Sexual dimorphism of the European Pond Turtle,Emys orbicularis (Linnaeus, 1758), in Anzali Lagoon,Iran (Reptilia: Emydidae)

The morphometric characteristics of the European Pond Turtle, Emys orbicularis, were studied at Anzali lagoon on the southern coast of the Caspian Sea. Males were on average (N=249) with 272.0?g significantly lighter than females with 447.0?g, and average carapace length was significantly smaller (123.0?mm in males, 139.0 in females). Females exceeded males also in all other studied characters (carapace width, plastron length, plastron width, and scute height). The sex ratio of male to female was 1 to 1.03, and the comparison of total tail length and cloaca-tail tip length revealed a difference between the position of the cloaca in both sexes, a character useful for sex determination in this species.     

Morphometric study of the red shrimp Aristeus antennatus in the Eastern Mediterranean

The relative growth of body parts (abdomen, uropod, scaphocerite, telson, rostrum and the third pereiopod) of both sexes of red shrimp Aristeus antennatus was studied in the Greek and Italian Ionian Sea (Eastern Mediterranean), at a depth range from 546 to 1,047 m. Morphometric relationships in the sexes showed similar patterns of relative growth in the two study areas. Although, morphological characters (abdomen, carapace length, pereiopod, rostrum, scaphocerite, telson, uropod and weight) of female were significantly greater than males, in both areas the observed differences between sexes could also attributed to the seasonal mobility pattern of females and to their reproductive activity. A negative allometry of swimming morphological characters (uropod, scaphocerite, telson) and of abdomen (related to the rapid locomotion, reproduction) was found in both sexes and areas. In contrast to this, the growth the third pereiopod (involved in walking ability) in both sexes and areas was isometric. Males showed no correlation of rostrum length with size. Some morphological characters (pereiopod, scaphocerite, uropodal exopodite) were proportionally longer in juvenile females than in adult females, indicating that the allometry differs for this species during its life cycle. A clear increasing trend of females’ size, including all the morphological characters, was shown with decreasing temperature and increasing depth.     

Craniometric allometry in the thicktailed bushbabyOtolemur Crassicaudatus

Static adult craniometric allometry was evaluated in a sample of 66Otolemur crassicaudatus skulls (34 males, 32 females). Although cranial measures were equally well correlated to skull length in males and females, there were noteworthy differences in the exponential values between the sexes. These results underlined the need for caution when allometric analyses are based on pooled data. From the cranial allometric analyses it is concluded that the longer the skull, the shorter and the narrower the maxilla, and the broader the bizygomatic distance. Although cranial length increased proportionately to the increase in skull length, the cranial width in females was positively allometric whilst in males it was negatively allometric. Allometric analyses of mandibular dimensions suggest that larger animals will have proportionately longer mandibulae, which will, in turn, be relatively wider across the gonia, yet shallower behind the first molars. It is postulated that the disproportionate widening of the zygomata might be related to the widening across the gonia.     

The stiffness of skeletal muscle in isometric contraction and rigor: the fraction of myosin heads bound to actin.

Step changes in length (between -3 and +5 nm per half-sarcomere) were imposed on isolated muscle fibers at the plateau of an isometric tetanus (tension T0) and on the same fibers in rigor after permeabilization of the sarcolemma, to determine stiffness of the half-sarcomere in the two conditions. To identify the contribution of actin filaments to the total half-sarcomere compliance (C), measurements were made at sarcomere lengths between 2.00 and 2.15 microm, where the number of myosin cross-bridges in the region of overlap between the myosin filament and the actin filament remains constant, and only the length of the nonoverlapped region of the actin filament changes with sarcomere length. At 2.1 microm sarcomere length, C was 3.9 nm T0(-1) in active isometric contraction and 2.6 nm T0(-1) in rigor. The actin filament compliance, estimated from the slope of the relation between C and sarcomere length, was 2.3 nm microm(-1) T0(-1). Recent x-ray diffraction experiments suggest that the myosin filament compliance is 1.3 nm microm(-1) T0(-1). With these values for filament compliance, the difference in half-sarcomere compliance between isometric contraction and rigor indicates that the fraction of myosin cross-bridges attached to actin in isometric contraction is not larger than 0.43, assuming that cross-bridge elasticity is the same in isometric contraction and rigor.     

Fecal pellet measurements of manipur brow-antlered deer with respect to sex and age classes

Measurements were made of fecal pellets for captive brow-antlered deer (Cervus eldi eldi) from different age and sex classes. Pellet measurements increased linearly with increases in age, except for length and width measurements in males. Differences in dimensions were statistically significant between sexes and among some age classes. This procedure may be useful in differentiating between the sexes, and to some extent between ages, of wild-living individuals. © 1993 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Growth and maturation of roker Raja clavata L. in the Solway Firth

Two hundred and seventy-one Raja clavata taken by otter trawl from the Solway Firth were examined for size, sex and state of maturity. Size relationships for both sexes were similar. Total length and disc width were linearly related as were disc width with wing width. Males and females appear to mature at 42 and 45 cm disc width respectively. The Solway population is heavily exploited by an unrestricted commercial fishery and a considerable proportion (48·6%) of the presently retained catch is immature. It is suggested that fishing pressure has brought about a reduction in the size at which female fish mature.     

Static intraspecific allometry of jaws and teeth in Cercopithecus aethiops

Adult static intraspecific allometry of jaw size and tooth area was evaluated in a sample of 100 Cercopithecus aethiops crania (50 male, 50 female). Tooth areas were calculated from mesiodistal and buccolingual measurements of all the teeth in both arcades and were scaled to four viscero-cranial measurements: bimaxillary breadth, maxillo-alveolar length, mandibular length and bigonial width. Allometric coefficients calculated for jaw dimensions alone indicate tighter viscerocranial integration in females than in males. A finding of note was that half of the variation in maxillo-alveolar length may be accounted for by variation in mandibular length: females are isometric, males negatively allometric.
A similar degree of allometric mosaicism was found when maxillary incisor size was scaled to maxillary length and width. In females, the relationship was negatively allometric, whilst incisor size in males was found to be unrelated to either. Negative allometry characterized the relationship of canine base area to jaw length in both sexes, with males additionally being positively allometric to mandibular width.
The scaling of postcanine tooth areas to jaw length was characterized by a dichotomous pattern: males showed significant mandibular integration whilst females showed only significant maxillary integration. Compensatory tooth size interaction between maxillary canine base area and the summed incisor and postcanine areas was suggested by the significant negative allometric relation between them.     

MEMBRANE CHARACTERISTICS AND OSMOTIC BEHAVIOR OF ISOLATED ROD OUTER SEGMENTS

Freshly isolated frog rod outer segments are sensitive osmometers which retain their photosensitivity; their osmotic behavior reveals essentially the same light-sensitive Na⁺ influx observed electrophysiologically in the intact receptor cell. Using appropriate osmotic conditions we have examined freeze-etch replicas of freshly isolated outer segments to identify the membrane which regulates the flow of water and ions. Under isosmotic conditions we find that the disc to disc repeat distance is almost exactly twice the thickness of a disc. This ratio appears to be the same in a variety of vertebrate rod outer segments and can be reliably measured in freeze-etch images. Under all our osmotic conditions the discs appear nearly collapsed. However, when the length of the outer segment is reduced by hyperosmotic shocks the discs move closer together. This markedly reduces the ratio of repeat distance to disc thickness since disc thickness remains essentially constant. Thus, the length reduction of isolated outer segments after hyperosmotic shocks primarily results from reduction of the extradisc volume. Since the discs are free floating and since they undergo negligibly small changes in volume, the plasma membrane alone must be primarily responsible for regulating the water flux and the light-sensitive Na⁺ influx in freshly isolated outer segments. On this basis we calculate, from the osmotic behavior, that the plasma membrane of frog rod outer segment has a Na⁺ permeability constant of about 2.8 x 10^-6 cm/s and an osmotic permeability coefficient of greater than 2 x 10^-3 cm/s.     

Structure Organization of Urinary System in the Yellow Spotted Mountain Newts （Salamandridae： Neurergus microspilotus）

This study deals with the histomorphology of the mesonephros in male and female Neurergus microspilotus. The slender and narrow kidneys are positioned in the retro peritoneal position up against the ventral aspect of vertebral column and may extend the length from the esophagus-stomach junction to cloaca. The kidney in both sexes is composed of sexual（anterior） and pelvic（posterior） parts. The duct of sexual kidney is a narrow duct which is lying alongside its lateral edge. In the female, it is connected to the ureters and then the duct of defi nitive kidney. Before entering the cloaca, two ureters are joined together and open to the apex of the cloaca. In the male, after entering the sexual kidney, the sperm leave the testis through efferent ducts, then these ducts join together and eventually form Bidder＇s duct. The Bidder＇s duct joins the Bowman＇s capsule of the nephrons in the sexual kidney and the nephrons make collecting ducts which are fi lled with both sperm and urine. After leaving the kidney, all the collecting ducts are connected to the Wolffi an duct. Wolffi an duct joins the ureters（merge from defi nitive kidney） just before entering the cloaca. Based on serial paraffi n sections, nephrons consist of a fi ltration unit, the Malpighian corpuscle, and a renal tubule, which can be divided into 4 morphologically distinct segments： proximal tubule（first and second segment）, distal tubule, and collecting tubule. Collecting tubules merge and form a branch system that opens into collecting ducts.     

Optic Disc - Fovea Distance,Axial Length and Parapapillary Zones. The Beijing Eye Study 2011

Purpose

To measure the distance between the optic disc center and the fovea (DFD) and to assess its associations.

Methods

The population-based cross-sectional Beijing Eye Study 2011 included 3468 individuals aged 50+ years. The DFD was measured on fundus photographs.

Results

Readable fundus photographs were available for 2836 (81.8%) individuals. Mean DFD was 4.76 ± 0.34mm (median: 4.74 mm; range: 3.76–6.53mm). In multivariate analysis, longer DFD was associated with longer axial length (P<0.001; standardized correlation coefficient beta: 0.62), higher prevalence of axially high myopia (P<0.001; beta:0.06), shallower anterior chamber depth (P<0.001; beta:-0.18), thinner lens thickness (P = 0.004; beta: -0.06), smaller optic disc-fovea angle (P = 0.02; beta: -0.04), larger parapapillary alpha zone (P = 0.008; beta: 0.05), larger parapapillary beta/gamma zone (P<0.001; beta: 0.11), larger optic disc area (P<0.001; beta: 0.08), lower degree of cortical cataract (P = 0.002; beta: -0.08), and lower prevalence of age-related macular degeneration (P = 0.001; beta: -0.06). Bruch´s membrane opening-fovea distance (DFD minus disc radius minus parapapillary beta/gamma zone width) in non-glaucomatous eyes was not significantly (P = 0.60) related with axial length in emmetropic or axially myopic eyes (axial length ≥23.5 mm), while it increased significantly (P<0.001; r: 0.32) with longer axial length in eyes with an axial length of <23.5mm. Ratio of mean DFD to disc diameter was 2.65 ± 0.30. If the ratio of disc-fovea distance to disc diameter was considered constant and if the individual disc diameter was calculated as the individual disc-fovea distance divided by the constant factor of 2.65, the resulting calculated disc diameter differed from the directly measured disc diameter by 0.16 ±0.13 mm (median: 0.13 mm, range: 0.00–0.89 mm) or 8.9 ± 7.3% (median: 7.4%; range: 0.00–70%) of the measured disc diameter.

Conclusions

DFD (mean: 4.76mm) increases with longer axial length, larger parapapillary alpha zone and parapapillary beta/gamma zone, and larger disc area. The axial elongation associated increase in DFD was due to an enlargement of parapapillary beta/gamma zone while the Bruch’s membrane opening-fovea distance did not enlarge with longer axial length. This finding may be of interest for the process of emmetropization and myopization. Due to its variability, the disc-fovea distance has only limited clinical value as a relative size unit for structures at the posterior pole.     

Quantitative Genetics of DROSOPHILA MELANOGASTER. I. Sexual Dimorphism in Genetic Parameters for Wing Traits

Sexual dimorphism in genetic parameters is examined for wing dimensions of Drosophila melanogaster. Data are fit to a quantitative genetic model where phenotypic variance is a linear function of additive genetic autosomal variance (common to both sexes), additive genetic X-linked variances distinct for each sex, variance due to common rearing environment of families, residual environmental variance, random error variance due to replication, and variance due to measurement error and developmental asymmetry (left vs. right sides). Polygenic dosage compensation and its effect on genetic variances and covariances between sexes is discussed. Variance estimates for wing length and other wing dimensions highly correlated with length support the hypothesis that the Drosophila system of dosage compensation will cause male X-linked genetic variance to be substantially larger than female X-linked variance. Results for various wing dimensions differ, suggesting that the level of dosage compensation may differ for different traits. Genetic correlations between sexes for the same trait are presented. Total additive genetic correlations are near unity for most wing traits; this indicates that selection in the same direction in both sexes would have a minor effect on changing the magnitude of difference between sexes. Additive X-linked correlations suggest some genotype x sex interactions for X-linked effects.     

Activation in a Skeletal Muscle Contraction Model with a Modification for Insect Fibrillar Muscle

A sliding filament model for muscle contraction is extended by including an activation mechanism based on the hypothesis that the binding of calcium by a regulating protein in the myofibrils must occur before the rate constant governing the making of interactions between cross-bridges and thin filament sites can take on nonzero values. The magnitude of the rate constant is proportional to the amount of bound calcium. The model's isometric twitch and rise of force in an isometric tetanus are similar to the curves produced by real muscles. It redevelops force after a quick release in an isometric tetanus faster than the initial rise. Quick release experiments on the model during an isometric twitch show that the “active state” curve produced is different from the postulated calcium binding curve. The force developed by the model can be increased by a small quick stretch delivered soon after activation to values near the maximum generated in an isometric tetanus. Following the quick stretch, the force remains near the tetanic maximum for a long time even though the calcium binding curve rises to a peak and subsequently decays by about 50%. The model satisfies the constraint of shortening with a constant velocity under a constant load. Modifications can be made in the model so that it produces the delayed force changes following step length changes characteristic of insect fibrillar muscle.     

Sexual dimorphism of external morphological characters in some deepwater skates (Rajidae,Rajiformes, Chondrichthyes) of the North Atlantic

Our studies of the external morphology of five species of deepwater skates (Amblyraja jenseni, Bathyraja pallida, B. richardsoni, Rajella bigelowi, and R. kukujevi) showed that their males and females differ significantly in 9 characters in the first species, 14 characters in the second, 11 characters in the third and fourth, and 10 characters in the fifth. Sexual differences occur most frequently in the length of the first gill slit (in four species out of five), the length of the nasal curtain, the mouth width, and the length of the third gill slit (in three species out of five), the width and length of the disc, the length of the first and second dorsal fin bases, the tail height at the tip of the ventral fin, the length of the fifth gill slit, the distance between the first and fifth gill slits, the interspiracular distance, the preanal length, distance from the tip of the snout to the maximum disc width, and the interorbital distance (in two species out of five).     

A note on functional implications of morphological variation in the human mandible

This study was carried out on 56 mandibles belonging to skeletal remains recovered from archaeological excavations in Israel dated to 6.000 BP. or less, 2 Neandertal mandibles dating between 50.000–60.000 BP. and 2 early H. sapiens sapiens mandibles both dating to circa 92.000 yr BP. Mandibular body length, the distance from the anterior border of the symphysis to a line bisecting the first molar (distance 1), and the distance from the line bisecting the first molar to the mandibular angle (distance 2) were measured. Distance 1, showed little variation between specimens. However, distance 2 showed a significant difference between sexes and between early and late specimens. For all specimens examined there was a low nonsignificant correlation, between the length of the mandible and distance 1, while there was a high correlation between the length of the mandibular body and distance 2. There was little or no correlation between distance 1 and 2. We propose that the human mandible, as a lever arm, can be divided into two functional parts; an anterior part which shows little change over the last 90000 years, and a posterior part which differs in accordance with the length of the mandibular corpus. These changes in distance 2 appear to correlate to changes in body size and diet, suggesting that as proposed by Hylander (1988) chewing rather than incision has played the main role in evolutionary trends of the hominid mandible. This is also in accordance with mandibular growth during development where the lengthening of the jaw takes place mostly in the posterior part by remodeling in the ramus area (Enlow, 1990) both during individual development (ontogenesis) and through evolutionary changes (phylogenesis).     

A study of the relationship between muscle length, tension-time area and stiffness in cat areflexic soleus

The relationship between muscle length and both tension-time area and stiffness were studied in the isolated cat soleus muscle during tetanic isometric contraction at different stimulus rates. The results show that: The area subtending the tension curve remains constant in a range of 8-10 mm of muscle length, for stimulation frequencies between 15 and 66 Hz. The muscle stiffness, measured using different amplitude stretches, remains constant over changes in muscle length of 10 mm. The stiffness is higher for smaller stretches than for larger ones. The data therefore show an approximately constant tension-time area and no significant changes in stiffness for variations in muscle length that exceed the physiological length variations during quiet standing. These results are discussed in the context of postural mechanisms.     

The relationship between organ weights and body weights, facial dimensions, and dental dimensions in a population of olive baboons (Papio cynocephalus anubis)

Questions concerned with the relationship between organ weights and body weight on an intraspecific level are best answered by using a sample of animals collected in the wild from a single locale during a single season. The organ weights and body weights for this study were obtained from the necropsy reports prepared in the field (Athi Plain, Kenya) by H. C. McGill, Jr. on 36 adult animals (18 males and 18 females). Dental and facial measurements were taken by M.I. Siegel. In order to avoid erroneous results produced by statistical treatment of combined sex samples of sexually dimorphic species, data on the sexes were analyzed separately. Means and standard deviations are reported for selected organ weights and body dimensions (heart, lung, liver, spleen, kidney, adrenal, brain, and pancreas weights, crown–rump length, crown–heel length, head circumference, chest circumference, and body weight). All of the above measures were significantly (p<0.05) different between the sexes. Logarithms of these measures were significantly correlated with the logarithm of body weight in males for heart, lung, liver, spleen, kidney, and adrenal weights, crown–heel length, and head and chest circumference, and in females for crown–heel length, heart, liver, and kidney weights. Partial correlational analysis, removing the effects of body size (weight), showed mostly negative correlational relationships between dental and visceral dimensions. Most of the correlations between facial and visceral dimensions were negative. Allometric equations were calculated for the dental, facial, and visceral dimensions versus body weight, and are compared with prior published results.     

Sexual dimorphism in the cranium of infant and juvenile organutans

The present study examines sexual dimorphism in the cranium of the immature orangutan. A series of 37 craniometric dimensions were measured on 56 immature crania. The total sample was divided into two subsamples: infants and juveniles. Univariate statistics and an analysis of variance were prepared for each subsample. Results indicate that the males and females in both subsamples are significantly different (p less than or equal to 0.05) for two measures of skull length. Eight additional dimensions from the infant category also appear to differ significantly (p less than or equal to 0.05) between the sexes.     

Life‐history traits of the leatherjacket Meuschenia scaber,a long‐lived monacanthid

The present study describes the age and growth of the leatherjacket Meuschenia scaber, a common Australasian monacanthid and valued by‐catch of the inshore bottom trawl fishery in New Zealand. Age was determined from the sagittal otoliths of 651 individuals collected between July 2014 and March 2016 in the Hauraki Gulf of New Zealand. Otolith sections revealed alternating opaque and translucent zones and edge‐type analysis demonstrated that these are deposited annually. Meuschenia scaber displayed rapid initial growth, with both males and females reaching maturity in 1–2 years and 50% of both sexes matured at 1·5 years. Maximum age differed substantially between the sexes, at 9·8 years for males and 17·1 years for females. Growth rate was similar between sexes, although males reached greater mass at age than females in the early part of the lifespan. The length–mass relationship differed significantly between the sexes, with males displaying negative allometric growth and females isometric growth. Female condition was highest in July, declined in August with the onset of spawning and showed a slight peak in January and February, immediately following the spawning season. This study substantially extends the maximum longevity recorded for monacanthids, although males had much shorter lifespans and higher mortality, than females.     

Sexual dimorphism in the growth of the cranium

The major sexual dimorphisms in body size appear at puberty but, by then, 95% of the growth of the cranium is completed. As sexual dimorphism in the cranium is as great as for other parts of the body, this suggests that it must appear at an earlier age, and that cranium/body size ratios for the two sexes will vary during growth. Results from a longitudinal study of Montreal children are used to investigate this phenomenon. The effect is expressed quantitatively by proportional growth and growth velocity curves, based on the final size of boys, which show that the dimorphism indeed makes an early appearance. The data are also analyzed on an age scale relative to the ages of peak growth velocity in stature, derived from the individual growth curves. This shows that although there is a minor pubertal spurt in growth for the external cranial dimensions of boys, it contributes relatively little to the final dimorphism in cranial size. To summarize this aspect of growth, an index of cephalization is calculated: head length × head width/stature. Cross-sectional standards for the change of the mean index with age show a linear decline for boys and girls until puberty, with a constant difference between them. After puberty, the index becomes equal in the two sexes. Individual development curves for the index are however not linear.