On Temporal Dynamics of Morphological Variations in the Black Sea Mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis Lam.

Temporal variations in morphological characters of the shells were studied in 12 samples of mussels M. galloprovincialis Lam. from the Black Sea commercial collectors that belong to different generations. The samples were shown to be diverse in every studied character and the degree of characters' variability in the samples was different. The morphological diversity of samples diminished with age. Different generations from the same habitat had specific features of age-related variability expressed as different rates of age-related changes and direction and degree of variability. This effect is considered as an index of the influence of ecological conditions on the shell growth and formation.     

Lapworthella filigrana n.sp. (incertae sedis) from the Lower Cambrian of the Cassiar Mountains,northern British Columbia,Canada, with comments on possible levels of competition in the early Cambrian

Two samples from the base of the Rosella Formation(Nevadella Zone) in the Cassiar Mountains, British Columbia, yielded a new species of the enigmatic genusLapworthella, L. filigrana n. sp., that is characterized by denticulate growth ridges and ornamented inter-ridge areas. As with other species ofLapworthella, intra-specific variation is considerable. One variant is comparable toL. lucida Meshkova 1969, from northern Siberia, but shows differences in the ornamentation of the more apical inter-ridge areas. The high degree of morphological variation inLapworthella finds parallels in certain other Lower Cambrian organisms. This variability may be the result of a low level of competition rather than a previous proposal of a primitive and inefficient genetic mechanism.     

Patterns of morphological and genetic variability in UK populations of the shore crab, Carcinus maenas Linnaeus, 1758 (Crustacea: Decapoda: Brachyura)

Previous research has identified extensive inter-population variability in the morphology of the shore crab (Carcinus maenas L.). To determine the source of this variation (genetic or environmental), morphological and genetic data were analysed from crabs collected from eight sites around the coast of the UK. Ten morphometric traits were measured from over 800 crabs and the degree of morphological similarity among sites was calculated using multivariate techniques. Allozyme electrophoresis was used to investigate patterns of genetic similarity. Extensive morphological variability was detected: eight out of the ten morphometric traits analysed were useful when discriminating between crabs from each site. Discriminant function analysis revealed that over 35% of individuals could be classified to their site of origin on the basis of their morphology. In contrast, the allozyme analysis revealed low levels of genetic variability, both within the meta-population and among the crab population at each site. Pairwise comparisons revealed a moderate correlation between the degree of morphological and genetic similarity of crabs at each site, which suggests that the observed phenotypic variability has a genetic component. However, only around 20% of the phenotypic variability detected was associated with the patterns of genetic similarity. This means that patterns of morphological variability in this species are largely determined by the local environmental conditions: local factors could have a within-generation selective influence on mean trait values or C. maenas may exhibit phenotypic plasticity.     

MORPHOLOGICAL AND ALLOZYMIC VARIATION IN POPULATIONS OF MYTILUS GALLOPROVINCIALISFROM THE AEGEAN SEA

Eight populations of Mytilus galloprovincialis from differentcoasts of the Northern and Central Aegean Sea have been investigatedat the morphological and allozymic level. A significant degreeof variation was found within and among the populations. Theaverage degree of heterozygosity ranges from 0.085 to 0.14 andit is lower than those reported for other populations of thesame species. No correlation was found between the degree ofheterozygosity and the morphological variability among the populationsexamined. (Received 14 May 1992; accepted 1 October 1992)     

Insight into Date Palm Diversity: Genetic and Morphological Investigations

Date palm (Phoenix dactylifera) is an important crop plant both from nutritional and economic points of view. The assessment of genetic diversity and population differentiation of date palms are evaluative for its dynamic conservation and sustainable utilization of its genetic diversity. Estimates of genetic diversity based on molecular markers and fruit characteristics were performed in samples of 23 date palms growing in Ahvaz city (Khuzestan province of Iran). Clustering based on fruit morphological features separated the cultivars in different groups. These cultivars differed significantly in morphological features (P =?0.001). Start codon targeted (SCoT) polymorphism markers revealed a good level of genetic variability (10.17 to 45.76%) in these cultivars. Moreover, STRUCTURE analysis revealed the presence of within-population genetic variability. Analysis of molecular variance revealed a significant genetic difference among date palms, while it showed a higher degree of within-cultivar genetic variability compared with that of among-population diversity. Some degree of common shared alleles occurred between date palm cultivars. Gst versus Nm analysis showed that some of the SCoT markers have a high discrimination power and may have a potential local adaptive value. The Mantel test showed a significant association (r =?0.40, P =?0.001) between morphological and genetic distances. Therefore, both morphological and SCoT molecular data can be used in genetic screening of date palms in the available germplasm.

     

Electrophoretic results of a biochemical systematic survey of Oxychilus (Drouetia) atlanticus and some other Zonitidae (Gastropoda: Zonitidae)

Oxychilus (Drouetia) atlanticus is an endemic terrestrial mollusc from the Azores that shows a high degree of both anatomical and morphological variability. In order to support a biochemical systematic study, several potential taxonomic isoenzymes were tested over non-congeneric, congeneric, consubgeneric and infraspecific taxa.     

Two Approaches to an Evaluation of the Reliability of Psychological Investigations (Reliability of a Fact and Syndrome Analysis)

A psychologist faced with the problem of ensuring the necessary degree of reliability of a fact he has discovered usually proceeds along a scientifically well-established path. He defines the problem, isolates the relevant area of investigation, finds a procedure adequate to the problem, and collects the number of cases necessary to ensure the reliability of the discovered fact. The criterion of reliability in these cases is the amount of data the investigator has at hand and the amount of variability in the results obtained. It is generally accepted that when the facts at hand are completely homogeneous, a relatively small number of experiments is sufficient to ensure reliability, whereas if the variability of the obtained data is relatively great, the number of observations required to ensure the statistical reliability of a fact must be increased considerably.     

Biosystematic study in the genus Cousinia Cass. (Asteraceae), section Cousinia

The genus Cousinia Cass. (Family Asteraceae) with about 600–700 species is distributed in central and western Asia. Iran has more than 200 Cousinia species that grow in mountainous areas. Cousinia is not monophyletic and with the genus Arctium, comprise the Arctium-Cousinia complex. The Cousinia species are distributed in 70 sections. The species relationship in the sect. Cousinia is not known, moreover, in few cases, inter-specific hybrids and intermediate forms are recognized. Therefore, we undertook a detailed morphological, micro-morphological and molecular (Cp-DNA and ISSRs) study of the section Cousinia with the following objectives: 1- to delimitate the species, 2- to identify potential intermediate forms, 3- to investigate the species inter-relationship. The present study revealed that combination of morphological, micro-morphological and ISSR data can delimit the species. We did not encounter any intermediate forms throughout the studied area. AMOVA and STRUCTURE analysis revealed that the species of this section are genetically differentiated but have some degree of shared common alleles. Reticulation analysis by T-REX also showed some degree of gene flow for Cp-DNA. This low degree of genetic and morphological variability in Cousinia, can help the species to cope with environmental variability they face.     

Morphological variability of Tragopogon pterodes Pančić ex Petrović achenes: taxonomic evaluation of heterocarpy

This study presents the carpological heterogeneity of Tragopogon pterodes, an endemic plant species from Balkan Peninsula. The goal of this paper was to determine the variability of morphological characters of achenes and assess the degree of their morphological differentiation relative to the position they occupy in the receptacle. Analysis included four different populations of T. pterodes and examination of 18 (8 qualitative and 10 quantitative) characters of achenes in total. Data analysis employed basic statistic, univariate (ANOVA, Tukey HSD) and multivariate (CDA, CA) analyses to check the level of heterocarpy in this species. The results indicate possible morphological differentiation of three groups of achenes (outer, median and inner achenes), depending of their position on the receptacle. The members of all three types were described, illustrated and compared. The variability of investigated carpological characters in this species is providing important information prior to their further taxonomic treatment.     

Comparison of variability of Rana temporaria (Amphibia, Anura) gastrula from different populations developing under the conditions of antropogenic pollution

The gastrulation of Rana temporaria embryos was studied at the natural spawning sites of Moscow city and Moscow district by means of morphometric analysis. We demonstrated that anthropogenic pollution plays an important role in morphogenesis of Anura. The measurements of embryos from the Moscow ponds made it possible to show an increased variability of gastrulation. Moreover, the level of gastrulation variability depends on the degree of pollution of a spawning pond and is coupled with increased correlations between the morphological features. This increase of correlations could be due to: (1) an increased number of correlating features (appearance of new correlations) and (2) strengthening of the existing correlations. The first way makes the gastrulation process more coordinated, and the second one causes the appearance of morphological structures, which are normally formed only at the next developmental stages.     

Biodiversity of cultivable psychrotrophic marine bacteria isolated from Terra Nova Bay (Ross Sea, Antarctica)

A set of 146 Antarctic marine isolates from the Ross Sea was characterized by a combination of molecular techniques in order to determine the degree of inter- and intraspecific variability. Isolates were analyzed by amplified rDNA restriction analysis (ARDRA) using the tetrameric enzyme AluI, resulting in 52 different groups, corresponding to at least 52 different bacterial species, indicating a high degree of interspecific variability. The phylogenetic position of bacteria belonging to some ARDRA groups was obtained by sequencing of 16S rDNA. Random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) analysis, carried out on the largest ARDRA groups, revealed a high intraspecific genetic variability, too. The analysis of plasmid content revealed the existence of horizontal gene transfer between strains belonging to the same and to different species. A comparison of the whole body of morphological, physiological and biochemical data was finally carried out.     

Developmental variability during early embryonic development of zebra fish, Danio rerio

Early vertebrate embryos pass through a period of remarkable morphological similarity. Possible causes for such similarity of early embryos include modularity, developmental constraints, stabilizing selection, canalization, and exhausted genetic variability. Supposedly, each process creates different patterns of variation and covariation of embryonic traits. We study the patterns of variation of the embryonic phenotype to test ideas about possible evolutionary mechanisms shaping the early embryonic development. We use the zebra fish, Danio rerio, as a model organism and apply repeated measures of individual embryos to study temporal changes of phenotypic variability during development. In particular, we are looking at the embryonic development from 12 hours post fertilization until 27 hours post fertilization. During this time period, the development of individual embryos is documented at hourly intervals. We measured maximum diameter of the eye, length of embryo, number of somites, inclination of somites, and the yolk size (as a maternal effect). The coefficient of variation (CV) was used as a measure of variability that was independent of size. We used a principal component analysis for analysis of morphological integration. The experimental setup kept environment x genotype interactions constant. Nongenetic parental contributions had no significant effects on interindividual variability. Thus all observed phenotypic variation was based on additive genetic variance and error variance. The average CV declined from 14% to 7.7%. The decline of the CV was in particular expressed during 15-19 h post fertilization and occurred in association with multiple correlations among embryonic traits and a relatively high degree of morphological integration. We suggest that internal constraints determine the patterns of variability during early embryonic development of zebra fish.     

Multiple scale patterns of shell and anatomy variability in land snails: the case of the Sicilian Marmorana (Gastropoda: Pulmonata, Helicidae)

Certain major aspects of phenotypic diversity are still largely unexplained. When phenotypic patterns do not relate to habitat variables, fine analysis of morphological patterns and their distribution sheds light on the origin of diversity. Among invertebrates, snails are an ideal model for studying the roles of the neutral processes and selection involved in creating diversity. To understand patterns and processes of variability on different scales (regional: areas; local: sites), morphological variability of two sets of characters (shell and genitalia) was quantified in a group of rock-dwelling land snails of the genus Marmorana (Pulmonata, Helicidae). To analyse shell variability, partitioning of the overall variation into size and shape components was analysed by a principal component-based approach. Shell shape and size variability is not significantly influenced by any environmental pressure. Variability at site scale is mainly attributed to shell size, which is a trait demonstrated to have a high degree of phenotypic plasticity. No sharp changes were observed for genitalia. Moreover, allometries between shell size and genitalia measurements involve a few populations. The observed multiple scale patterns are in line with the hypothesis that genital variance may be selectively controlled to maintain function.  © 2008 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society , 2008, 93 , 359–370.     

Into Eurasia: A geometric morphometric re-assessment of the Upper Cave (Zhoukoudian) specimens

Since the discovery of the human remains from the Upper Cave of Zhoukoudian in the 1930s there has been speculation over their affinities. In particular, the degree to which the three adult crania exhibit recent East Asian morphology, as well as their degree of within-group variability, has long been debated. Several early researchers described a resemblance to East Asian populations, but these findings have been for the most part rejected by more recent metric and non-metric analyses. Nevertheless, the Upper Cave specimens have not been classified conclusively into any recent modern human population to which they have been compared, and classification results differ for each cranium. Here, the question of the affinities of Upper Cave 101 and 103, the two better-preserved crania, is examined from the perspective of the Late Pleistocene human fossil record using the methodology of 3-D geometric morphometrics. The degree of morphological variation between the two specimens is also evaluated within the context of recent population variability. Neurocranial and facial morphology are analyzed separately so as to maximize comparative samples. Results show a morphological resemblance of the Upper Cave material to Upper Paleolithic Europeans. It is proposed that the Upper Cave specimens retain important aspects of modern human ancestral morphology, and possibly share a recent common ancestral population with Upper Paleolithic Europeans, in accordance with the Single Origin model of modern human origins.     

Traits,landmarks and outlines: Three congruent sides of a tale on coral reef fish morphology

Quantifying the morphology of organisms remains fundamental in ecology given the form‐function relationship. Morphology is quantifiable in traits, landmarks, and outlines, and the choice of approach may influence ecological conclusions to an unknown extent. Here, we apply these three approaches to 111 individual coral reef fish of 40 species common in Micronesia. We investigate the major dimensions of morphological variability among individuals, families, and predefined feeding functional groups. We find that although the approaches are complementary, they coincide in capturing elongation as the main dimension of variability. Furthermore, the choice of approach led to different interpretations regarding the degree of morphological differentiation among taxonomic and feeding functional groups. We also use each morphology dataset to compute community‐scale morphological diversity on Palauan reefs and investigate how the choice of dataset affects the detection of differences among sites and wave exposure levels. The exact ranking of sites from highest to lowest morphological diversity was sensitive to the approach used, but not the broad spatial pattern of morphological diversity. Conclusions regarding the effect of wave exposure on morphological diversity were robust to the approach used. Biodiversity hotspots (e.g., areas of exceptionally high diversity and/or endemism) are considered important conservation targets but their location may depend on the biodiversity metric used. In the same vein, our results caution against labelling particular sites as morphological diversity hotspots when metrics consider only a single aspect of morphology.     

Miniaturization and its effects on cranial morphology in plethodontid salamanders, genus Thorius (Amphibia: Plethodontidae). I. Osteological variation

Cranial skeletal morphology, ontogeny and variation are examined in five species of Thorius , a genus of diminutive plethodontid salamanders that are among the smallest, extant, tailed tetrapods. The skull of adull Thorius is characterized by: (1) limited development or absence of several ossified elements and dentition; (2) increased inter-and intraspecific variability; (3) novel morphological configurations of the braincase and jaw suspensorium. Posthatching cranial mineralization in all species of Thorius is truncated precociously with respect to that typical of larger and more generalized plethodontid genera, such as Pseudoeurycea. These features implicate paedomorphosis as a predominant mechanism responsible for the evolution of decreased size in Thorius from larger plethodontid ancestors. Interspecific differences in cranial morphology are evident; species may be characterized by greater or lesser degrees of truncated development. However, there is no consistent relationship between degree of paedomorphosis and mean adult body size in interspecific comparisons. Adult morphology of several individual elements represent potentially useful taxonomic characters for distinguishing species.
Reduction, increased variability, and morphological novelty are common to many lineages of dwarfed taxa. They represent a null hypothesis for examination of the developmental mechanisms and morphological consequences of miniaturization in other groups.     

Morphological variability of Undaria pinnatifida (Harvey) Suringar, 1873 (Phaeophyceae, Laminariales) in Peter the Great Bay, Sea of Japan

The morphological variability of the brown alga Undaria pinnatifida was studied in Peter the Great Bay (Sea of Japan). Comparison of the morphology of algae growing at eight sites of the bay that have different water movement revealed three phenotypically different population groups. A discriminant analysis of a set of morphological traits demonstrated that the width of the undivided part of the lamina and the stipe length make the most significant contribution to the discrimination of the detected groups. Analysis of the environmental dependence of morphological traits showed that lamina width and width of undivided part of lamina depend generally on water movement intensity, whereas the stipe length and thallus length are influenced by light intensity and surf degree.     

Comparison of variability of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Rana temporaria</Emphasis> (Amphibia,Anura) gastrula from different populations developing under the conditions of antropogenic pollution

The gastrulation of Rana temporaria embryos was studied at the natural spawning sites of Moscow city and Moscow district by means of morphometric analysis. We demonstrated that anthropogenic pollution plays an important role in morphogenesis of Anura. The measurements of embryos from the Moscow ponds made it possible to show an increased variability of gastrulation. Moreover, the level of gastrulation variability depends on the degree of pollution of a spawning pond and is coupled with increased correlations between the morphological features. This increase of correlations could be due to: (1) an increased number of correlating features (appearance of new correlations) and (2) strengthening of the existing correlations. The first way makes the gastrulation process more coordinated, and the second one causes the appearance of morphological structures, which are normally formed only at the next developmental stages.__________Translated from Ontogenez, Vol. 36, No. 2, 2005, pp. 110–122.Original Russian Text Copyright © 2005 by Severtsova, Severtsov.