A social insect fertility signal is dependent on chemical context

Identifying group members and individuals'' status within a group are fundamental tasks in animal societies. For ants, this information is coded in the cuticular hydrocarbon profile. We manipulated profiles of the ant Odontomachus brunneus to examine whether the releaser and primer effects of fertility signals are dependent on chemical context. Fertility status is signalled through increased abundance of (Z)-9-nonacosene (Z9 : C₂₉). Across the ant''s distribution, populations have distinct hydrocarbon profiles but the fertility signal is conserved. Foreign queens and fertility-signal-treated workers from the same population, sharing a similar chemical background, elicited releaser effects from workers, whereas queens and fertility-signal-treated workers from different populations did not. Z9 : C₂₉ presented without chemical background did not elicit releaser effects. A primer-effect experiment found that Z9 : C₂₉, presented without a chemical background, did not inhibit worker reproduction. Our results demonstrate that a familiar chemical background is necessary for appropriate responses to fertility signals.     

A symmetric two locus model with viability and fertility selection

A two locus deterministic population genetic model is analysed. One locus is under viability selection, the other under fertility selection with both forms of selection completely symmetric. It is shown that linkage equilibrium may occur at two different equilibrium points. For a two-locus polymorphism to be stable, it is necessary that the viability locus be overdominant but not necessary that the fertility locus, considered separately, be able to support a stable polymorphism. The overlaps in stability are not as complex as under two locus symmetric fertilities, but considerably more complex than with symmetric viabilities. Extensions of the analysis for the central linkage equilibrium point with multiple viability and fertility loci are indicated.Research supported in part by NIH grants GM 28106 and GM 10452     

The cultural evolution of fertility decline

Cultural evolutionists have long been interested in the problem of why fertility declines as populations develop. By outlining plausible mechanistic links between individual decision-making, information flow in populations and competition between groups, models of cultural evolution offer a novel and powerful approach for integrating multiple levels of explanation of fertility transitions. However, only a modest number of models have been published. Their assumptions often differ from those in other evolutionary approaches to social behaviour, but their empirical predictions are often similar. Here I offer the first overview of cultural evolutionary research on demographic transition, critically compare it with approaches taken by other evolutionary researchers, identify gaps and overlaps, and highlight parallel debates in demography. I suggest that researchers divide their labour between three distinct phases of fertility decline—the origin, spread and maintenance of low fertility—each of which may be driven by different causal processes, at different scales, requiring different theoretical and empirical tools. A comparative, multi-level and mechanistic framework is essential for elucidating both the evolved aspects of our psychology that govern reproductive decision-making, and the social, ecological and cultural contingencies that precipitate and sustain fertility decline.     

A simplified fertility test in the dairy bull utilizing superovulated dairy cows

Dairy bull fertility level has received less attention than production transmitting ability. A simplified fertility test may be beneficial. A study was designed to test the use of tris-(1-aziridinyl)-phosphine oxide (TEPA) treated sperm, which arrests early cell division of the fertilized egg, in heterospermic insemination of superovulated cows. Semen samples were collected and pooled from University of Illinois dairy bulls. Semen samples were washed once, suspended in Illini Variable Temperature diluent (IVT) and incubated with or without TEPA (1.0 to 5.0 mg/ml) for 15 min. Samples were then washed again to remove excess TEPA. Additions of 1.0 to 5.0 mg/ml TEPA to sperm concentrations of 8 x 10(8) sperm/ml had no adverse effect on motility or morphology. The first part of the study utilized superovulated cows inseminated with treated (six cows) or untreated (six cows) sperm in different samples from the same bulls. Secondly, superovulated cows (eight cows) were artificially inseminated with treated and untreated split ejaculates from the same bulls. Lastly, superovulated cows (five cows) were heterospermically inseminated with treated (bull No. 1) and untreated (bull No. 2) spermatozoa. Out of 54 and 39 ova recovered in control and test cows, 40 blastocysts and 31 embryos arrested at the one- to five-cell stage resulted, respectively. Out of a predicted 123 ovulations, 78 fertilized ova were recovered; 40 of these were fertilized by control spermatozoa and 36 by TEPA-treated spermatozoa for parts one and two of the study respectively. These results indicated no significant difference in fertilizability of ova between control and TEPA-treated spermatozoa. Of 41 fertilized ova recovered (part 3), bull No. 1 fertilized significantly more ova (mean +/- standard deviation 5.0 +/- 2.3) than bull No. 2 (2.6 +/- 1.8). Results indicate a difference in fertility between bulls.     

A modelling analysis of the effects of climatic warming on the probability of spring frost damage to tree species in The Netherlands and Germany

Two studies presented in the literature ( Murray, Canned & Smith 1989 ; Hanninen 1991 ) evaluate the effect of increasing winter temperature on the probability of spring frost damage to trees, but yield contradictory results. It is unclear whether the disparity can be ascribed to the fact that different models were used, or is the result of different climatic warming scenarios being used, or is because the tree species at the different locations do indeed respond differently to warmer winters. To evaluate the effects of climatic warming to tree species in The Netherlands and in Germany, both models were fitted to long series of observations on the date of leaf unfolding of eleven tree species. The impact of the two scenarios (uniformly and non-uniformly changing winter temperature) on the date of leaf unfolding and on the probability of freezing temperature around that date was evaluated. To test the importance of adaptation to local climate, hypothetical provenance transfers were analysed. It was concluded that, for tree species in The Netherlands and Germany, the probability of spring frost damage will decrease. The contradictory results found in the literature could be ascribed to differences between provenances adapted to their local climate, and is not because different models and different climatic warming scenarios were used in these studies.     

Hunter-gatherer energetics and fertility: A reassessment of the !Kung San

This paper examines the question of why the total fertility rate of the !Kung San hunter-gatherers of the Northern Kalahari desert is as low as 4.69 births. When the intermediate variables involved are examined through the employment of a reproductive equation, it becomes clear that low fecundity is a major issue. Arguments offered previously to explain the low fertility of !Kung women, depending on factors such as nutrition, health status, and lactational practices are insufficient. Drawing upon recent data from sports medicine and endocrinology, I suggest that the pattern of San female energetics in their gathering and subsistence routine has a direct effect upon their fecundity. Such a correlation between activity patterns, endocrine function, and reproductive capacity may also be important for understanding the fertility of other mobile hunter-gatherer groups.     

蚯蚓对土壤微生物及生物肥力的影响研究进展

蚯蚓被称为“生态系统工程师”,可以通过改善微生境(排粪、作穴、搅动)、提高有机物的表面积、直接取食、携带传播微生物等方式影响土壤微生物结构、组成和功能.蚯蚓活动形成的大孔隙(洞穴)、中、微空隙(排泄物)可以增加土壤孔隙度和通气性,有助于改善微生物微环境,促进其生长和繁殖.蚯蚓还通过取食、粉碎、混合等活动使复杂有机质转变为微生物可利用的形式,增加土壤微生物与有机质的接触面积,促进微生物对有机质的矿化作用,对土壤中碳、氮、磷养分循环等关键过程产生影响,最终促进土壤养分循环和周转速率,提高土壤生物肥力.     

Stall in fertility decline in Eastern African countries: regional analysis of patterns,determinants and implications

We use data from the Demographic and Health Surveys to examine the patterns of stall in fertility decline in four Eastern African countries. Contrary to patterns of fertility transition in Africa that cut across various socio-economic and geographical groups within countries, we find strong selectivity of fertility stall across different groups and regions in all four countries. In both Kenya and Tanzania where fertility decline has stalled at the national level, it continued to decline among the most educated women and in some regions. While fertility has remained at pre-transition level in Uganda over the past 20 years, there are signs of decline with specific groups of women (especially the most educated, urban and those in the Eastern region) taking the lead. For Zimbabwe, although fertility has continued to decline at the national level, stall is observed among women with less than secondary education and those in some of the regions. We link these intra-country variations to differential changes in socio-economic variables, family planning programme environment and reproductive behaviour models. The results suggest that declines in contraceptive use, increases in unmet need for family planning, increasing preferences for larger families, and increases in adolescent fertility were consistently associated with stalls in subgroup fertility across all four countries. These results are consistent with models that emphasize the role of declines in national and international commitments to family planning programmes in the premature stall in sub-Saharan fertility transition.     

Structure and physiology of mammalian vas deferens in relation to fertility regulation

The structural and functional integrity of the vas deferens and its role in ensuring the fertilizing ability, viability of spermatozoa and their survival in the vas deferens, are elucidated. The regulation of the function of the vas deferens and the differential androgen dependency of its two regions have been discussed in relation to its secretory and absorptive activities as well as its contractility. The importance of ascorbic acid in maintaining its functions has also been investigated. The potentiality of the use of an androgen antagonist, steroids (testosterone, estradiol benzoate), prostaglandins, copper devices, vasectomy, vasocclusive agents, effects of nutr itional deficiencies, human chorionic gonadotropin-antiserum and plant products as antifertility agents have been discussed.     

The ecology of conception and pregnancy failure in wild baboons

Environmental conditions are a key factor mediating reproductivesuccess or failure. Consequently, many mammalian taxa have breedingseasons that coordinate critical reproductive stages with optimalenvironmental conditions. However, in contrast with most mammals,baboons (Papio cynocephalus) of Kenya reproduce throughout theyear. Here we depart from the typical approach of evaluatingseasonal effects on reproduction and engage in a more fine-grainedanalysis of the actual ecological conditions leading up to reproductionfor females. Our aim was to determine how environmental conditions,in combination with social and demographic factors, might mediatebaboon reproduction. The data set includes all female reproductivecycles from multiple baboon groups in the Amboseli basin between1976 and 2004. Results indicate that after periods of droughtor extreme heat, females were significantly less likely to cyclethan expected. If females did cycle after these conditions,they were less likely to conceive; and if they did conceiveafter drought (heat effects were nonsignificant), they wereless likely to have a successful pregnancy. Age also significantlypredicted conceptive failure; conceptive probability was lowestamong the youngest and oldest cycling females. There was alsoa trend for high ambient temperatures to contribute to fetalloss during the first trimester but not other trimesters. Finally,group size and drought conditions interacted in their effectson the probability of conception. Although females in all groupshad equal conception probabilities during optimal conditions,females in large groups were less likely than those in smallgroups to conceive during periods of drought. These resultsindicate that in a highly variable environment, baboon reproductivesuccess is mediated by the interaction between proximate ecologicalconditions and individual demographic factors.     

农田土壤肥力综合评价研究进展

农田土壤肥力受自然因素和人为因素的双重影响 ,对其进行客观的综合评价显得非常困难 ,为了在对农田土壤肥力综合评价过程中尽量避免主观性 ,减少人为因素 ,人们更多地采用一些数学方法参与到评价过程中 ,进行数值化综合评价。本文就目前流行的有关土壤肥力综合评价的方法进行了介绍和比较 ,并对其取样技术、评价指标最小数据集的选择以及数值化综合评价方法进行了详细介绍。随着GPS、GIS技术的发展 ,土壤肥力质量评价系统会日臻完善 ,为土壤资源的合理利用提供依据。     

植物胞质雄性不育及育性恢复的分子机制研究进展(综述)

本文从与雄性不育有关的线粒体基因引起雄性不育的机理、雄性不育育性恢复机制以及育性恢复基因的克隆等方面,介绍国内外对植物细胞质雄性不育分子机理的研究进展,并对今后的研究进行讨论。     

A comparison of cytoplasmic revertants to fertility from different CMS-S maize sources

Summary The mitochondrial genome organizations of a number of independent culture-derived fertile CMS-S revertants with the nuclear genotype W182BN were compared to spontaneous field revertants with the genotypes WF9, M825/Oh07 and 38-11. Regions of the genome around sequences homologous to the terminal repeats of the linear S1 and S2 episomes characteristic of CMS-S mitochondria were used as hybridization probes on Southern blots of BamHI and SalI digested mitochondrial DNA. The results obtained suggest that the nuclear, not the cytoplasmic, genotype of the parent plant affects the type of novel mitochondrial DNA organization found in the revertant. The DNA reorganization during reversion from CMS-S in tissue culture appears to be similar to that observed in spontaneous revertants obtained during the normal plant life-cycle. Unlike the situation for reversion from CMS-T, no common DNA sequence or reading frame appeared to be lost or disrupted in revertants.     

A review: Dietary restrictions on hunter-gatherer women and the implications for fertility and infant mortality

The relatively low reproductive rates of huntergatherer populations have been attributed to high natural mortality, low fertility, and cultural practices such as infanticide and sexual abstention. While we currently lack the data necessary to determine the relative effects of each of these factors on reproduction in any huntergatherer population, an analysis of the relations between cultural practices and reproduction at a more general level can set the stage for further research in huntergatherer societies. This paper reviews and discusses the current literature on specific links between female nutritional health, fertility, and infant mortality. It begins with a consideration of food taboos, one potential source of huntergatherer female nutritional stress. In particular, it is argued that the timing of food taboos on females in many huntergatherer societies often coincides with critical periods in women's reproductive careers. Next, the paper explores the interrelationships between female nutritional health and fertility and infant mortality, using data from modern huntergatherer and agricultural populations. Finally, because data adequate to test specific relationships between patterns of food restrictions and reproduction are not yet available, the paper concludes with a brief discussion of the data necessary for testing these relationships in huntergatherer populations.     

Effect of the early-life nutritional environment on fecundity and fertility of mammals

The early-life developmental environment is instrumental in shaping our overall adult health and well-being. Early-life diet and endocrine exposure may independently, or in concert with our genetic constitution, induce a pathophysiological process that amplifies with age and leads to premature morbidity and mortality. Recently, this has become known as ‘programming’ but is akin to ‘maternal effects’ described for many years in the biological sciences and is defined as any influence that acts during critical developmental windows to induce long-term changes in the organisms'' phenotype. To date, such delayed maternal effects have largely been characterized in terms of susceptibility to cardiovascular or metabolic disease. Here, we review evidence from experimental animal species, non-human primates and man for an effect of the early-life nutritional environment on adult fecundity and fertility. In addition, using a database of pedigree sheep, we also specifically test the hypothesis that being born small for gestational age with or without post-natal growth acceleration directly programmes fertility. We conclude that there is a lack of compelling evidence to suggest pre-natal undernutrition may directly reduce adult fecundity and fertility, but may exert some effects secondarily via an increased incidence of ‘metabolic syndrome’. Possible effects of being born relatively large on subsequent fecundity and fertility warrant further investigation.     

Intermediate variables in the explanation of differential fertility: Results of a village study in rural Java

A tendency for fertility to be higher among middle-class women than among lower-class women has been found in all the recent sources of data on fertility levels and patterns in Indonesia. After briefly reviewing these findings, this article presents the results of a community study in rural Java which systematically investigates the positive relation between fertility and socioeconomic status, focusing on the so- called intermediate variables (first inventoried by Davis and Blake in 1956) which directly determine fertility. Differential patterns of marital stability, secondary sterility, and the practice of postpartum abstinence in particular were found to contribute to the contrasts in fertility levels observed. The use of modern contraceptives, a recent innovation at the time of the study, was found to a greater extent among middle-class women, and may prove to be an important determinant of future patterns of fertility and fertility differentials.This article is based on a study of fertility patterns undertaken in Yogyakarta during 1972–1973. The research was funded by the Australian National University. A complete account of the research findings is contained in Hull (1975), and a detailed analysis of the topics discussed here can be found in Hull (1976).     

Microbial indices of soil fertility

AIMS: To find the new microbial parameters explaining the soil fertility from the microbial community viewpoint. METHODS AND RESULTS: Fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) analysis and terminal-restriction fragment length polymorphism (T-RFLP) analysis were carried out using 16 differently treated plots from the same field that had been kept under different fertilizer management systems since 1984. It was found that organic fertilizer application had small impact, whereas chemical fertilizer application, especially ammonium-nitrogen fertilizer, had strong impact on microbial community structures. Principal component analysis was conducted based on soil chemical and physical parameters, crop yields, FAMEs and terminal-restriction fragments (T-RFs) to provide 10 FAMEs and 10 T-RFs showing strong relation with soil fertility. CONCLUSION: We defined these 10 FAMEs and 10 T-RFs as 'keystone' biological parameters explaining soil fertility in the soil. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY: This is the first report on the FAMEs and T-RFs related to soil fertility. Both analyses are rapid, inexpensive and reproducible means. As field assessment needs precise and rapid analysis, FAME and T-RFLP analyses and these new parameters are very useful to analyse soil fertility at biological viewpoint.