Microhabitat selection and coexistence in feather mites (Acari: Analgoidea) on Alaskan seabirds

Summary Two species of feather mites, Alloptes (A.) sp. and Laronyssus martini, coexisted on the flight feathers of kittiwakes, while Alloptes (C.) sp. occurred alone on murres. All three species were found mostly on the ventral surface of mid-wing regions. On individual feathers, the mites were attached to the distal sides of barbs on the trailing vanes. The two species coexisted on kittiwakes but occupied different portions of feathers. The results suggest that the two species compete for the attachment site on the feather and Alloptes (A.) sp. is excluded by L. martini from the preferred microhabitat.     

Spatial and trophic niche differentiation in two sympatric lizards (Tropidurus torquatus and Cnemidophorus ocellifer) with different foraging tactics

Abstract In a ‘restinga’ habitat of southeastern Brazil, we studied the food habits and the microhabitat use of two lizards with distinct foraging modes: the tropidurid Tropidurus torquatus, a sit-and-wait predator, and the teiid Cnemidophorus ocellifer, a wide forager. The diet of the two species differed strongly, indicating a low level of similarity in their trophic niche. The sit-and-wait predator fed mainly on mobile prey, whereas the wide forager fed mainly on sedentary prey (larvae). The spatial niche breadth of T. torquatus was larger than that of C. ocellifer. Despite interspecific differences, the two species overlapped greatly in micro-habitat use. The data indicate that at Linhares the two lizard species differed more in food resources than in microhabitat, and that most of the food differences reflect the foraging patterns of the species.     

Additional notes on requirements of captive whiptail lizards (Cnemidophorus), with emphasis on ultraviolet radiation

Since 1972 we have maintained a colony of parthenogenetic Cnemidophorus exsanguis, which has reached the seventh generation in our laboratory. This paper reports improved husbandry techniques that allow maintenance of healthy, reproducing colonies of this and additional species of Cnemidophorus. In addition, aspects of the physiology of calcium regulation and metabolic bone disease are discussed in relation to the captive rearing of lizards through many generations.     

Comparisons of physiological performance in sexual and asexual whiptail lizards (genus Cnemidophorus): implications for the role of heterozygosity

Many asexual animal species are of hybrid origin, with consequent high levels of heterozygosity. Data from some studies suggest that increased heterozygosity may be functionally correlated with superior performance in a variety of fitness-related traits. Thus, hybrid asexual species could be expected to exhibit some degree of heterosis. This spontaneous heterosis hypothesis is tested in a comparative study of asexual and sexual species of the lizard genus Cnemidophorus. Asexual species of the genus are parthenogenetically reproducing hybrids of the sexual species and as a result have high levels of heterozygosity that have persisted since their origins. Five whole-organism physiological traits (burst speed, endurance, maximal exertion, standard metabolic rate, and evaporative water loss rate) were examined in five asexual species and the sexual species that gave rise to them. Trait values for sexual and asexual species were compared using a nonphylogenetic approach and two phylogenetically controlled approaches capable of dealing with reticulate phylogenies. In contrast to the predictions of the heterosis hypothesis, performance for four of the traits in asexual Cnemidophorus was not statistically different than that in their sexual parental species, and asexuals had significantly worse endurance. On the whole, the overall trend appeared to be toward worse performance in asexuals. An obvious interpretation of these results is that heterozygosity and "vigor" need not be functionally related. However, other factors may be counterbalancing possible beneficial effects of heterozygosity, including detrimental epistatic effects resulting from the karyotypically mixed genome of these hybrids, and the accumulation of deleterious mutations in the asexual lineages via Muller's ratchet.     

Absence of temperature-dependent sex determination in congeneric sexual and parthenogenetic Cnemidophorus lizards

Eggs from congeneric gonochoristic and parthenogenetic whiptail lizards were incubated at various temperatures. There was no significant deviation from a sex ratio of one-half in the sexual species at any temperature, whereas no males were produced in the parthenogenetic species. Temperature-dependent sex determination appears to be completely absent in these lizards.     

两种绣线菊低温锻炼与脱锻炼处理对蛋白质表达的影响

通过2维双向电泳法,研究抗寒能力与光合能力不同的金山绣线菊与华北绣线菊,低温锻炼处理对蛋白质表达所产生的影响。结果表明,低温锻炼处理对2种绣线菊蛋白质表达的影响显著不同,在低温锻炼与脱锻炼处理中,金山绣线菊产生低温诱导特异蛋白,华北绣线菊没有低温诱导特异蛋白表达;蛋白质双向电泳图谱分析表明,华北绣线菊与金山绣线菊经过低温锻炼后发生蛋白质差异表达,经质谱鉴定其中的3种显著差异表达的蛋白质分别为2种未知新蛋白,2种未知蛋白的部分氨基酸序列分别为VSHLAGFSSNNPK、LKADKPTLLSEAK;DPNDHPNPFTVK、DGNGFFLYLLDPDSSK、NGDGMFLYLLDGLESK,另一种差异蛋白为抗坏血酸过氧化物酶;低温锻炼处理使绣线菊中与光合作用密切相关的蛋白质抗坏血酸过氧化物酶发生了显著的变化。     

Differential effects of testosterone and progesterone on the activation and retention of courtship behavior in sexual and parthenogenetic whiptail lizards

Both testosterone (T) and progesterone (P) facilitate the expression of male-typical sexual behavior in a variety of animals, including rodents and lizards. In two species of whiptail lizards, Cnemidophorus inornatus and C. uniparens, both hormones elicit the full repertoire of courtship behavior. However, the relative efficacy of the two hormones is unknown. In Experiments 1 and 2 we assessed differences in capacity of exogenous T and P to induce male-typical courtship behavior in gonadectomized whiptail lizards. In both species, individuals implanted with T showed more frequent courtship behavior relative to those implanted with P or cholesterol. In Experiments 3 and 4 we examined whether T and P differentially affected the retention of courtship behavior following implant removal. In both species, individuals implanted with T showed more courtship behavior following implant removal than those previously given P. In these experiments, implants were removed at a time when individuals in both groups were behaviorally similar; therefore, the differences in behavior following implant removal were not due to differences in the amount of courtship experience. Taken together, the hormone that was more effective at activating courtship behavior was also more effective at maintaining courtship behavior following implant removal. In summary, though both T and P can elicit identical sexual behaviors in both whiptail species, T has a greater and more lasting effect on courtship behavior and possibly on the neural circuits underlying courtship behavior.     

Models of sexual and asexual coexistence in aphids based on constraints

Two models are presented to test the hypothesis that in aphids, a particular constraint (the necessity to resist frost) could be the proximal cause for the maintenance of sex. Both models are based on temporal variability in winter survival of asexuals. They show that:

• i) only cyclical parthenogenesis is maintained below a threshold frequency of mild winters, because of the cold-resistance of sexually-produced eggs.
• ii) above a second threshold, only obligate parthenogenesis is maintained.
• iii) in-between, the first model predicts a mixed evolutionarily stable strategy (ESS). This would reflect well the geographic distribution of the different types of reproduction. The second model, based on the genetic control of the reproduction system in two aphid species, predicts the maintenance of polymorphism with fluctuating proportions of the two life-cycles. Males produced by obligate parthenogens play an essential role in this equilibrium (no stable polymorphism exists if this male production is set to zero). The value of the lowest possible fitness achieved by overwintering asexuals is critical.

     

Poor male function favours the coexistence of sexual and asexual relatives

Classical models of the evolution of sex typically assume that an asexual lineage, once derived, is reproductively separate from the sexual lineage from which it was derived. However, many asexuals, including hermaphrodite plants, produce male gametes capable of fertilising the eggs of co-existing sexuals, giving rise to sexual and asexual progeny. This male function of asexuals may be poor, and it has been proposed that this could favour sexuality and adversely affect the successful establishment of asexual lineages. We show that things are more complicated than this; the effect is frequency-dependent and poor male function may sometimes favour asexuality. In a spatially distributed population of flowering plants, it can prevent the successful invasion of either reproductive mode by the other via long-range dispersal. Consequently invasions must be driven by short-range dispersal, and are therefore extremely slow. Thus poor male function favours long-term co-existence of sexuals and asexuals. When coupled with the superior ability of asexuals to colonise virgin territory after an Ice Age, it may explain current ecological distribution patterns.     

Tracing the evolution of brain and behavior using two related species of whiptail lizards: Cnemidophorus uniparens and Cnemidophorus inornatus

Cnemidophorus whiptail lizards offer a unique opportunity to study behavioral and neural evolution because unlike most genera, ancestral and descendant species are still extant, and comparisons between species provide a window into correlated changes in biological organization through speciation. This review focuses on the all-female or parthenogenetic species Cnemidophorus uniparens (descendant species), which evolved through several hybridization events involving the sexually reproducing species Cnemidophorus inornatus (ancestral species). Data compiled over more than 2 decades include behavioral, endocrine, and neural differences between these two related species of whiptail lizards. For example, unlike females of the ancestral species, individuals of the descendant species display male-like mounting behavior (pseudocopulatory behavior) after ovulation. Pseudocopulatory behavior in the parthenogen is triggered by the progesterone surge after ovulation, and the behavioral capacity to respond to progesterone appears to be an ancestral trait that was inherited from C. inornatus males through the hybridization events. Interestingly, the regulation of sex steroid hormone receptor mRNA in brain areas critical for the expression of sociosexual behaviors differs between females of the two species and suggests that evolutionary changes in the regulation of gene expression could be a proximate mechanism that underlies the evolution of a novel social behavior in the parthenogen. Finally, because the sexual species is diploid, whereas the parthenogen is triploid, differences between the species could directly assess the effect of ploidy. The behavioral and neuroendocrinological data are pertinent for considering this possibility.     

Wide variation in ploidy level and genome size in a New Zealand freshwater snail with coexisting sexual and asexual lineages

Natural animal populations are rarely screened for ploidy-level variation at a scale that allows detection of potentially important aberrations of common ploidy patterns. This type of screening can be especially important for the many mixed sexual/asexual systems in which sexuals are presumed to be dioecious diploids and asexuals are assumed to be triploid and all-female. For example, elevation of ploidy level above triploidy can be a source of genetic variation and raises the possibility of gene flow among ploidy levels and to asexual lineages. We used flow cytometry and mtDNA sequencing to characterize ploidy level and genome size in Potamopyrgus antipodarum, a New Zealand freshwater snail where obligate sexual (presumed diploid and dioecious) and obligate apomictic asexual (presumed triploid and nearly all female) individuals frequently coexist. We documented the widespread occurrence and multiple origins of polyploid males and individuals with >3× ploidy, and find that both are likely to be descended from asexual females. Our survey also suggested the existence of extensive variation in genome size. The discovery of widespread variation in ploidy level and genome size in such a well-studied system highlights the importance of broad, extensive, and ecologically representative sampling in uncovering ploidy level and genome-size variation in natural populations.     

Temporal differentiation and spatial coexistence of sexual and facultative asexual lineages of an aphid species at mating sites

Cases of coexisting sexual and asexual relatives are puzzling, as evolutionary theory predicts that competition for the same ecological niches should lead to the exclusion of one or the other population. In the cyclically parthenogenetic aphid, Rhopalosiphum padi, sexual and facultative asexual lineages are admixed in space at the time of sexual reproduction. We investigated how the interaction of reproductive mode and environment can lead to temporal niche differentiation. We demonstrated theoretically that differential sensitivity of sexual and facultatively asexual aphids to an environmental parameter (mating host suitability) shapes the two strategies: whereas the sexual lineages switch earlier to the production of sexual forms, the facultative asexual lineages delay and spread out their investment in sexual reproduction. This predicted pattern of niche specialization is in agreement with the temporal structure revealed in natura by demographic and genetic data. We propose that partial loss of sex by one pool of aphids and subsequent reduction in gene flow between lineages may favour temporal specialization through disruptive selection.     

山地麻蜥个体发育过程中头部两性异形和食性的变化

研究了山地麻蜥(Eremias brenchleyi)个体发育过程中头部两性异形和食性的变化．成体个体大小(SVL)无显著的两性差异,但雄体具有较大的头部(头长和头宽)．头部两性异形在孵出幼体就已存在,成体头部两性异形比幼体(包括孵出幼体)更为显著,雄性较大的头部与其头部随SVL的增长速率大于雌性有关．两性头部总体上随SVL呈异速增长,表现为个体发育过程中头长和头宽与SVL的线性回归方程斜率有显著的变化．孵出幼体有相对较大的头部,这种形态特征是胚胎优先保证生态学意义更为显著的头部生长的结果,有利于孵出幼体的早期生存和生长．相对头部大小在个体发育过程中有显著的变化．不同性别和大小的山地麻蜥摄入食物的种类及各种食物在摄入食物中所占的比例有一定程度的差别,食物生态位宽度和重叠度因此有一定的差别．然而,没有直接的证据表明头部两性异形能导致两性食物生态位的明显分离,并有利于减缓两性个体对食物资源的竞争。     

海南岛东寨港几种红树植物种间生态位研究

采用3种常见的生态位宽度和生态位重叠计测公式,以外来种无瓣海桑扩散区的秋茄+桐花树群落演替系列作为资源轴,定量计测了几种红树植物的生态位宽度和重叠值.结果表明,各树种生态位宽度值排序为桐花树(3.8357)＞秋茄(3.3421)＞木榄(3.3180)＞白骨壤(3.0975)＞无瓣海桑(2.9137)＞海桑(2.5724)＞角果木(1.8523)＞红海榄(1.6897)＞海莲(1.0000),很好地表征了其生态适应性和分布幅度.各树种重叠值中,以秋茄、桐花树、木榄、白骨壤之间的生态位重叠较大,表明其间存在较强的资源利用性竞争.无瓣海桑生态位宽度处于中等程度,与中低潮滩红树植物海桑、桐花树、秋茄和白骨壤的重叠值相对较高,与红海榄、木榄有中度重叠,与角果木有少量重叠,与海莲完全没有重叠.     

Testosterone induction of male‐typical sexual behavior is associated with increased preoptic NADPH diaphorase and citrulline production in female whiptail lizards

In rodents, male‐typical copulatory behavior is generally dependent on gonadal sex steroids such as testosterone, and it is thought that the mechanism by which the hormone gates the behavior involves the gaseous neurotransmitter nitric oxide. According to one model, testosterone induces an up‐regulation of nitric oxide synthase (NOS) in the preoptic area, increasing nitric oxide synthesis following exposure to a sexual stimulus. Nitric oxide in turn, possibly through its effect on catecholamine turnover, influences the way the stimulus is processed and enables the appropriate copulatory behavioral response. In whiptail lizards (genus Cnemidophorus), administration of male‐typical levels of testosterone to females induces the display of male‐like copulatory responses to receptive females, and we hypothesized that this radical change in behavioral phenotype would be accompanied by a large change in the expression of NOS in the preoptic area. As well as comparing NOS expression using NADPH diaphorase histochemistry between testosterone‐treated females and controls, we examined citrulline immunoreactivity (a marker of recent nitric oxide production) in the two groups, following a sexual stimulus and following a nonsexual stimulus. Substantially more NADPH diaphorase‐stained cells were observed in the testosterone‐treated animals. Citrulline immunoreactivity was greater in testosterone‐implanted animals than in blank‐implanted animals, but only following exposure to a sexual stimulus. This is the first demonstration that not only is NOS up‐regulated by testosterone, but NOS thus up‐regulated is activated during male‐typical copulatory behavior. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Neurobiol, 2006     

A lotka-volterra model of coexistence between a sexual population and multiple asexual clones

At carrying capacity, small advantages in competitive ability can compensate a sexual population for its two-fold disadvantage in growth capacity when facing invasion by asexual mutants. In this paper, we develop a generic analytical model to consider the ecology of a sexual population comprising equal numbers of males and females, competing for shared prey resources with multiple female-only clones. We assume that the clones arise from the sexual population and are distinguished from it only by having narrower resource niches and twice the growth capacity. For sexual populations, at density-dependent carrying capacity, intra-specific competition between clonal individuals prevents them from realizing their two-fold advantage in intrinsic growth. This prediction leads to three novel outcomes: (i) a sexual population can coexist with any number of clones, provided their combined competitive impact remains less than the impact of the clones on each other; (ii) a sexual species can immediately exclude asexual invaders if it is a fast growing and strong competitor of shared resources and also has refuge in an abundant alternative resource; (iii) the rate of accumulation of clones in a sexual population will be slowed by intra and inter-specific competition amongst the clones themselves, in addition to the competitive impact from the original sexual population.     

Differential diet breadths and species coexistence in leafroller-hunting eumenid wasps

There are, at least, three possible ways in which similar species coexist; resource partitioning, interference competition, and exploitation competition. Here, I investigated which way contributed to the coexistence of leafroller-hunting eumenid wasp species. Resource partitioning and, in addition, differential diet breadths proved to promote species coexistence in this case. First, I analyze the prey records and diet overlap of four eumenid species in a local area. The larger two eumenids hunted similar-sized prey items and had similar potential taxonomic prey uses. But the diet breadth of the subsocial eumenid was much wider than that of the solitary one. As a result, the diet overlap between the two large eumenids decreased. This was because the solitary eumenid attend repeatedly to the same hunting site inhabited by one abundant prey species, while the subsocial one made random hunting. On the other hand, the two medium-sized eumenids partitioned resources according to prey size. Secondly, I related these results to prey choice by several other species of eumenid obtained from literature sources. Ten Japanese common eumenids were divided into four groups according to their prey size. In each of the four groups, 2 to 3 wasp species differentiated the habitat (1 group) or coexisted by means of differential diet breadths (parallel with differential sociality, 2 groups).