Nuptial Feeding in Insects: Theoretical Models of Male and Female Interests

We present a series of prospective models of nuptial feeding, mainly for insects. The models examine various optimal male and female strategies, but do not include any element of mate choice in which the female chooses males in relation to the gift he provides. We find that the female should use the gift to enhance egg size and/or clutch size when gifts represent a relatively large component of the energy resources for the gametes, or when the gift occurs at a relatively late stage in her reproductive cycle. However, if the female receives a single, relatively small gift during her reproductive cycle, she should show a reduced gametic output at the next oviposition. A literature survey revealed several studies that show increases in egg and clutch sizes following gift donation, but we found no instances in which there was a reduction in gametic output. We also find that if gifts are infrequent, there can be significant sexual conflict over the pattern of allocation of donated resources to future offspring. Male interests will generally be best served by a more immediate use of the resources than will be optimal for the female. This may result in selection for male ability to influence vitellogenesis and/or oviposition. Evidence is available which shows that male-derived substances influence female physiology; this might reflect an outcome towards male interests as a result of an arms race in sexual conflict. Some studies have demonstrated an effect of gift donation on survivorship. We examine models in which gift donation reduces male survival but increases female survival. These suggest that gift donation is most likely to evolve when (1) giving a gift has little effect on male, but a significant effect on female survival, (2) when the male is more likely to father eggs in a later batch, rather than the next batch, and (3) when random mortality is high.     

Art and the Twenty-First Century Gift: Corporate Philanthropy and Government Funding in the Cultural Sector

Marcel Mauss's work on the archaic gift contributes to understandings of corporate and government support of arts organisations, or ‘institutional funding’. His approach allows us to see institutional funding as a gift that is embedded in a system of exchange wherein gifts come with a variety of obligations, and self-interest and disinterestedness are inseparable. The institutional gift operates through money and contracts; nevertheless, it entails obligations to give, to receive, and to reciprocate. This system of obligations has been joined, in the contemporary institutional gift, by another obligation: the obligation to ask.

Institutional funding of the arts has acquired additional twenty-first-century elements. The article elaborates these, using the UK as an example. It also argues that the ambivalence felt by some members of the arts world about institutional funding stems, in large part, from the obligations inherent in the gift. The recent imposition of the neo-liberal model into the arts is an intrinsic part of the exchange between institutional funders and arts organisations. Given that Mauss's work is strongly anti-liberal and anti-utilitarian, it is ironic that his ideas should prove so useful for understanding a form of twenty-first-century gift in which neo-liberalism plays such a crucial role.     

The influence of nuptial feeding and sperm transfer on the immunological cost of reproduction in the ground cricket Allonemobius socius

Mating is often accompanied by decreased female immune function across numerous animals systems, suggesting that immune suppression is a widespread reproductive cost. However, the trade‐off between immunity and reproduction can be minimized when females have access to abundant nutrient resources. This observation suggests that the nuptial gifts provided by males in many insect systems may help to offset the common immunological cost to reproduction. In the present study, this hypothesis is tested in the ground cricket Allonemobius socius (Scudder), whose females receive a sizeable haemolymph‐based gift. Accordingly, male gift donation is controlled by covering the tibial spur (the source of the gift) of randomly chosen males with clear nail polish. The influence of sperm transfer on female immunity is disentangled from that of the nuptial gift by also examining females who fail to receive sperm during mating (spermatophore transfer has a 40% failure rate in virgin males). It is predicted that females who receive a nuptial gift will exhibit superior immune function compared with those who receive no gift. The results show that sperm transfer reduces female immune function, which is an expected immunological cost of reproduction. By contrast to the prediction, nuptial gifts do not minimize the immunological cost of reproduction in this system. Unexpectedly, the receipt of a gift appears to decrease female immune function independent of sperm transfer. The findings suggest that the nuptial gift, similar to sperm, signals the female to begin her reproductive investment, causing limited resources to be reallocated from immune function.     

Religious and secular death: a parting of the ways

Most organized religions have indicated a level of support for organ donation including the diagnosis of death by the brain criterion. Organ donation is seen as a gift of love and fits within a communitarian ethos that most religions embrace. The acceptance of the determination of death by the brain criterion, where it has been explained, is reconciled with religious views of soul and body by using a notion of integration. Because the soul may be seen as that which integrates the human body, in the absence of any other signs of human functioning, loss of integration is considered to be an indication that soul and body have separated. To some extent this view would seem to be informed by an Aristotelian notion of the soul, but it fits well enough with religious notions of the person continuing after death. There have been several developments internationally that indicate that the acceptance of so-called 'brain death' by organized religions has been challenged by new developments including the acceptance of a lesser standard than loss of all brain function and a rejection by the US President's Council on Bioethics of the notion of loss of integration as an explanation of death by the brain criterion.     

Evaluation of the experiences of family members whose deceased relative donated tissues at the NHSBT dedicated donation facility in Speke, Liverpool

Donation of human tissue for transplant and research has historically been facilitated within the hospital mortuary. In 2006 NHSBT Tissue Services opened the Dedicated Donation Facility [DDF], the first facility in the UK dedicated to the donation of tissues under strictly controlled conditions. Nine family members who had agreed and experienced the transfer of their deceased relative to the DDF for tissue donation participated in a service evaluation applying qualitative data collection methods and framework analysis. The evaluation aimed to: understand the decision-making process of family members who agreed to their deceased relative being moved to the DDR for tissue donation; identify any concerns that family members had; gather the views of family members regarding the 'service' provided to them by NHSBT Tissue Services. Family members were unaware of the possibility of tissue donation. The process of reasoning behind both agreeing to tissue donation and movement of the deceased to the DDF by family members was fundamentally, 'the benefit to others' that tissue donation would bring, and fulfilling the wishes of the deceased [when known]. Family decision making was facilitated by: (i) a positive rapport with the requester, (ii) satisfaction with the information provided to the family about what would happen, and (iii) trust in that what was being said would happen. Family members were satisfied with the service provided to them by Tissue Services and confident in agreeing to the transfer of their deceased relative to the dedicated facility for tissue donation.     

Yin-yang genetics,or the HSD deCODE controversy

This paper examines a number of social, ethical and cultural issues related to the application of biotechnology. The focus of the paper relies on two different cases of governing biotechnology in Portugal, referring to donation of biological material: the act of donation of eggs and sperm; and volunteers for donation of DNA material for the forensic national DNA database. We analyze the discourses on donation of biological material framing them in rhetorical devices of gift, altruism, informed consent and social responsibility. This comes blended with still unclear and emergent regulation and policies of access, retention, preservation and governing of biological material and of donors' identification. The risks are mitigated by narratives of science and technology as social progress and providers of public good and health benefits, as well as by underlining the individual responsibility in this domain and by reinforcing the rhetoric of gene quality, based on socio-cultural and bio-genetic criteria.     

Nuptial gift chemistry reveals convergent evolution correlated with antagonism in mating systems of harvestmen (Arachnida,Opiliones)

Nuptial gifts are material donations given from male to female before or during copulation and are subject to sexual selection in a wide variety of taxa. The harvestman genus Leiobunum has emerged as a model system for understanding the evolution of reproductive morphology and behavior, as transitions between solicitous and antagonistic modes of courtship have occurred multiple times within the lineage and are correlated with convergence in genital morphology. We analyzed the free amino acid content of nuptial gift secretions from five species of Leiobunum using gas chromatography–mass spectrometry. Multivariate analysis of the free amino acid profiles revealed that, rather than clustering based on phylogenetic relationships, nuptial gift chemical composition was better predicted by genital morphology and behavior, suggesting that convergent evolution has acted on the chemical composition of the nuptial gift. In addition, we found that, species with solicitous courtship produce gifts consisting of a 19% larger proportion of essential amino acids as compared to those with more antagonistic courtship interactions. This work represents the first comparative study of nuptial gift chemistry within a phylogenetic framework in any animal group and as such contributes to our understanding of the evolution of reproductive diversity and the participant role of nuptial gift chemistry in mating system transitions.     

Function of the Hemolymph Nuptial Gift in the Ground Cricket,Allonemobius socius

Nuptial feeding, although common in the insect world, varies greatly in its form and function. Here, we test the function of the hemolymph nuptial gift in the southern ground cricket, Allonemobius socius, and attempt to determine if it functions as parental investment or mating effort. We manipulated the number of gifts a female received during courtship (one vs. none). We also recorded other aspect of courtship, such as feeding duration and spermatophore attachment duration. Female fecundity was measured for 7 d post‐mating. Our results indicate that female egg laying is significantly higher when a gift is provided, but the increase in egg laying is not related to gift size. In addition, the lack of a gift does not affect the male's ability to transfer a spermatophore. Together, these data suggest that the nuptial gift acts as parental investment and not as mating effort.     

“Why throw away something useful?”: Attitudes and opinions of people treated for bipolar disorder and their relatives on organ and tissue donation

In regard to mental illness, brain donation is essential for the biological investigation of central pathology. Nevertheless, little is known about the thoughts of people with mental disorders on tissue donation for research. Here, our objective was to understand the attitudes and opinions of people treated for bipolar disorder and their relatives regarding donation in general, and particularly donation for research. This is a qualitative study that used in-depth interviews to determine the thoughts of participants regarding tissue donation for research. Theoretical sampling was used as a recruitment method. Grounded theory was used as a framework for content analyses of the interviews. A semi-structured interview guide was applied with the topics: donation in general; donation for research; mental health and body organs; opinion regarding donation; feelings aroused by the topic. Although all participants were aware of organ donation for transplant, they were surprised that tissue could be donated for research. Nevertheless, once they understood the concept they were usually in favor of the idea. Although participants demonstrated a general lack of knowledge on donation for research, they were willing to learn more and viewed it as a good thing, with altruistic reasons often cited as a motive for donation. We speculate that bridging this knowledge gap may be a fundamental step towards a more ethical postmortem tissue donation process.     

The evolution of mutualism with modifiers

Mutualisms are widespread, yet their evolution has received less theoretical attention than within‐species social behaviors. Here, we extend previous models of unconditional pairwise interspecies social behavior, to consider selection for donation but also for donation‐suppressing modifiers. We present conditions under which modifiers that suppress costly donation receive either positive or negative selection; assortment only at the donation locus always leads to selection for donation suppression, as in within‐species greenbeard traits. However, genomewide assortment with modifier loci can lead to intermediate levels of donation, and these can differ in the two species even when payoffs from donation are additive and symmetric. When costly donation between species can evolve without being suppressed, we argue that it is most appropriately explained by indirect fitness benefits within the donating species, using partner species as vectors for altruism. Our work has implications for identifying both the stability and the ultimate beneficiaries of social behavior between species.     

IMPOSSIBLE GIFTS: BODIES, BUDDHISM AND BIOETHICS IN CONTEMPORARY SRI LANKA

The ethical concerns generated by transactions in human tissue touch on fundamental ideas of the body, society, and the nature of giving. These issues have generally been discussed using Euro-American terms of reference. Drawing on fieldwork carried out in Sri Lanka, this article describes the ways in which a distinctively Theravāda Buddhist notion of giving and charity has been linked to the development of strategies to encourage the donation of human tissue. Eye and blood donation are used as illustrations of the linkages that have been forged between religious duty, other-wordly aspirations, and nationalist sentiment in the development of national donation services. The key question which is then addressed is how these distinctive beliefs and values inform attempts to frame donations of sperm and ova which are now beginning to take place in Sri Lanka. In religious and cultural terms the candidacy of sperm and ova as gifts appears to be evaluated very differently. Explaining these differences opens up the possibility of a more thoroughgoing anthropological critique of bioethics and the manner of its diffusion both within and beyond the Euro-American context.     

Volunteering,Dana, and the Cultivation of ‘Good People’ in Thailand

The article explores a popular volunteer movement in Thailand and its connection to Buddhist morality and contemporary Thai politics. The article argues that volunteering in Thailand is often conceived of as a gift in various ways: as a form of dana or selfless giving; a gift from ‘good people’ to those defined as ‘in need’ in society and a gift to the Thai nation as a whole. Indeed, when volunteering is said to be a gift to the Thai nation, it is not necessarily because of its ability to redistribute resources, but because of its perceived ability to cultivate moral values and ‘good people’ for the Thai nation. The paper explores the implications that stem from presenting volunteering as a gift, with a strong emphasis on morality and ‘good people’, and how this popular discourse on volunteering may contribute to the maintenance of political status quo in Thailand, particularly in the context of the ongoing political struggles in recent years.     

Human research tissue banks: the ATRA Project for establishing a human research tissue bank in switzerland

A large number of experiments in biomedical research are carried out on tissues, but, even though the results should be applicable to humans, these tissues are mainly of animal origin. The difficulty encountered in obtaining human organs and tissues is an acknowledged problem: not enough human tissues are available to meet research needs. We are introducing the ATRA Project, with the purpose of supporting progress in biomedical research in Switzerland through the establishment of one or more human tissue banks, which will be able to find, treat, preserve and supply human material. Where similar projects have already been launched, concerns have been expressed that donation for research purposes might compete with donation for transplantation, but most organs and tissues are in any case non-transplantable. Surplus surgical tissue is considered "sanitary waste", and must be treated according to specific regulations for collection, packaging, transport, treatment and disposal. A human tissue bank would not only abate the costs of treating sanitary waste, but would actually turn what is now considered waste into a resource which could be used to save human and animal lives.     

Judgments of moral responsibility in tissue donation cases

If a person requires an organ or tissue donation to survive, many philosophers argue that whatever moral responsibility a biological relative may have to donate to the person in need will be grounded at least partially, if not entirely, in biological relations the potential donor bears to the recipient. We contend that such views ignore the role that a potential donor's unique ability to help the person in need plays in underwriting such judgments. If, for example, a sperm donor is judged to have a significant moral responsibility to donate tissue to a child conceived with his sperm, we think this will not be due to the fact that the donor stands in a close biological relationship to the recipient. Rather, we think such judgments will largely be grounded in the presumed unique ability of the sperm donor to help the child due to the compatibility of his tissues and organs with those of the recipient. In this paper, we report the results of two studies designed to investigate the comparative roles that biological relatedness and unique ability play in generating judgments of moral responsibility in tissue donation cases. We found that biologically related individuals are deemed to have a significant moral responsibility to donate tissue only when they are one of a small number of people who have the capacity to help.     

Consenting to donation: an examination of current practices in informed consent for tissue donation in the US

Informed consent is the primary moral principle guiding the donation of human tissue for transplant purposes. When patients’ donation wishes are not known, family members making the decision about tissue donation should be provided with requisite information needed to make informed donation decisions. Using a unique dataset of 1,016 audiotaped requests for tissue obtained from 15 US tissue banking organizations, we examined whether the information provided to families considering tissue donation met current standards for informed consent. The results indicated that many elements of informed consent were missing from the donation discussions, including the timeframe for procurement, autopsy issues, the involvement of both for-profit and nonprofit organizations, and the processing, storage and distribution of donated tissue. A multiple linear regression analysis also revealed that nonwhites and family members of increased age received less information regarding tissue donation than did younger, white decision makers. Recommendations for improving the practice of obtaining consent to tissue donation are provided.     

VISDA: an open-source caBIG analytical tool for data clustering and beyond

SUMMARY: VISDA (Visual Statistical Data Analyzer) is a caBIG analytical tool for cluster modeling, visualization and discovery that has met silver-level compatibility under the caBIG initiative. Being statistically principled and visually interfaced, VISDA exploits both hierarchical statistics modeling and human gift for pattern recognition to allow a progressive yet interactive discovery of hidden clusters within high dimensional and complex biomedical datasets. The distinctive features of VISDA are particularly useful for users across the cancer research and broader research communities to analyze complex biological data. AVAILABILITY: http://gforge.nci.nih.gov/projects/visda/     

An invasion of cheats; the evolution of worthless nuptial gifts

Nuptial gifts are food items or inedible tokens that are transferred to females during courtship or copulation . Tokens are of no direct value to females, and it is unknown why females require such worthless gifts as a precondition of mating. One hypothesis is that token giving arose in species that gave nutritious gifts and males exploited female preferences for nutritional gifts by substituting more easily obtainable but worthless items. An invasion of such behavior would require that females accept the substitute gift and copulate for a period of time similar to that with genuine gifts. We show that both these prerequisites are met in the dance fly Rhamphomyia sulcata, in which females normally accept a nutritious gift. We removed the gift from copulating pairs and replaced it with either a large or small prey item or inedible token. We found that although pairs copulated longest with a large genuine gift, the tokens resulted in copula durations equivalent to those with a small genuine gift. We also observed that males that returned to the lek with tokens re-paired successfully. These findings suggest that female behavior in genuine gift-giving species is susceptible to the invasion of male cheating on reproductive investment.     

Condition dependence of male nuptial gift construction in the spider <Emphasis Type="Italic">Pisaura mirabilis</Emphasis> (Pisauridae)

Pisaura mirabilis males offer a prey wrapped in silk as a nuptial gift that functions as a male mating effort. If nuptial gift construction is costly, males in poor feeding condition would invest less in this behaviour than males in good condition. We investigated frequencies and characteristics of gift construction in males under different sexual stimuli and different feeding conditions. We analysed gift construction behaviours of 17 males exposed sequentially to three treatments: female silk (S), female silk plus female (SF) and no female cues (control; C). The same individuals were first tested when in good feeding condition (young/satiated) and subsequently in poor feeding condition (old/starved). A separate group in good feeding condition controlling for effects of male age was also tested (old/satiated). Presence of female cues (S and SF) elicited much stronger gift construction response in males compared with the control group. Both groups of satiated males constructed nuptial gifts more frequently than starved males, spending more time on gift construction and using more silk. Our findings show that poor feeding condition affects pre-copulatory gift construction behaviour. Nuptial gift construction may be an honest indicator of male condition and therefore a target of female choice.     

Are all tissue donors recognised? A cohort study in three Dutch hospitals

Nowadays, the demand for tissue transplantation has significantly increased. To optimize donor recruitment, the potential availability of tissue donors has to be evaluated. In 2011 we conducted a cohort study in three Dutch hospitals in the Netherlands. The potential amount of eligible tissue donors found, based on medical records in these hospitals is compared to the physician’s donation form report. In total 1,342 patient records were analysed. From these records, the donation officers considered 484 patients as a potential tissue donor (36.1 %). Despite the absence of contra-indication, the physician did not recognise 25 % (n = 123/484) of potential tissue donors. Physicians’ lack of sufficient knowledge of tissue donation was the main cause of adequately identifying tissue donors. A higher percentage of tissue donors in these Dutch hospitals should be feasible through creating awareness and education regarding tissue donation.     

Nuptial gifts of male spiders function as sensory traps

While nuptial food gifts come in various forms in arthropods, their evolutionary origins are unclear. A previous study on insects has shown that such gifts may arise as a sensory trap that exploits a female's underlying motivation to feed. Here I present independent evidence of a sensory trap in spiders. In certain visually oriented spiders, I suggest that males initially exploit the maternal care instinct by producing a nuptial gift that closely resembles the female egg sac. Males of the spider Pisaura mirabilis cover their prey gift with a silk layer, transforming it into a white round object. In a laboratory experiment I tested whether the colour of the gift affected the rate that females accepted males displaying their gifts. I found that the brighter and the more alike the nuptial gift to a female's egg sac, the faster the female responded by grabbing the gift. My results support the hypothesis that the nuptial gift in P. mirabilis works as a sensory trap.