INTERACTIVE EFFECTS OF OFFSPRING SIZE AND TIMING OF REPRODUCTION ON OFFSPRING REPRODUCTION: EXPERIMENTAL,MATERNAL, AND QUANTITATIVE GENETIC ASPECTS

We demonstrate that egg size in side-blotched lizards is heritable (parent-offspring regressions) and thus will respond to natural selection. Because our estimate of heritability is derived from free-ranging lizards, it is useful for predicting evolutionary response to selection in wild populations. Moreover, our estimate for the heritability of egg size is not likely to be confounded by nongenetic maternal effects that might arise from egg size per se because we estimate a significant parent-offspring correlation for egg size in the face of dramatic experimental manipulation of yolk volume of the egg. Furthermore, we also demonstrate a significant correlation between egg size of the female parent and clutch size of her offspring. Because this correlation is not related to experimentally induced maternal effects, we suggest that it is indicative of a genetic correlation between egg size and clutch size. We synthesize our results from genetic analyses of the trade-off between egg size and clutch size with previously published experiments that document the mechanistic basis of this trade-off. Experimental manipulation of yolk volume has no effect on offspring reproductive traits such as egg size, clutch size, size at maturity, or oviposition date. However, egg size was related to offspring survival during adult phases of the life history. We partitioned survival of offspring during the adult phase of the life history into (1) survival of offspring from winter emergence to the production of the first clutch (i.e., the vitellogenic phase of the first clutch), and (2) survival of the offspring from the production of the first clutch to the end of the reproductive season. Offspring from the first clutch of the reproductive season in the previous year had higher survival during vitellogenesis of their first clutch if these offspring came from small eggs. We did not observe selection during these prelaying phases of adulthood for offspring from later clutches. However, we did find that later clutch offspring from large eggs had the highest survival over the first season of reproduction. The differences in selection on adult survival arising from maternal effects would reinforce previously documented selection that favors the production of small offspring early in the season and large offspring later in the season—a seasonal shift in maternal provisioning. We also report on a significant parent-offspring correlation in lay date and thus significant heritable variation in lay date. We can rule out the possibility of yolk volume as a confounding maternal effect—experimental manipulation of yolk volume has no effect on lay date of offspring. However, we cannot distinguish between genetic effects (i.e., heritable) and nongenetic maternal effects acting on lay date that arise from the maternal trait lay date per se (or other unidentified maternal traits). Nevertheless, we demonstrate how the timing of female reproduction (e.g., date of oviposition and date of hatching) affect reproductive attributes of offspring. Notably, we find that date of hatching has effects on body size at maturity and fecundity of offspring from later clutches. We did not detect comparable effects of lay date on offspring from the first clutch.     

佛坪自然保护区羚牛的种群数量与结构特征

１９９６年对佛坪自然保护区内的羚牛种群进行了数量调查,结果表明,保护区内羚牛的数量为４３５～５２７只,种群密度达到１．２９～１．５６只／ｋｍ２。羚牛种群的成体雌雄个体之比约为１∶０．５,明显地偏向雌性。在羚牛种群中幼仔占１２．２４％,亚成体占３５．０３％,成年雄性个体占１７．３３％,成年雌性个体占３５．４０％。该羚牛种群在１９９１年至１９９６年间的年均增长率为１８．４８％,明显高于１９８４至１９９１年间羚牛种群的年均增长率。保护区周边地区的生境不断丧失,迫使羚牛向保护区境内迁移,是保护区内羚牛种群数量在短期内迅速升高的原因。     

瓦氏黄颡鱼年龄与生长的研究

根据在长江中游嘉鱼至新滩口江段采集的瓦氏黄颡鱼标本,对其年龄与生长进行了研究。以脊椎骨为年龄鉴定材料,胸鳍棘和耳石作为对照材料。透射光下,脊椎骨上较宽的暗带和较窄的亮带相间排列成同心圆环,一个暗带和一个亮带构成一个年轮。2—7月形成新年轮,脊椎骨上不存在幼轮。雌、雄鱼的脊椎骨半径与体长呈显著的正相关,回归方程分别为:L_♀=6.95 131.46R-10.12R~2,L_♂=18.06 113.64R-1.70R~2。体长与体重的关系方程分别为:W_♀=1.85×10~(-5)L~(2.98),W_♂=1.69×10~(-5)L~(2.55)。雌鱼为等速生长,雄鱼为异速生长。雌、雄鱼的生长存在差异,1龄后雄鱼生长明显快于雌鱼。雌、雄鱼适宜的生长方程分别为:♀:L_t=300.88e~(-1.67e~(-0.42t)),W_t=511.77e~(-4.98e~(-0.38t)),♂:L_t=415.15e~(-1.96e~(-0.33t)),W_t=777.53e~(-4.92e~(-0.32t))。雌鱼体长、体重生长的拐点年龄分别为1.22龄和4.22龄,雄鱼分别为2.04龄和4.98龄。     

ADAPTIVE PHENOTYPIC PLASTICITY IN GROWTH,DEVELOPMENT, AND BODY SIZE IN THE YELLOW DUNG FLY

Life-history theory predicts that age and size at maturity of organisms should be influenced by time and food constraints on development. This study investigated phenotypic plasticity in growth, development, body size, and diapause in the yellow dung fly, Scathophaga stercoraria. Full-sib families were allowed to develop under predator-free field conditions. The time before the onset of winter was varied and each brood was split into three environments differing in the amount of dung a set number of larvae had as a resource. When resources were abundant and competition was minimal, individuals of both sexes grew to larger body sizes, took longer time to mature, and were able to increase their growth rates to attain large body sizes despite shorter effective development periods later in the season. In contrast, limited larval resources and strong competition constrained individuals to mature earlier at a smaller adult size, and growth rates could not be increased but were at least maintained. This outcome is predicted by only two life-history optimality models, which treat mortality due to long development periods and mortality due to fast growth as independent. Elevated preadult mortality indicated physiological costs of fast growth independent of predation. When larval resources were limited, mortality increased with heritable variation in development time for males, and toward the end of the season mortality increased as larval resources became more abundant because this induced longer development periods. Sexual and fecundity selection favoring large body size in this species is thus opposed by larval viability selection favoring slower growth in general and shorter development periods when time and resources are limited; this overall combination of selective pressures is presumably shaping the reaction norms obtained here. Flexible growth rates are facilitated by low genetic correlations between development time and body size, a possible consequence of selection for plasticity. Heritable variation was evident in all traits investigated, as well as in phenotypic plasticity of these traits (genotype X interactions). This is possibly maintained by unpredictable spatiotemporal variation in dung abundance, competition, and hence selection.     

网湖乌鳢年龄和生长的研究

网湖乌鳢的鳞径与体长关系为:L=0.2423 13.6935S,体长和体重的关系为:W=0.01387L~(3.1694)。Von Bertalanffy生长方程的主要参数为:L_∞=72.8cm,W_∞=11064.1g,k=0.2263,t_0=-0.8014,拐点年龄t_i=4.30a,拐点体重W_i=3331.9kg。综合分析结果表明现行捕捞应作适当调整。     

INFLUENCE OF CELL VOLUME ON THE GROWTH AND SIZE REDUCTION OF MARINE AND ESTUARINE DIATOMS1

The maximal growth rate (μ_max) of 19 marine and estuarine diatoms decreased with increasing cell volume (V). The relationship between log μ_max (Y) and log V (X) was calculated. Statistical analyses showed that the slope of the equation was not significantly different from those obtained by other researchers and that the 95% confidence intervals of mean μ_max at cell volumes of 10³–10⁵μm³ were not significantly different from those cited in most studies. A new regression line for diatoms was calculated as follows: log μ_max= 0.47–0.14 log V; r =–0.69. The rate of size reduction per generation of the 19 diatom species ranged from 0.03 to 0.87 μm per generation. The rate increased with increasing cell length and cell volume and with decreasing maximum division rate. Statistical analyses showed that the rate was closely related to the cell volume and to the reciprocal of the growth rate. The relationships between maximal growth rate and cell volume and between rate of size reduction and cell volume showed that a diatom with a large volume had a smaller maximal growth rate and a larger rate of size reduction than a diatom with a small volume. The estimates using the equation for the regression line between the rate of size reduction and the reciprocal of maximum division rate indicated that a diatom with a high maximum division rate would need more generation equivalents for a certain size reduction than a diatom with a low maximum division rate, but the periods required for reduction would be approximately equal irrespective of maximum division rate.     

HOW TO MEASURE MATURATION: A COMPARISON OF PROBABILISTIC METHODS USED TO TEST FOR GENOTYPIC VARIATION AND PLASTICITY IN THE DECISION TO MATURE

Maturation is a developmental trait that plays a key role in shaping organisms’ life‐history. However, progress in understanding how maturation phenotypes evolve has been held back by confusion over how best to model maturation decisions and a lack of studies comparing genotypic variation in maturation. Here, we fitted probabilistic maturation reaction norms (PMRNs) to data collected from five clones of Daphnia magna and five of Daphnia pulex collected from within and between different populations. We directly compared the utility of modeling approaches that assume maturation to be a process with an instantaneous rate with those that do not by fitting maturation rate and logistic regression models, and emphasize similarities and differences between them. Our results demonstrate that in Daphnia, PMRNs using a logistic regression approach were simpler to use and provided a better fit to the data. The decision to mature was plastic across a range of growth trajectories and dependent upon both body size and age. However, the age effect was stronger in D. magna than D. pulex and varied considerably between clones. Our results support the idea that maturation thresholds can evolve but also suggest that the notion of a threshold based on a single fixed state is an oversimplification that underestimates the adaptability of these important traits.     

愈伤组织继代接种量、继代周期和年龄对软紫草原生质体脱壁的影响

本文的实验结果表明：软紫草愈伤组织脱壁所需的适宜酶浓度为：０．１％果胶酶十０．２５％纤维素酶;酶解处理的适宜时间与愈伤组织年龄有关：愈伤组织的适宜年龄随其继代周期、愈伤组织继代接种量而有变化。当接种量,１克／瓶,转代后７天进行原生质体分离：接种量３克／瓶,酶解材料则以培养５天愈伤组织为宜。继代周期１３天和１５天的比１５天和１５天的,适宜脱壁的愈伤组织当代培养天数要提前１天。     

NEW LIGHT ON THE SCALING OF METABOLIC RATE WITH THE SIZE OF ALGAE

The scaling of metabolic rate with the size of algae has been discussed and researched at length. The observation that algae usually have exponents b in the equation R = a· W ^{− b} (where R is the specific growth rate, W is the organism [cell] biomass, and a and b are constants) equal to or higher than the value of −0.25 for many other organisms is generally related to resource-saturated (maximal) values of R. Recent work has shown that the exponent b for light-limited growth is more negative than −0.25. This was predicted from considerations of the package effect in photon absorption, as modulated by the volume-specific pigment content of the cells, and the photosynthetic unit size. Further work is needed to extrapolate these findings to fluctuating light environments. This minireview puts the recent work into a broader context and suggests how further work could quantify the roles of optical thickness and of spatial and temporal variations in the radiation field in determining metabolic rates.     

DENSITY-DEPENDENT NATURAL SELECTION IN DROSOPHILA: EVOLUTION OF GROWTH RATE AND BODY SIZE

Drosophila melanogaster populations subjected to extreme larval crowding (CU lines) in our laboratory have evolved higher larval feeding rates than their corresponding controls (UU lines). It has been suggested that this genetically based behavior may involve an energetic cost, which precludes natural selection in a density-regulated population to simultaneously maximize food acquisition and food conversion into biomass. If true, this stands against some basic predictions of the general theory of density-dependent natural selection. Here we investigate the evolutionary consequences of density-dependent natural selection on growth rate and body size in D. melanogaster. The CU populations showed a higher growth rate during the postcritical period of larval life than UU populations, but the sustained differences in weight did not translate into the adult stage. The simplest explanation for these findings (that natural selection in a crowded larval environment favors a faster food acquisition for the individual to attain the same final body size in a shorter period of time) was tested and rejected by looking at the larva-to-adult development times. Larvae of CU populations starved for different periods of time develop into comparatively smaller adults, suggesting that food seeking behavior in a food depleted environment carries a higher cost to these larvae than to their UU counterparts. The results have important implications for understanding the evolution of body size in natural populations of Drosophila, and stand against some widespread beliefs that body size may represent a compromise between the conflicting effects of genetic variation in larval and adult performance.     

THE EFFECTS OF POPULATION SIZE AND PLANT DENSITY ON OUTCROSSING RATES IN LOCALLY ENDANGERED SALVIA PRATENSIS

Multilocus outcrossing rates were estimated in natural and experimental populations of Salvia pratensis, an entomophilous, gynodioecious, protandrous perennial. Male steriles were used to check the estimation procedure of outcrossing rates in hermaphrodites. Estimates of outcrossing rates in hermaphroditic plants ranged from 38.2% to 81.8% in natural populations and from 71.5% to 95.5% in experimental populations. No correlations were found between outcrossing rates and population size. However, outcrossing in hermaphrodites was promoted by high plant densities and low frequencies of male steriles. It is argued that effective management to preserve genetic variation in populations of S. pratensis should provide for the maintenance of high plant densities.     

THE EFFECTS OF POPULATION BOTTLENECKS ON CLONAL INTERFERENCE, AND THE ADAPTATION EFFECTIVE POPULATION SIZE

Clonal interference refers to the competition that arises in asexual populations when multiple beneficial mutations segregate simultaneously. A large body of theoretical and experimental work now addresses this issue. Although much of the experimental work is performed in populations that grow exponentially between periodic population bottlenecks, the theoretical work to date has addressed only populations of a constant size. We derive an analytical approximation for the rate of adaptation in the presence of both clonal interference and bottlenecks, and compare this prediction to the results of an individual-based simulation, showing excellent agreement in the parameter regime in which clonal interference prevails. We also derive an appropriate definition for the effective population size for adaptive evolution experiments in the presence of population bottlenecks. This "adaptation effective population size" allows for a good approximation of the expected rate of adaptation, either in the strong-selection weak-mutation regime, or when clonal interference comes into play. In the multiple mutation regime, when the product of the population size and mutation rate is extremely large, these results no longer hold.     

性别与年龄对圈养大熊猫行为的影响

对 2 4只圈养大熊猫行为进行了定量观察 ,发现雄性活动、蹭阴标记和探究行为频次显著高于雌性 ,其它行为差异不够显著。随年龄的增长 ,个体探究和游戏行为频次显著减少 ;雄性个体用于蹭阴标记和嗅闻的时间显著多于雌性 ,而用于休息行为的时间则正相反。随年龄的增长 ,个体用于游戏的时间显著减少 ,休息的时间显著增加 ;圈养雄性个体白天处于活跃状态的时间百分比 (86 5 9± 5 4 0 ,n =11)显著多于雌性 (6 6 77±5 75 % ,n =13,P =0 0 5 0 )。结果表明 :1)大熊猫个体行为的性别差异不仅存在于野生个体 ,而且存在于圈养个体 ;2 )幼年个体表现较多的游戏和探究行为可能与行为学习和模仿有关 ,并可能对个体行为发育有重要影响。非发情期雄性个体表现较多的蹭阴标记和嗅闻行为可能与护卫领地和维持社群关系有关。     

Catch‐up growth in the rhinoceros beetle Trypoxylus dichotomus (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae): Smaller neonates gain relatively more body mass during larval development

Body size often varies among conspecific neonates. As larger adults generally have higher fitness than smaller conspecifics, it is adaptive for smaller neonates to subsequently gain relatively more size increments during larval development (catch‐up growth). Although catch‐up growth has been suggested in insects, inappropriate methods have been used to examine the size dependence of growth increments. Therefore, it remains unclear to what extent catch‐up growth is common among insects. The present study examined the size dependence of growth increments among larvae of Trypoxylus dichotomus using reduced major axis regression of final to initial body masses. Catch‐up growth was found consistently for larval instars. Furthermore, simulations of the size increments revealed that not only sexual divergence of the mean size, but also catch‐up growth within sexes plays a role in the development of sexual divergence in the body size distribution of T. dichotomus. The significance of catch‐up growth in body size evolution was discussed.     

江豚的年龄鉴定、生长和生殖的研究

本文根据在长江中下游,长江口和中国东北沿海收到的68头江豚标本,对江豚年龄鉴定的方法作了摸索和研究。从年龄,生长和生殖的角度系统分析了江豚的一些种群生物学特征。江豚年龄与生长的关系在一定范围内遵循的幂函数型式。4-5龄以前,江豚的生长迅速,此后减慢。江豚首次性成熟年龄雌性4龄,雄性4.5龄。性成熟时体长雌性133cm,雄性140cm。根据16头胎儿资料,用对数分割法反推出江豚的交配期较长,并有两个可能的交配高峰,分娩的高峰为2-4月。断奶年龄约为0.5龄。粗略估算长江江豚的年生殖率为20％。长江的江豚和中国沿海的江豚在形态和种群结构上各具特点。从江豚的年龄组成看出,幼龄组(0-4龄)的比例较大,结构基本正常。       

光照强度对中华鳖稚鳖摄食和生长的影响

在３０００，１０００，３００和１０１ｘ的光照强度下，测定了中华鳖稚鳖的最大日摄食量和特定生长率。结果表明，光照强度对中华鳖稚瞥珠最大日摄食量影响显著，随着光照强度的减弱，中华鳖稚鳖的最大日摄食量逐渐增加，二者之间呈线性负相关。     

内蒙古草原蝗虫个体大小及生活型划分的探讨

根据内蒙古锡林河流域草原蝗虫的形态测量指标,对２３种蝗虫进行了个体大小及生活型量化划分的探讨,结果表明,２３种蝗虫可以划分为大、中、小３个类群,生活型表现为从典型的地栖型到典型的植栖型的渐为特征。个体在小与生活型紧密相关,个体大的种类常为地本型,而个体小的种类多为植栖型。     

FITNESS CONSEQUENCES OF VARIATION IN EGG SIZE AND FOOD ABUNDANCE IN BROOK TROUT SALVELINUS FONTINALIS

Relationships between egg size and juvenile survival in brook trout, Salvelinus fontinalis, were determined experimentally at two levels of food abundance and then incorporated into a model that related maternal fitness to egg size and food supply. Egg volume was positively correlated with juvenile size at hatching and size at yolk sac resorption but had no significant effect on embryonic survival or development time. Juvenile survival was linearly related to egg size throughout the first 50 days of exogenous feeding at high and low food levels. The effects of egg size and food abundance on juvenile survival were not additive. Decreased food abundance significantly increased mortality among the smallest eggs but had a negligible effect on the largest eggs. Model simulations indicate that maternal fitness is a curvilinear function of egg size and that food supply influences both the height and the shape of the function. The fitness functions provide empirical support for the hypothesis that selection favors an increase in offspring size with reductions in resource abundance.