Genetic population structure of buckeye butterflies (Junonia) from Argentina

There are nine named species of buckeye butterflies (genus Junonia Hübner) in the Western Hemisphere. There is considerable geographic variation within Junonia species, and possible ongoing hybridization between species, suggesting that Junonia may be a ring species, but also making this a very difficult group to define taxonomically. We tried to determine whether two forms of Junonia from Argentina – conventionally referred to as Junonia genoveva hilaris C. & R. Felder, the light buckeye butterfly, and Junonia evarete flirtea (Fabricius), the dark buckeye butterfly – were genetically distinct species or simply colour forms of a single species using morphological characters, mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase I (COI) DNA barcodes, nuclear wingless (wg) locus DNA sequences, and anonymous nuclear Randomly Amplified Fingerprints (RAF). Phylogenetic analysis of COI identified two distinct mitochondrial haplotypes that differ by about 4% sequence divergence; one confined to light‐coloured Junonia specimens and one shared between some light‐coloured Junonia and all of dark‐coloured Junonia specimens. Analysis of nuclear wingless sequences revealed 32 alleles among 22 Junonia specimens and showed significant genetic differentiation between light‐coloured and dark‐coloured Junonia. Analysis of RAF genotypes suggests that there are actually three genetically distinct Junonia populations in Argentina: two with light wing coloration, and one with dark wing coloration. Genetic evidence of recent hybridization among these populations was also observed, consistent with the ring species hypothesis. Careful comparisons of morphological characters between Argentinian Junonia and Junonia species from elsewhere in South America suggests that the two light‐coloured populations correspond to J. genoveva and either a genetically disparate population of the same species or an undescribed cryptic Junonia species, The dark‐coloured population may correspond to J. wahlbergi Brévignon. Our data suggest that COI DNA barcodes by themselves are not very useful for studying Junonia taxonomy, population structure or evolution.     

Background matching ability and the maintenance of a colour polymorphism in the red devil cichlid

The evolution and maintenance of colour polymorphisms remains a topic of considerable research interest. One key mechanism thought to contribute to the coexistence of different colour morphs is a bias in how conspicuous they are to visual predators. Although individuals of many species camouflage themselves against their background to avoid predation, differently coloured individuals within a species may vary in their capacity to do so. However, to date, very few studies have explicitly investigated the ability of different colour morphs to plastically adjust their colouration to match their background. The red devil (Amphilophus labiatus) is a Neotropical cichlid fish with a stable colour polymorphism, with the gold morph being genetically dominant and having a myriad of documented advantages over the dark morph. However, gold individuals are much rarer, which may be related to their heightened conspicuousness to would‐be predators. Here, we tested the ability of differently coloured individuals to phenotypically adjust the shade of their body colour and patterns to match their background. In particular, we filmed dark, gold and mottled (a transitioning phase from dark to gold) individuals under an identical set‐up on light vs. dark‐coloured substrates. We found that, in contrast to individuals of the dark morph, gold and mottled individuals were less capable of matching their body colouration to their background. As a result, gold individuals appeared to be more conspicuous. These results suggest that a difference in background matching ability could play an important role in the maintenance of colour polymorphisms.     

Zuchterfolg des Riesenseeadlers,Haliaeetus pelagicus,im Tierpark Berlin mit einem Weibchen der dunklen Morphe

Tierpark Berlin is keeping Steller's Sea Eagles since 1959 continuously without any breeding success till 2009. There was one egg laid in 1962 only. In 2001 we received a female from Tiergarten Nuremberg. At seven years of age this bird has moulted into its adult plumage this being all dark brown apart from the white tail. This is the only known present living specimen of this dark morph and the first known for several decades. As the parents show the normal coloured plumage this is the first evidence that niger doesn’t exist as a subspecies but is a dark colour phase of pelagicus only. The dark coloured female was breeding with a normal coloured male in 2009 and one offspring was parent reared for the first time at Tierpark Berlin.     

Colour bands,dominance, and body mass regulation in male zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata)

The arbitrary assignment of different coloured leg bands to zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata) has profound effects on mate preference, reproductive success, mortality rates, parental investment and sex ratio. Choice chamber experiments indicate that the effect is mediated by altered attractiveness to members of the opposite sex. Effects on intrasexual dominance are more equivocal. We present two experiments which demonstrate significant effects of band colour on behavioural dominance (red bands are more dominant than light green bands) and the resulting diurnal pattern of gain in mass, fat, and seeds stored in the crop. Consistent with the literature on dominance and strategic regulation of body mass in other species, subordinate (green-banded) birds maintain higher fat reserves at dawn, but dominant (red-banded) birds show the highest overall daily mass gains. The lack of obvious effects of band colour on dominance in previous studies may lie in the degree to which food can be monopolized by particular individuals.     

The function of colourful facial bands in mangrove crab (Perisesarma) communication

Bright colours are a key visual signal in many animal communication systems. Here we examine the function of the blue-green facial bands found in two species of mangrove crabs, Perisesarma eumolpe (De Man) and P. indiarum (Tweedie). Food (mangrove leaves) deprivation and re-feeding experiments demonstrated that facial band brightness and saturation changed significantly with nutritional status. These results suggest that the colours are diet-derived and could be carotenoid-based. Manipulation of the facial bands had significant effects on inter-crab behaviour. When P. indiarum and P. eumolpe males were given a choice between a female with its facial band blacked out and a similar-sized control female with natural colour, they consistently chose the latter. In a resource holding potential (RHP) experiment, male crabs defending burrows responded differently to male con-specific intruders with blacked out facial bands compared to non-blacked out controls. Together, the results show that brightly coloured facial bands in P. eumolpe and P. indiarum are important for communication; either as a way to identify conspecifics, or to convey nutritional status and hence physical quality.     

Body Colouration Related to the Deposition of Pteridines in the Epidermis and Other Organs of Dysdercus Species (Insecta; Heteroptera: Pyrrhocoridae)

In epidermal cells of Dysdercus species, two types of pigment granules were detected using both light and electron microscopic methods; the granules differed in colour, size, distribution and osmiophily. Red (D. intermedius) and yellow (D. nigrofasciatus) epidermal cells contained both types of granules, but in white cells only one type was present. Chromatographic analyses showed that the larger granules were more transparent to electrons, and contained uric acid, while the smaller ones contained erythropterin, became coloured later, and were osmiophilic. In accordance with these findings, in the testes of D. intermedius both granule types were present, but in the testes of D. nigrofasciatus only those containing erythropterin. The number of granules per cell varied with the species and developmental stage. Epidermal cells of D. intermedius contained more erythropterin granules than those of D. nigrofasciatus, the reverse occurring in the testes. This pattern corresponded to the visible colouration of the insects. As the development progressed, a decrease of the red and an increase of the white granules took place in the coloured epidermal cells. The main amount of pteridines, except isoxanthopterin, was accumulated in the integument of the insects studied. Chemical and histological data showed the influence of pterins on insect colouration. Orange, yellow and red colours were caused by different amounts of erythropterin containing special granules in the epidermal cells, and the white colour only by uric acid containing granules. A partial melanization of the cuticle resulted in dark spots below which pteridines were deposited additionally in the epidermal cells. Considering erythropterin, the quantitative chemical data are in accordance with the histological ones and also with the colouration externally visible. Intensively red coloured stages had a higher concentration of erythropterin and more corresponding granules than the light-red coloured ones; the lowest amount was found in yellow coloured insects. Therefore, the pigmentation effect of erythropterin, which reached from yellow to orange and red, depended on its concentration and played the most important role in the colouration of the Dysdercus species studied, uric acid was responsible for the colouration of the white parts of the integument.     

Convergent evolution of neuroendocrine control of phenotypic plasticity in pupal colour in butterflies

Phenotypic plasticity in pupal colour occurs in three families of butterflies (the Nymphalidae, Papilionidae and Pieridae), typically in species whose pupation sites vary unpredictably in colour. In all species studied to date, larvae ready for pupation respond to environmental cues associated with the colour of their pupation sites and moult into cryptic light (yellow–green) or dark (brown–black) pupae. In nymphalids and pierids, pupal colour is controlled by a neuroendocrine factor, pupal melanization-reducing factor (PMRF), the release of which inhibits the melanization of the pupal cuticle resulting in light pupae. In contrast, the neuroendocrine factor controlling pupal colour in papilionid butterflies results in the production of brown pupae. PMRF was extracted from the ventral nerve chains of the peacock butterfly Inachis io (Nymphalidae) and black swallowtail butterfly Papilio polyxenes (Papilionidae). When injected into pre-pupae, the extracts resulted in yellow pupae in I. io but brown pupae in P. polyxenes. These results suggest that the same neuroendocrine factor controls the plasticity in pupal colour, but that plasticity in pupal colour in these species has evolved independently (convergently).     

Coloured Pollen in Cactaceae: a Mimetic Adaptation to Hummingbird-Pollination?

Pollen of 361 species from 71 genera of Cactaceae was investigated for this study of the correlation between pollen colour and the pollination syndrome. 11% of all species studied had red or brown pollen, and nearly all of these species were ornithophilous. This suggests that pollen colour probably is part of the bird-flower syndrome of Cactaceae. Possibly the red or brown pollen might be a crypto-mimetic adaptation to the dark coloured bill of the pollinating hummingbird (Trochilidae) and secures safe transport to a receptive stigma without being removed by the bird immediately. The results are discussed against a background of studies encompassing about 900 species from 77 families, which provide further evidence for the proposed adaptive significance of palynological characters.     

Vertical displacement and taphonomic filtering of nannofossils by bioturbation in the Cretaceous–Palaeogene boundary section at Caravaca,SE Spain

K?dzierski, M., Rodríguez‐Tovar, F.J. & Uchman, A. 2011: Vertical displacement and taphonomic filtering of nannofossils by bioturbation in the Cretaceous–Palaeogene boundary section at Caravaca, SE Spain. Lethaia, Vol. 44, pp. 321–328. At the Caravaca section, SE Spain, the position of the Cretaceous–Palaeogene (K–Pg) boundary is well‐defined, with multidisciplinary datasets from a thin rusty layer at the base of the 10 cm dark boundary layer. Nannoplankton assemblages containing the Danian taxon Neochiastozygus sp. and enriched in Thoracosphaera spp. are displaced below the K–Pg boundary into the trace fossils Zoophycos, Thalassinoides and Chondrites. These trace fossils are filled with dark‐coloured sediments of the dark boundary layer. The nannofossil assemblage from the 1‐cm thick interval below the boundary, enriched in Thoracosphaera spp. and Braarudosphaera spp., may have been displaced by Chondrites tracemakers, the traces of which are abundant in this interval. The downward transport of the Danian nannofossils into the Maastrichtian by the tracemakers seems to be one of the common mechanisms responsible for their apparent appearance below the K–Pg boundary. The dark boundary layer contains very rare Danian specimens and abundant Maastrichtian nannofossils. The Maastrichtian taxa were most likely conveyed up on to the seafloor by tracemakers during the Danian. The redistribution of nannoplankton down and up across the rusty layer (K–Pg), challenges the usefulness of nannofossils for high‐resolution stratigraphy of the K–Pg boundary. □Nannoplankton, Cretaceous–Palaeogene boundary event, biogenic mixing, trace fossils.     

Relationship between Colour, Phenolic Content and Impermeability in the Seed Coat of various Trifolium subterraneum L. genotypes

The relationship between seed colour, phenol content of thetesta and water impermeability in dark and light seeded genotypesof Trifolium subterraneum L. was investigated. The developmentof water impermeability and catechol oxidase activity in expandingseeds of two genotypes was monitored. The results show catecholoxidase activity decreases as seed colour changes from greento purple, but the potential to become impermeable with dehydrationis not acquired until later in seed development. Both waterpermeable and impermeable seeds of dark coloured genotypes containsubstantial amounts of phenol in the lumen of the Malpighiancells; light coloured testas do not. It is concluded that the darkening of the testa of Trifoliumsubterraneum is associated with oxidation of phenol by catecholoxidase but that development of impermeability is independentof this process. Trifolium subterraneum L., subterranean clover, seed coat impermeability, catechol oxidase, phenol, testa colour     

The effect of seed size on the development and yield ofVoandzeia subterranea (L.)Thouars. (Bambara groundnut)

Voandzeia subterranea (L.)Thouars (Bambara groundnut) is a drought and poor soil cultivated legume. The seeds vary both in colour and in size. The seed colour ranges from white, cream, ivory to dark brown red or black. The seed weight varies fromabout 0.15 g to 1.20 g. The effect of seed size on the development and yield of the cream coloured cultivar ofV. subterranea was investigated. The three size class of seeds used in the study are small (seeds weighing less than 0.40 g) medium (seeds weighing from 0.40–0.60g) and large (seeds weighing above 0.60g). The results of the investigation show that the number of leaves, pods and seeds, the leaf area, dry weight of plants and the seeds produced increased significantly with increase in the seed size.     

Bemerkenswerte endogene Farbveränderung der Eischale von Chioninia delalandii (Duméril & Bibron, 1839) (Reptilia: Sauria: Scincidae)

The paper describes an unusual endogenous eggshell colouration observed in an egg of the Cap Verde skink Chioninia delalandii.A female specimen, kept in a terrarium, laid three eggs. Two of them were considered as fertilized (oval germ-disk, weakly pink). They were embedded 1 cm deep in a layer of moistened clay granules (substrate/water 2:1) and kept under different temperatures (egg 1 “cool”, 26–27 °C; egg 2 “warm”, 29–30 °C). There was a normal embryonic development in both eggs from their volume-enlargement and characteristic allometric growth (egg wide > egg length). The young hatch after 51 and 56 days.A change in eggshell colour, however, occurred in the “warm” kept egg during the last third of its incubation period. It started with a small spot (2–3 mm) in the outer area of the animal egg pole and spread into a dark-violet colouration over the whole eggshell within 15 days. After hatching of the young the shells of both eggs were examined. In the non-coloured egg there was no great difference in colour between the inner and outer egg layer, while in the coloured egg there was a distinct difference between the inner part, which was dark violet-gray, and the pale gray calcareous deck-layer. From the macroscopic view along the edge of the eggshell it was not identifiable, if the colour pigment was infiltrated into protein fibrils of the condensed surface layer.A possible explanation for the eggshell colouration could be an unusual embryonic pigmentation. This assumption is based on the first appearance of a restricted, point-like coloured area and its further regular extension. It might be that dark pigments (melanophores?) reached the eggshell (membrana testacea) and infiltrated the border-area to the condensed surface layer.     

A New Species of Rhaponticoides (Asteraceae) from Southern Italy

A new diploid (2n?=?30) species, Rhaponticoides calabrica, is described from Calabria and Basilicata (southern Italy). This species differs from the closely related R. centaurium – an endemic of Apulia and northern Basilicata – by different flower colour (white in the former, purplish in the latter), width of membranous margin of phyllaries (1.8?±?0.4 mm vs 0.8?±?0.3 mm) and pappus length (6.8?±?0.9 mm vs 9.1?±?1.0 mm). The two species are completely allopatric and seem to have also different chromosome numbers.     

Effects of Dietary Copper on Nutrient Digestibility,Tissular Copper Deposition and Fur Quality of Growing-Furring Mink (Mustela vison)

The present study investigated the effects of dietary copper (Cu) on growth performance and fur quality in growing-furring minks. One hundred and five standard dark female minks were randomly assigned to seven groups with the following dietary treatments: basal diet with no supplemental Cu (control) and basal diet supplemented with either 6, 12, 24, 48, 96 or 192 mg/kg Cu from copper sulphate, respectively. Our data showed that final body weight (P?=?0.033), daily gain (P?=?0.029) and fat digestibility (P?=?0.0006) responded to increasing levels of Cu. The activity of glutamic-oxalacetic transaminase (GOT) and glutamic-pyruvic transaminase (GPT) in serum increased (linear and quadratic, P?<?0.05) as Cu increased in the diet. Increasing Cu improved total protein (TP) and albumin (ALB) (quadratic, P?<?0.05). The level of ceruloplasmin (CER) responded in a linear (P?<?0.0001) and quadratic (P?<?0.0001) form with increasing level of Cu. Colour intensity of those minks pelted suggested that relatively high levels of supplemental Cu have a beneficial effect on intensifying hair colour of dark mink but did not affect leather thickness. Liver Cu and plasma Cu concentrations of the mink linearly (P?<?0.0001) responded to increasing levels of Cu. Our results indicate that growing-furring mink can efficiently utilize added dietary fat and that Cu plays an important role in the digestion of dietary fat in growing-furring mink, and supplemental dietary Cu in growing-furring mink promotes fat digestion and improve hair colour.     

Body‐colour variation in an orb‐web spider and its effect on predation success

Animal body coloration serves several functions such as thermoregulation, camouflage, aposematism, and intraspecific communication. In some orb‐web spiders, bright and conspicuous body colours are used to attract prey. On the other hand, there are other species whose body colour does not attract prey. Using a spider species showing individual body‐colour variation, the present study aimed to determine whether or not the variation in body colour shows a correlation with predation rates. We studied the orb‐web spider (Cyclosa argenteoalba) using both field observations and T‐maze experiments, in which the prey were exposed to differently coloured spiders. Cyclosa argenteoalba has silver‐ and black‐coloured areas on its dorsal abdomen, with the ratio of these two colours varying continuously among individuals. The bright and conspicuous silver area reflects ultraviolet light. Results of both field observations and colour choice experiments using Drosophila flies as prey showed that darker spiders have a greater chance of capturing prey than silver spiders. This indicates that body‐colour variation affects predation success among individuals and that the bright silver colour does not function to attract prey in C. argenteoalba.     

Nouvelles données sur les macro-invertébrés du Turonien de la région de Libreville (bassin côtier nord-gabonais)

Thirteen species of macroinvertabrates have been identified for the first time from the Turonian deposits of the Libreville region. Seven ones correspond to bivalves: Lima (Plagiostoma) subsimplex Thomas and Péron, 1890, ?Osteomya sp., Plicatula ferryi Coquand, 1862, P. fourneli Coquand, 1862, P. ventilabrum var. suffetulensis Pervinquière, 1912, Plicatula sp., Pleuromya sp.; three other ones are echinoid species: Mecaster batnensis (Coquand, 1862), Mecaster nicaisei (Coquand, 1862), Mecaster sp.; and the last three are gastropods: Cylichna sp. ? Pterocerella poinsettiformis Stephenson, 1941, Columbellina sp. Excepted Plicatula ferryi Coquand and P. ventilabrum var. suffetulensis Pervinquière which are identified in the Senonian of Gabon, all species are found for the first time in Gabonese coastal basin. Their paleobiogeographic distribution is extended to Gabon. In Gabonese coastal basin, the stratigraphic and geographic ranges of the Plicatula genus are extended in Turonian and Libreville region respectively. The macrofaunal assemblage found in the Libreville region is cosmopolitan. Its shows paleogeographical affinities with Tethys and south of South Atlantic.     

New genus of leaf-mimicking katydids (Orthoptera: Tettigoniidae) from the Late Eocene–Early Oligocene of France and England

A new leaf-mimicking katydid (Orthoptera: Tettigoniidae: Pseudophyllinae), Archepseudophylla fossilis gen. et sp. nov. is described based on tegmina from the Early Oligocene of France. Lithymnetes laurenti Théobald, 1937 from the Late Eocene of France is transferred to Archepseudophylla comb. nov. The enigmatic ‘Poekilloptera’ melanospila Cockerell, 1921 from the Early Oligocene of the Isle of Wight (UK) is transferred to Archepseudophylla comb. nov. The present discoveries in the Palaeogene of the Isle of Wight, Céreste, and Marseilles Basins represent the first fossil records of Pseudophyllinae. In addition, these records support warm and humid forest conditions near the palaeolakes of the Isle of Wight, Camoins-les-Bains, and Céreste.     

Foliage colour influence on seed germination of Bienertia cycloptera in Arabian deserts

Bienertia cycloptera (Chenopodiaceae) produces two types of leaf foliage colour (reddish and yellowish). In order to determine the role of leaf colour variation in regulating the germination characteristics and salinity tolerance during germination, a study was conducted on seeds collected from plants of both colours. Seeds with and without pulp were germinated under two illumination conditions (12‐h light photoperiod and continuous dark), three alternating temperature regimes (15/25°C, 20/30°C and 25/35°C), and several salinity levels at 20/30°C. Germination percentage was significantly higher for seeds without pulp as compared to the seeds with pulp. The response of B. cycloptera seeds to salinity depended on the leaf colour. Thus, the seeds collected from reddish coloured plants were able to tolerate higher salinity compared to those of yellowish coloured plant. The germination recovery results indicate that the seeds from both coloured plants could remain viable in saline condition and they will be able to germinate once the salinity level are decreased by rain. The production of different foliage colours by B. cycloptera seems to be an adaptative strategy which increases the possibility for establishment in unpredictable environments by producing seeds with different germination requirements and salinity tolerance.