2008, 153 , 239–251.     

介形类系统分类与起源演化的形态、分子和化石证据

介形类(Ostracoda)因其丰富的化石记录和广布的海陆现生代表类群,而被认为是进化生物学中研究生物多样性产生机制和演变历程的颇具潜力的重要模式生物。介形类在甲壳亚门中的谱系发生位置、起源及其内部各类群间的系统关系还存在诸多争议。基于其体制构造的形态学特征,介形类被归入甲壳亚门下的颚足纲(Maxillopoda),但来自18S rDNA序列数据分析却显示Maxillopoda不是单系群。基于化石记录和壳体形态特征,高肌虫(Bradoriida)长期以来被认为是介形类的一个祖先类群,但保存有软躯体的早寒武世化石的研究表明,Bradoriida不是介形类甚至可能也不属于甲壳类。不同的研究者所强调的壳体和肢体形态特征各异,导致介形类最大的现生类群速足目(Podocopida)的四个超科之间的关系也存在诸多推测。壳体和肢体特征在系统演化意义上的不兼容,需要分子生物学等证据的介入。分子、形态和化石证据的积累及各种信息整合是系统演化研究的必然趋势。     

The impact of environment on ontogenesis variations in Ruggieria and Chrysocythere (Ostracoda).

The ontogenetic development of Ruggieria lekkii, Ruggieria triangulata, Ruggieria martinsoni and Chrysocythere ornata (Ostracoda) was investigated on two different continental shelves (Congo and Senegal). For one species, the ontogenetic trajectories obtained through length and height of valves differed considerably in distinct areas. In the first case, trajectories showing well-separated development stages and slight intraspecific variability in length and height were seen. In the second, trajectories showing valves which are difficult to relate to one stage or another and a high intraspecific variability were noted. In the latter, the uncertainties in the determination of the development stages were resolved by using a statistical method. Furthermore, this allowed for the comparison of the variations in ontogenesis (augmentation or reduction in the development), in relation to abiotic (detrital supply and upwelling processes) and biotic ecological factors (faunal density and interspecific competition). Comparisons were also made with ornamental variations observed on Chrysocythere ornata, which are directly linked with bioprecipitation (environmental) conditions. This comparison highlights the role played by abiotic and trophic factors on the developmental variations of ostracods in some continental shelves areas. This work shows that ontogenetic variations depend either on biotic or abiotic factors. They can act in different ways on distinct species and one can be predominant in a particular biota. Once the architectural characters have appeared, their variations no more depend on ontogenetic development. The study of ontogenesis reveals the adaptation capacities of one species in an environment with variable conditions.     

Re-evaluation on the diversity of the polyphyletic genus Metaurostylopsis (Ciliophora, Hypotricha): ontogenetic, morphologic, and molecular data suggest the establishment of a new genus Apourostylopsis n. g

The urostylid genus Metaurostylopsis Song et al., 2001 was considered to be a well-outlined taxon. Nevertheless, recent evidence, including morphological, ontogenetic, and molecular information, have consistently revealed conflicts among congeners, regarding their systematic relationships, ciliature patterns, and origins of ciliary organelles. In the present work, the morphogenetic and morphogenetic features were re-checked and compared, and the phylogeny of nominal species was analysed based on information inferred from the small subunit ribosomal RNA (SS rRNA) gene sequence. In addition, the binary divisional process in a new isolate of Metaurostylopsis struederkypkeae Shao et al., 2008 is described. All results obtained reveal that the genus is a polyphyletic assemblage whose nominal congeners fall into three clades within the core Urostylida, based on SS rRNA gene sequences. These three clades not match the groups inferred from morphological/morphogenetical evidences. Some conflicting data from molecular and ontogenetic studies also indicate that single-gene information might not be consistently reliable in detecting the phylogenetic relationships among closely related groups and comprehensive multi-gene analyses are necessary to give a more exact evaluation for this divergent assemblage. According to our new understandings, five forms are confirmed to be true Metaurostylopsis. The morphotype Metaurostylopsis sinica Shao et al., 2008 should be excluded from the genus and represents a distinct type, and, thus, a new genus Apourostylopsis n. g. with it as the type specie, i.e. Apourostylopsis sinica (Shao et al., 2008) n. comb.     

同种介形类壳体的多态性兼及化石介形类的物种鉴定

介形类个体发育过程中壳体形状及各种构造的多态性,以及各种外界环境因素对分形类壳体各种分类特征形态变化的影响是十分明显的。该文较系统地阐述了在介形类个体发育中壳体形状、大小、肌痕、边缘毛细管带、边庭、铰合构造及纹饰的变化,并介绍了成年期雌、雄性壳体及左、右壳瓣在形态上的差异;列举了环境因素(主要是水体温度、含盐度、深度)对介形类壳体各分类特征形态变化的影响。基于以上事实,提出了古生物工作者在介形类化石鉴定中应注意的一些问题并讨论了某些描述术语的具体标准。     

The ontogeny of home ranges: evidence from coral reef fishes

The concept of home ranges is fundamental to ecology. Numerous studies have quantified how home ranges scale with body size across taxa. However, these relationships are not always applicable intraspecifically. Here, we describe how the home range of an important group of reef fish, the parrotfishes, scales with body mass. With masses spanning five orders of magnitude, from the early postsettlement stage through to adulthood, we find no evidence of a response to predation risk, dietary shifts or sex change on home range expansion rates. Instead, we document a distinct ontogenetic shift in home range expansion with sexual maturity. Juvenile parrotfishes displayed rapid home range growth until reaching approximately 100–150 mm length. Thereafter, the relationship between home range and mass broke down. This shift reflected changes in colour patterns, social status and reproductive behaviour associated with the transition to adult stages. While there is a clear relationship between body mass and home ranges among adult individuals of different species, it does not appear to be applicable to size changes within species. Ontogenetic changes in parrotfishes do not follow expected mass–area scaling relationships.     

Variation in the ontogenetic allometry of horn length in bovids along a body mass continuum

Allometric relationships describe the proportional covariation between morphological, physiological, or life‐history traits and the size of the organisms. Evolutionary allometries estimated among species are expected to result from species differences in ontogenetic allometry, but it remains uncertain whether ontogenetic allometric parameters and particularly the ontogenetic slope can evolve. In bovids, the nonlinear evolutionary allometry between horn length and body mass in males suggests systematic changes in ontogenetic allometry with increasing species body mass. To test this hypothesis, we estimated ontogenetic allometry between horn length and body mass in males and females of 19 bovid species ranging from ca. 5 to 700 kg. Ontogenetic allometry changed systematically with species body mass from steep ontogenetic allometries over a short period of horn growth in small species to shallow allometry with the growth period of horns matching the period of body mass increase in the largest species. Intermediate species displayed steep allometry over long period of horn growth. Females tended to display shallower ontogenetic allometry with longer horn growth compared to males, but these differences were weak and highly variable. These findings show that ontogenetic allometric slope evolved across species possibly as a response to size‐related changes in the selection pressures acting on horn length and body mass.     

Temporal consistency of ontogenetic shifts in habitat use by coral reef fishes in the northernmost coral ecosystem in the world (Kudaka Island, Japan)

The prevalence of major habitat shifts in tropical fishes between juvenile and adult stages (ontogenetic shifts) in one of the northernmost coral reefs in the world (Kudaka Island, Japan) is given. The comparative analysis of spatial distribution of juveniles v . adults highlighted four ontogenetic patterns: no change in habitat use between juveniles and adults (five species), a decrease in the number of habitats used by adults compared to juveniles (three species), an increase in the number of habitats used during the adult stage (four species) and use of nursery areas by juveniles followed by extensive movements to different adult habitats (three species). The comparative analysis of fish distribution over time ( i.e. during three consecutive settlement months) showed that 84% of species had temporal consistency in ontogenetic patterns of habitat use.     

Ontogenetic niche shifts matter in community ecology: a review and future perspectives

Almost all organisms on Earth exhibit ontogenetic niche shifts, which causes great phenotypic variation among individuals and is thus considered to critically mediate community structure and dynamics. In contrast, community ecology has traditionally assumed that species are composed of identical individuals with invariant traits and ignored the potentially important ecological roles of ontogenetic niche shifts. To bridge the gap, here I briefly review ecologically relevant examples which show that basic insights of species-based community theories can be revised by including the ontogenetic perspective. Specifically, I focus on the most representative animals in the study of ontogenetic niche shifts, i.e., fish, insects, and amphibians. Notably, their ontogenetic niche shifts create novel views of community structure: (1) ontogenetic diet shifts of predatory fish couple pelagic and benthic food webs in aquatic systems, (2) ontogenetic shifts in interaction types of pollinating insects couple herbivory and pollination networks in terrestrial systems, and (3) ontogenetic habitat shifts of amphibians and aquatic insects couple aquatic and terrestrial metacommunities at interface areas. Dynamic models of such stage-structured communities suggest that their ontogenetic niche shifts may affect the community resilience and disturbance responses. Exploring more complex systems (e.g., where many species undergo ontogenetic niche shifts several times or continuously) is a future direction, for which describing body size relationships between interacting organisms would be a promising approach. I conclude that both theoretical and empirical advances are needed to facilitate the ontogenetic perspective for better understanding mechanisms underlying biodiversity and ecosystem functioning which are increasingly threatened by anthropogenic disturbance.     

Ontogenetic trajectories of septal spacing in modern cuttlefishes are phylogenetically dependent

In this study, the ontogenetic trajectories of septal spacing between succeeding chambers of five modern cuttlefishes, Sepia esculenta, S. lycidas, S. latimanus, S. pharaonic and Sepiella japonica, which were all wild-caught around Japan, were analysed. The ontogenetic trajectories of septal spacing of all examined cuttlefishes demonstrate a decrease in septal spacing followed by an increase during the earliest ontogenetic stage. This trend is assumed to be related to hatching. After the rapid decrease and increase in septal spacing, species-dependent trends occur irrespective of sex and locality. Based on cluster analyses of general trends recognized in each species, the five examined species can be categorized into two groups: (1) a group by S. pharaonis, S. esculenta and Sepiella japonica; and (2) S. latimanus and S. lycidas as more distant branching groups within the five examined species. This classification is concordant with some phylogenetic clades determined from DNA analyses. Therefore, we hypothesized that the ontogenetic trajectories of septal spacing among modern cuttlefishes are phylogenetically dependent. If this hypothesis holds in fossil cuttlefishes, the examination of ontogenetic trajectories of septal spacing would give new insight into the recognition not only of the life history but also of the phylogeny of fossil cuttlefishes.