INTRASPECIFIC VARIATION IN ANT SEX RATIOS AND THE TRIVERS-HARE HYPOTHESIS

We consider worker-controlled sex investments in eusocial Hymenoptera (ants in particular) and assume that relatedness asymmetry is variable among colonies and that workers are able to assess the relatedness asymmetry in their own colony. We predict that such “assessing” workers should maximize their inclusive fitness by specializing in the production of the sex to which they are relatively most related, i.e., colonies whose workers have a relatedness asymmetry below the population average should specialize in males, whereas colonies whose workers have a higher than average relatedness asymmetry should specialize in making females. Our argument yields the expectation that colony sex ratios will be bimodally distributed in ant populations where relatedness asymmetry is variable owing to multiple mating, worker reproduction, and/or polygyny. No such bimodality is expected, however, in ant species where relatedness asymmetry is known to be constant, or in cases where relatedness asymmetry is supposed to be irrelevant due to allospecific brood rearing under queen control, as in the slave-making ants. Comparative data on colony sex ratios in ants are reviewed to test the predictions. The data partly support our contentions, but are as yet insufficient to be considered as decisive evidence.     

INTRASPECIFIC VARIATION IN ABIES LASIOCARPA FROM BRITISH COLUMBIA AND WASHINGTON

Sixteen natural stands of Abies lasiocarpa (Hook.) Nutt. were sampled from British Columbia and Washington to investigate patterns of intraspecific variation in this species and to evaluate Hunt and von Rudloff's recognition of two species of subalpine fir. Principal components analysis and canonical variates analysis were performed separately on seed-cone data, needle morphology data, and needle flavonoid data. Analysis of cone data indicated no geographical patterning of populations, but eastern and western groups of populations were segregated in both the needle morphology and flavonoid analyses. With the exception of the Vancouver Island population, three geographic groups were discerned based on their needle morphology: 1) populations from the coastal mountains of British Columbia, 2) those from the Cascade Mountains of Washington, and 3) those from the eastern interior of British Columbia. Although the Vancouver Island population was grouped with the interior British Columbia populations based on needle morphology, it was similar to the other coastal populations based on flavonoid data. These inconsistent results among the three different types of taxonomic evidence underscore the need to consider a variety of traits when drawing taxonomic conclusions in Abies. Although the delineation of eastern and western groups is not wholly consistent for the different data sets, the results support recognition of coastal and interior varieties of subalpine fir.     

INTER- AND INTRASPECIFIC VARIATION OF MOSSES IN TOLERANCE TO COPPER AND ZINC

Bryophytes are often viewed as slowly evolving with little genetic variation within and among populations. A study of heavy-metal tolerance was initiated to test the capacity of bryophytes to undergo genetic differentiation in response to natural selection. Tolerance of Funaria hygrometrica to copper and zinc was greater in populations that originated on soil with high concentrations of these metals. Protonemal growth was more inhibited by the metals than was germination, and copper was more toxic than zinc. Zinc and copper tolerances were correlated, but so were the zinc and copper concentrations of native substrates. The pattern of population differentiation for heavy-metal tolerance in this species is much like that of flowering plants. Five populations of Physcomitrium pyriforme, which does not occur on metal-contaminated soil, were all highly tolerant of zinc but extremely intolerant of copper. This species seems to have an inherent tolerance to the former. Significant variation in tolerance to copper and zinc occurred among populations, but tolerance did not correlate with metal contents in native substrates. This pattern differs from that of flowering plants. Normal populations of species that colonize contaminated sites tended to be more tolerant than populations of species that do not colonize such sites. The extensive population differentiation in Funaria hygrometrica augments the evidence from electrophoretic data that there is genetic variation among populations of mosses and liverworts.     

INTERSPECIFIC AND INTRASPECIFIC MORPHOLOGICAL VARIATION IN MANATEES (SIRENIA: TRICHECHUS)

The three living species of Trichechus are clearly defined and well exemplify the degree of variability and taxonomic value of morphological characters in a well-understood mammalian genus. Statistical analysis of the largest sample of manatee skulls yet studied has allowed us to identify small suites of characters that effectively distinguish these species. The two subspecies of T. manatus proposed by Hatt (1934) can likewise be distinguished, and their use as taxonomic categories seems justified. This suggests that the cool winters of the northern Gulf Coast, on the one hand, and the deep water and strong currents of the Straits of Florida, on the other, are effective barriers to gene flow between Florida and Antillean manatees. Alleged taxonomic distinctions within T. senegalensis , however, have no demonstrated basis. No significant sexual dimorphism was detected in skulls of any of the species. Many interspecific differences can be correlated with feeding ecology, but others remain unexplained. Features of tooth crown morphology are among the most constant characters examined, but some osteological characters are equally good. T. manatas and T. senegalensis (which are phenetically the most similar) also seem to share a more recent common ancestor than either does with T. inunguis. However, the three species probably separated from each other at nearly the same time. T. inunguis has since become the most derived species, while T. senegalensis has changed the least.     

SEX‐SPECIFIC SELECTION AND INTRASPECIFIC VARIATION IN SEXUAL SIZE DIMORPHISM

Sexual size dimorphism (SSD) is thought to evolve due to sex differences in selection on body size, but it is largely unknown whether intraspecific variation in SSD reflects differences in sex‐specific selection among populations. We addressed this question by comparing viability selection between two island populations of the brown anole lizard (Anolis sagrei) that differ in the magnitude of male‐biased SSD. On both islands, females experienced stabilizing selection favoring intermediate size whereas males experienced directional selection favoring larger size. Thus, sex‐specific selection matched the overall pattern of male‐biased SSD, but population differences in the magnitude of SSD were not associated with local differences in selection. Rather, population differences in SSD appear to result from underlying differences in the environmental potential for a rapid growth, coupled with sex‐specific phenotypic plasticity. Males grew more slowly on the island with low SSD whereas growth of females did not differ between islands. Both sexes had substantially lower mass per unit length on the island with low SSD, suggesting that they were in a relatively poorer energetic condition. We propose that this energetic constraint disproportionately impacts growth of males due to their greater absolute energy requirements, thus driving intraspecific variation in SSD.     

INTRASPECIFIC VARIATION IN THE DINOFLAGELLATE PERIDINIUM VOLZIP1

Clonal isolates of Peridinium volzii Lemmerman were analyzed morphologically and biochemically. Morphological observations at the light microscope level show the clones to be different varieties and forms of the same species. Biochemical analysis by enzyme electrophoresis and flow cytometric determination of nuclear DNA quantities indicates that these isolates are genetically heterogeneous without any clear correlation existing between morphological variation and biochemical variation. Isozyme analysis, however, indicates that strains from the same location are generally more related to each other than they are to isolates with other geographical origins. In general, our results suggest the presence of genetic redundancy and a multiclonal origin for individuals of the same species present in the same locale.     

INTER- AND INTRASPECIFIC GENETIC VARIATION IN TWELVE PRYMAESIUM (HAPTOPHYCEAE) CLONES1

The haptophytes Prymnesium parvum Carter and Prymnesium patelliferum Green, Hibberd, and Pienaar are two closely related species, which can only be distinguished by minor differences in the morphology of their organic body scales. The two Prymnesium species are reported to coexist at several locations, including the Sands-fjord system in southwestern Norway. Comparisons of physiology and toxicity within the two species have failed to reveal differences that can add to the small morphological distinctions used to separate them. To investigate the genetic relationship between the two species, we compared the sequence of the first internal transcribed spacer region (ITS1)and length variation in one intron separating calmodulin genes for four P. parvum strains and eight P. patelliferum strains. Both the ITS1 sequence and the banding patterns obtained by PCR amplification of one intron in the calmodulin genes indicated that the Prymnesium isolates are related by their geographic origin instead of 4 their species affiliation. The results indicate that P. parvum and P. patelliferum are so closely related that they could be considered one species. Alternatively, we discuss the possibility that the two species might be joined in a heteromorphic haploid-diploid life cycle, as is now widely reported for other haptophycean algae.     

胶孢炭疽菌的种内遗传多样性研究*

应用RAPD分析对广东不同果树上的胶孢炭疽菌的种内遗传多样性进行研究。结果表明:除部分芒果上的菌株外,20个来源于不同果树上的胶孢炭疽菌都以较高的相似系数聚为一个大群(群I)。说明尽管胶孢炭疽菌具有复合种的性质,但在一定的地理范围内,其遗传背景还是相近的,表现出种的典型特征。6个芒果菌株组成3个小群,且与群I的亲缘关系较远,其分类地位有待进一步明确。     

CHLOROPLAST DNA VARIATION IN GLIRICIDIA SEPIUM (LEGUMINOSAE): INTRASPECIFIC PHYLOGENY AND TOKOGENY

An analysis of chloroplast DNA restriction site variation in Gliricidia sepium reveals two geographically distinct chloroplast lineages, one in the Yucatan Peninsula and the other along the Pacific Coast in Mexico and Central America. Geographical, morphological, biochemical, and habitat distinctions suggest that these two chloroplast lineages reflect organismal lineages. Within the Pacific coastal chloroplast lineage, there exist sublineages that most likely reflect tokogenetic systems of relationship rather than organismal phytogeny, a hypothesis supported by the co-occurrence of more than one of these chloroplast sublineages in a single population. The genetic distance between any two of these chloroplast lineages ranges from 0.0001 to 0.0024 nucleotide substitutions per site and reveals relatively high levels of intraspecific divergence. We suggest that assessing intraspecific chloroplast DNA variation is important generally in higher level phylogenetic analysis because it enables one to obtain truer estimates of homoplasy, detect potentially cryptic species, and distinguish among molecular markers that reflect phylogenetic vs. tokogenetic relationships. This is in addition to determining the extent of potential complicating factors such as introgression and lineage sorting from polymorphic ancestry.     

INTRASPECIFIC VARIATION IN POLLEN YIELD IN BROMEGRASS (POACEAE: BROMUS)

Variation in pollen production was measured within five hermaphrodite species of bromegrass (Bromus). Anther length is an excellent predictor of pollen production in this genus (R² = 0.97). Anther length varied considerably within each of the species, both among and within individual plants. Within plants, most of the variation occurred among florets within spikelets; florets in upper spikelet positions were smaller and produced less pollen. In B. inermis, pollen production was decreased by defoliation and increased in shoots that grew on thatching ant (Formica obscuripes) mounds. Whole-shoot pollen yield was determined by spikelet number, number of florets per spikelet, and pollen production per floret. All of these yield components must be considered in attempts to estimate pollen production accurately.     

根系温度对苋菜生长及光合特性的影响

气候室中研究了根温对苋菜幼苗生长及光合等生理特性的影响。结果表明,苋菜幼苗生长曲线呈S形, 30d苗龄时生长最快, 40d苗龄时每株干、鲜重分别为0.45g和6.79g。20~25℃根温时40d苗龄苋菜生长最快,高根温对生长的危害大于低根温, 40℃根温苋菜根系生长、代谢受害严重。苋菜净光合速率(Pn)、蒸腾速率(Tr)、气孔导度(Cs)和胞间CO2分压(Pi)随根温的变化趋势基本一致, 20~25℃根温时,Cs、Pi、Pn和Tr均高,不良根温影响了Cs,使Tr降低, Pi降低,进而影响到Pn。回归分析表明, Pn与Cs、Pn与Pi、Tr与Cs、Pi与Cs均呈显著正相关。说明Cs下降是不良根温影响Pn的主要原因。     

REQUIREMENTS FOR THE MAINTENANCE AND GROWTH OF APHANIZOMENON FLOS-AQUAE IN CULTURE1,2

Aphanizomenon flos-aquae has been introduced into unialgal culture in a completely defined medium and maintained for more than 3 years in the colonial flake form found in nature. The color and size of the flake and general appearance of the cells are substantially improved over those found in the original material at the time of collection from Upper Klamath Lake, Klamath County, Oregon. The alga readily forms both akinetes and heterocysts in culture Bacteria-free cultures have not been obtained. A precipitate-free medium designated ASM No. 8a has been developed from the ASM of McLachlan and Gorham. Their medium was altered by modifying the concentration of certain elements and by the addition of sodium bicarbonate, a 1/25 dilution of Arnon's trace element solutions B₇ and C₁₃, hydrogen ferric ethylenediamine di-o-hydroxyphenylacetate (EDDHA), and disodium ethylene dinitrilotetra-acetate (Na₂EDTA).     

INTRASPECIFIC VARIATION AND THE ROLE OF SUPERPARASITISM IN DIAPAUSE INDUCTION OF TRICHOGRAMMA EVANESCENS WEST-WOOD*

Abstract The diapause of two populations of Trichogramma evanescens Westwood (T. evanescens A and T. evanescens B), collected from different Iranian insect pests, was studied. T. evunescens A in the eggs of Corcyra cephalonica was easily induced to stable diapause with constant 8°C, 15 % and fluctuating temperature (11–23) C -11C. T. evanescens B could not be induced to diapause with the same temperatural regime and host. The experiments showed that the host of maternal generations and the ability of avoiding super-parasitism may play an important role in intraspecific variation of T. evunescens in diapause induction.