Courtship song, male agonistic encounters, and female mate choice in the house cricket,Acheta domesticus (Orthoptera: Gryllidae)

Whether female crickets choose among males based on characteristics of the courtship song is uncertain, but in many species, males not producing courtship song do not mate. In the house cricket,Acheta domesticus, we examined whether a female chose or rejected a male based on his size, latency to chirp, latency to produce courtship song, or rate of the high-frequency pulse of courtship song (“court rate”). We confirmed that females mated only with males that produced courtship song, but we found no evidence that the other factors we measured affected a female’s decision to mate. In addition, we investigated whether the outcome of male agonistic encounters affected the subsequent production of courtship song. In one experiment, we observed courtship and mating behavior when a single female was placed with a pair of males following a 10-min interaction period between the two males. Winners of male agonistic encounters had higher mating success. However, winners and losers of agonistic encounters were not different in their likelihood or latency to produce courtship song or in the number of times they were disrupted by the other male in the pair. In a second experiment, we allowed two males to interact for a 10-min period, but following this interaction period, we placed a female with each male separately and observed courtship and mating behavior. The mating success of winners and losers was not different under these circumstances, and we found no differences between winners and losers in any subsequent courtship or mating behavior examined. We conclude that winning agonistic encounters influences a male’s mating success in ways other than his production of courtship song and this effect is lost when winning and losing males are separated and each is given an opportunity to mate.     

Evolutionary relationships of membrers of the generaTaphrina, Protomyces, Schizosaccharomyces, and related taxa within the archiascomycetes: Integrated analysis of genotypic and phenotypic characters

To study the phylogeny and evolution of archiascomycetes, we determined the full sequence of the nuclear 18S rRNA gene from 14Taphrina species and 2Protomyces species, and the partial sequence ofSchizosaccharomyces japonicus var.japonicus. The sequences were phylogenetically analyzed by the neighbor-joining, maximum parsimony, and maximum-likelihood methods. We also looked at their principal phenotypic characters and genotypic character. Relationships within the Ascomycota are concordant with the previously published phylogenies inferred from 18S rDNA sequence divergence and divide the archi-, hemi-and euascomycetes into distinct major lineages. All the trees show that, within the archiascomycete lineage, 11 of the 14Taphrina species and the 2Protomyces species are monophyletic. A core groups ofTaphrina andProtomyces is always monophyletic. The evidence from molecular and phenotypic characters such as cell wall sugar composition, ubiquinone, cell wall ultrastructure, and mode of conidium ontogeny, strongly suggests that ‘T’. californica CBS 374.39, ‘T’. maculans CBS 427.69 and ‘T’. farlowii CBS 376.39 should be excluded from the archiascomycete lineage. ‘Taphrina’ farlowii CBS 376.39 groups withCandida albicans in the Saccharomycetales, whereas ‘T’. californica CBS 374.39 and ‘T’. maculans CBS 427.69 have a basidiomycete affinity and group with Tremellalean members in the hymenomycete lineage.Schizosaccharomyces is monophyletic. The strictly anamorphic yeastSaitoella complicata groups with the apothecial ascomyceteNeolecta vitellina rather than theTaphrina/Protomyces branch.     

Territorial responses of male blue tits, Cyanistes caeruleus , to UV-manipulated neighbours

Multiple phenotypic traits can affect the outcome of interactions among territorial animals. Individuals may use current and previously acquired information on phenotypic traits to assess the competitive ability of opponents and adjust the strength of their response depending on the threat the opponent poses. In birds, colourful plumage and song are widespread phenotypic traits. Recent work has shown that ultraviolet (UV) plumage reflectance may be used by males in assessing an opponent’s strength and by females in mate choice. In the present study, we investigated whether and how territorial male blue tits, Cyanistes caeruleus, use previously acquired information from UV reflectance of the crown feathers of neighbours to adjust their response to playback of song of these neighbours simulated to intrude their territory. We compared responses to neighbours with those to unfamiliar strangers with unknown plumage features. We found that subject males with UV-enhanced neighbours responded more strongly to these neighbours than to strangers, i.e. showed more flights, used songs without trill and tended to overlap more songs. Subject males with UV-reduced neighbours gave a lower or similar response to neighbours compared to strangers. This indicates that male blue tits combine previously acquired information about an intruder’s plumage with familiarity of its song, and that their response depends on the perceived quality of the neighbour. This study provides evidence that familiarity in combination with multiple signals of quality may influence territorial relations among neighbours.     

Diurnal distribution of loud calls in sympatric wild indris (Indri indri) and ruffed lemurs (Varecia variegata): implications for call functions

We carried out a short study on the diurnal call distribution of two sympatric lemurs in the Réserve Naturelle Intégrale Zahamena (eastern Madagascar). Whereas indris (Indri) song bouts were clearly concentrated in the early morning hours, the roar/shriek choruses of ruffed lemurs (Varecia) exhibited a much more even distribution throughout the day. These differences in distribution pattern support earlier claims that indri song bouts are more likely to serve territorial functions, whereas ruffed lemur loud calls may serve both spacing and/or alarm call functions.     

Genetic diversity amongst landraces of a dioecious vegetatively propagated plant,betelvine (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Piper betle</Emphasis> L.)

Betelvine (Piper betle L., family Piperaceae) is an important, traditional and widely cultivated crop of India. The cultivators and consumers recognize more than 100 cultivars (landraces) based on regional and organoleptic considerations, while in terms of phytochemical constituents only five groups have been identified for all the landraces. Since betelvine is an obligate vegetatively propagated species, genomic changes, if any, may have become ‘fixed’ in the landraces. We carried out random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) analysis in several landraces considered in four groups, namely, ‘Kapoori’, ‘Bangla’, ‘Sanchi’ and ‘Others’ in order to ascertain their genetic diversity. On the basis of the data from eleven RAPD primers, we distinguished genetic variation within and among the four groups of landraces. The results indicate the’Kapoori’ group is the most diverse. The neighbour joining (NJ) tree after a bootstrap (500 replicate) test of robustness clearly shows the four groups to be well separated. Interestingly, all known male or female betelvine landraces have separated in the NJ tree indicating an apparent gender-based distinction among the betelvines.     

Song preference of female Bengalese finches as measured by operant conditioning

Male songbirds approach females by using their songs. Knowing what females perceive and prefer in male songs is an important aspect of understanding courtship behavior. Male Bengalese finches (Lonchura striata var. domestica) sing complex sequence patterns with their own variety of elements. We tested female preference with phonologically different songs and sequentially different songs using an operant selection task. In the first experiment we presented the father’s song and an unfamiliar song that were phonologically different. Females clearly preferred the father’s song over a novel song. In the second experiment, we used the father’s song and its element order reversed song to test female preference for the difference in element sequence. In the third experiment, we presented different sequence complexity songs edited from the same unfamiliar song elements to test female preference for complex sequence. Females did not show a significant preference in either the second or third experiment. Results show that female Bengalese finches discriminated the difference in song elements, preferred familiar songs, and did not show preference for difference of sequence. This study did not support evidence that female Bengalese finches prefer a complex sequence. However, in future research, we should carefully investigate female preference for choosing mates in a natural context.     

Experimenting with Transmutation: Darwin, the Beagle, and Evolution

Detailed analysis of Darwin’s scientific notes and other writings from the Beagle voyage reveals a focus on endemism and replacement of allied taxa in time and in space that began early in the journey. Though it is impossible to determine exactly when Darwin became a transmutationist, the evidence suggests that he was conversant with the transmutational ideas of Lamarck and others and testing (“experimenting” with) them—before he received a copy of Lyell’s Principles of Geology, vol. 2, in November 1832, in which Lyell describes and disputes Lamarck’s theory. To the two rhea species of Patagonia and the four mockingbird species of the Galapagos, we can now add the living Patagonian cavy (rodent) species, and its extinct putatively related species that Darwin collected at Monte Hermoso (Bahia Blanca) in the Fall of 1832, as a replacement pattern absolutely critical to the development of Darwin’s transmutational thinking. Darwin developed his first transmutational theory by adopting “Brocchi’s analogy” (Rudwick 2008)—i.e. that births and deaths of species are analogous to the births and deaths of individuals. Births and deaths of species, as of individuals, are thus explicable in terms of natural causes. Darwin explored these themes and the replacement of the extinct cavy by the modern species explicitly in his February 1835 essay (Darwin 1835a).

Signalling through acoustic windows: nightingales avoid interspecific competition by short-term adjustment of song timing

The function of bird song is closely linked to sexual selection through female choice and male–male competition, and thus variation in communication success is likely to have major fitness consequences for a singing male. A crucial constraint on signal transmission is imposed by background noise, which may include songs from other species. I investigated whether singing nightingales (Luscinia megarhynchos) avoid temporal overlap with the songs of other bird species in a playback experiment. I analysed the temporal song patterns of six males, each of which were exposed to songs of other species. The nightingales significantly avoided overlapping their songs with the playback songs, and started singing preferentially during the silent intervals between the heterospecific songs. This timing of song onset produced a greater variability in pause duration compared to the nightingales’ undisturbed solo singing. These findings suggest that birds adjust their song timing to avoid acoustic interference on short temporal scales, and thus are able to improve the efficiency of acoustic communication in complex sonic environments. Moreover, the results indicate that temporal song patterns can be affected by the songs of other species, and thus such influences should be taken into account when studying bird song in the field.     

Facilitated predation through interaction between life stages in the stinkbug predatorperillus bioculatus (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae)

Competitive interactions in arthropod predators are well-known, but positive interactions have received less attention. The two-spotted stinkbugPerillus bioculatus often feeds gregariously on leaf beetle larvae and caterpillar prey. Consequences of prey sharing amongP. bioculatus conspecifics of dissimilar size (instar) was studied using Colorado potato beetle (CPB) prey. Rearing second-instar (N2) nymphs ofP. bioculatus with an N5 conspecific facilitated early feeding on L4 CPB larvae (a difficult prey to handle by N2 nymphs but not by N5’s), thus increasing survival and accelerating development. One in every 20 cases ofP. bioculatus foraging in the field was accounted for by pairs or small groups of mostly feeding individuals. CPB egg masses and L4’s represented a disproportionate number of cases of aggregated feeding byP. bioculatus, compared to feeding singly. Small CPB larvae decreased in the diet of aggregated stinkbugs compared to L4 larvae and egg masses, suggesting that sharing these prey may be favorable or unavoidable. In a field test measuring residence/survival of N2’s limited to L4 prey, the N2’s rate of residence/survival increased significantly when large nymphs acting as food providers were also present. The function of communal feeding inP. bioculatus is discussed, as well as the potential for greater impact on prey density that may be expected from tolerance to opportunistic feeding by conspecifics in slightly gregarious predators.     

Population Density and Home Range Size of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Indri indri</Emphasis> in a Protected Low Altitude Rain Forest

We report the results of a census of Indri indri conducted in Betampona Nature Reserve, a lowland rain forest in eastern Madagascar. In addition, we conducted a year-long study of the ranging behavior of 3 groups in the southwestern region of the reserve. We used 2 methods to calculate population density and home range size, and to provide minimum and maximum estimates. Population density of Indri indri ranged from 6.9–13.2 individuals/km² in Betampona. Mean home range size is 27 ha. The values for population density and home range size are intermediate between values for Indri indri in selectively logged and undisturbed montane rain forest. Our results suggest a relationship between habitat disturbance, population density and home range size for the species. Recent increases in habitat disturbance appear to cause an increase in population density and a decrease in home range size. The results are consistent with ones for other folivorous primate populations. Further research on habitat requirements of Indri and availability in Betampona is necessary to investigate the possibility of translocating Indri from nearby forest fragments into Betampona.     

The niche of the potto,Perodicticus potto

Some new field observations on West African pottos are presented and compared with previously published information on substrate use and diet. This evidence suggests that the predominant means by which pottos find food is by carefully searching branches in the forest canopy with their noses and that gums and slow-moving invertebrates found on branch surfaces are major components of their diet. When fruits are scarce, gums may be the potto’s chief source of energy. It is argued that the potto’s deliberate locomotion and some of its anatomical peculiarities are related primarily to this diet and foraging behavior, rather than to concealment from predators or the capture of birds, two factors previously suggested to have been important in the evolution of the potto’s locomotor technique. The potto’s niche is compared to that of other lorisid primates and is found to resemble closely that of Galago crassicaudatusin several respects.     

Genetic influences on Alzheimer's disease: evidence of interactions between the genes APOE, APOC1 and ACE in a sample population from the South of Brazil

Alzheimer’s disease is a complex neurodegenerative disorder. Several genes have been suggested as Alzheimer’s susceptibility factors, the apolipoprotein E (APOE) gene being an established susceptibility gene and the genes coding angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) and apolipoprotein C1 (APOC1) being considered possible candidate genes for the disease. The objective of this study was to investigate the association of ACE and APOC1 gene polymorphisms with susceptibility to Alzheimer’s disease and dementia in general, both alone and combined with the APOE gene. Forty-seven patients with dementia in general (35 of them with Alzheimer’s disease) and 85 controls were investigated. The haplotypes E*3/−317*ins and E*4/−317*ins of APOE/APOC1 genes were significantly more frequent in the groups with Alzheimer′s disease and dementia in general (P < 0.001). The frequency of the ACE*ins allele was also greater in the groups with Alzheimer’s disease and dementia in general (P = 0.022; P = 0.045), but genotype frequencies were only different in groups without the E*4/−317*ins haplotype (P = 0.012 for Alzheimer’s disease; P = 0.04 for dementia). Our data point to important genetic interactions involved in these diseases.     

Genetically confirmed interbreeding between western Bonelli’s warbler ( Phylloscopus bonelli ) and wood warbler ( P. sibilatrix )

During May and June 2003, a mixed breeding pair consisting of a male western Bonelli’s warbler (Phylloscopus bonelli) and a female wood warbler (P. sibilatrix) successfully raised six young in a broad-leafed forest near Jünkerath, western Germany, an area far outside the regular breeding range of P. bonelli. The identity of the adult birds was confirmed by song, calls, colouration, and wing measurements. Based on blood samples taken from both parents and three juveniles, the potential interbreeding was analysed by molecular methods. Sequences of the mitochondrial cytochrome b gene differed between male and female by 8.7% and confirmed the identification of both parents. Sequences of the mitochondrial cytochrome b gene revealed that the male was a western Bonelli's and the female a wood warbler. The hybridisation and the parentage of male and female were corroborated by multilocus DNA fingerprinting. This is the first documented and genetically proven hybridisation event between these two warbler species.     

Studies in the capparaceae XXIV: Edward Palmer in Corumbá, Brazil and the first collection of Capparis coimbrana

The new Bolivian endemic,Capparis coimbrana, was first collected by the 22-year-old Edward Palmer while a member of the U.S. Navy’s “Exploration of the River La Plata” expedition, supervised under Captain T.J. Page from 1853–1856. Since the plant specimen lacks a specific geographic location, it was necessary to interpret carefully the cryptic, penciled notes that accompany it, and to correlate these with the published itinerary of the expedition’s sailing vessel, theWater Witch. This historical research revealed that the plant must have been collected on 2 Dec 1853 at Corumbá, Matto Grosso, Brazil, which was then a tiny village just across the Río Paraguay from Puerto Suárez, Bolivia. This site is at the very edge of the species' current range.     

Song dialects on the Atlantic islands: goldcrests of the Azores ( Regulus regulus azoricus, R. r. sanctae-mariae, R. r. inermis)

Territorial songs in island populations of songbirds are often highly divergent from those of neighbouring continental relatives. This is shown for the three goldcrest subspecies (Regulus regulus azoricus, R. r. sanctae-mariae and R. r. inermis) endemic on six islands of the Azorean archipelago. All investigated populations display a high intra- and inter-individual acoustic variation. On each island, up to six different song types have been found; and a single male sings up to three types. In contrast, all northwestern European populations of R. r. regulus and R. r. anglorum share only a single song type. In playback experiments, none of 18 tested dialect songs of Azorean goldcrests evoked notable territorial reaction in German and Czech goldcrest males (ssp. regulus). Two differing dialect groups of the goldcrest can be distinguished on the Azores. Populations of the eastern islands, São Miguel and Santa Maria, share common song types which are not found on the islands of the central and western groups. Dialect repertoires on the westernmost islands, Flores, Faial and Pico, are dominated by a different song type. In the geologically younger western crater of São Miguel, both western and eastern song types coexist. Acoustic similarities to a population from neighbouring Terceira suggest the western part of São Miguel as the origin for the westward expansion of R. regulus on the Azores.     

The ecology of singing in Kloss gibbons (Hylobates klossii) on Siberut Island,Indonesia

Data are presented from a study of habituated Kloss gibbons on Siberut Island, Indonesia. Male Kloss gibbons can sing at any time from 0100 to 1300 hr, but the majority of songs is concentrated in the hour before dawn. Female Kloss gibbons sing only after dawn and the song bout includes a dramatic visual display. Neither countersinging nor coordinated chorusing has been proved in either sex. Males sing before dawn as often as possible but are inhibited by wet nights and by minimum temperatures below 21.5°C; postdawn songs of both sexes are inhibited by rain. The occurrence of any particular type of song bout is independent of the occurrence of the other types. Song trees used by males and those used by females do not differ in height. Song trees emerged from the neighboring canopy more than other available trees of similar height in the gibbons’ home range. Female song trees were most abundant on the slopes and where the trees were tallest. Almost all the male’s night trees could have been used for singing from had the weather been suitable. There was a greater likelihood of the male’s traveling a long way to the day’s first fruit source on mornings when he sang before dawn than on mornings when he did not. Considerations of sound transmission through tropical rain forest reveal that the times and frequencies used for singing by Kloss gibbons are optimal for communicating with neighboring groups.     

A metric analysis ofCercopithecus aethiops dentition

Normative adontometric data are presented on a sample of 100 adult Cercopithecus aethiops(51 male, 49 female). When correlation effects among the teeth were held constant through multivariate canonical analyses, contributions of individual tooth loci to the male-female distance were found to be similar to those isolated by univariate means. The present study fails to support Garn’s field theory of sex dimorphism. When these patterns of sexual dimorphism were contrasted with those of three other conspecific groups, the anterior teeth were found to show greater intrapopulation variation than the posterior teeth. This, together with the finding that Penrose’s shape distances between the groups were greater for anterior than postcanine teeth, provides evidence in support of Suolé’s hypothesis. The latter suggests, inter alia, that high coefficients of variation indicate a proportionately higher environmental than hereditary contribution to phenotypic variation. Negative correlations between tooth size and coefficients of variation suggest that tooth-size variability is related to size rather than occlusal complexity.     

Presence of Palaemon Macrodactylus Rathbun 1902 (Crustacea: Decapoda: Caridea: Palaemonidae) in Mar Del Plata Harbor, Argentina: First Record from Southwestern Atlantic Waters

Adults of the palaemonid prawn Palaemon macrodactylus Rathbun, 1902 were reported for the first time from the southwestern Atlantic waters. Males and ovigerous females were collected in Mar del Plata harbor (38°03′ S; 57°31′ W), Argentina; larvae obtained from one of the collected females were reared in the laboratory until the juvenile stage. The geographical range of P. macrodactylus was previously restricted to the Pacific Ocean: it was originally described in Japan and has been reported as an invasive species in the western coast of USA in the 1950’s and in Australia in the 1970’s. Recently, this prawn has been also reported from European waters.     

Small plot mating disruption trials for tufted apple bud moth,Platynota idaeusalis, in Pennsylvania apple orchards

Mating disruption treatments for the tufted apple bud moth (TABM),Platynota idaeusalis (Walker), were tested in small plot trials in apple orchards in Pennsylvania. Treatments were evaluated by fruit injury and by capture of male TABM in traps baited with synthetic pheromone sources or virgin females. The TABM pheromone is a two component isomeric blend ofE-11-tetradecen-1-ol (E11-14:OH) andE-11-tetradecenyl acetate (E11-14:Ac). A 50∶50 ratio of these two components was used in standard monitoring septa and in mating disruption treatments released from either hollow fibers (‘fiber’) or PVC tubes (‘PVC’). Other pheromone blends tested included a 90∶10 ratio of E11-14: Ac and E11-14:OH (‘EAc’) and its reverse (‘EOH’), mixture ‘EAc’ with 30% of the Z-isomers (‘low AEc’), and a blend similar to the preceding with 2% Z9-12:Ac (‘generic’). These other blends were released from multi tube tape (‘tape’) or Shin-Etsu type rope (‘rope’) dispensers. Seasonal dispenser release rate in mg ha⁻¹ h⁻¹ was ca. 30 for the ‘rope’ dispensers, 14 for ‘PVC’ and 6 for ‘fiber’. ‘EAc-tape’ and ‘EOH-tape’ were equally effective in reducing catches of males in traps baited with synthetic lures and in traps baited with virgin females. Both treatments also reduced fruit injury. ‘EAc-rope’, ‘fiber’ and ‘PVC’ also were generally effective; whereas, the ‘low EAc’ and ‘generic’ treatments reduced trap capture less than 90% and did not reduce fruit injury. Dispenser density was positively correlated with reduction in trap capture for the ‘low EAc-rope’ and ‘genericrope’ treatments. Traps loaded with ‘fiber’ dispensers captured more male TABM than the other treatments in non-pheromone permeated environments. Trap capture of other tortricids was reduced in pheromone treatments. ‘EAc-rope’ and the ‘TABM’ treatments provided mean (s.e.) percent reduction in trap catch of 99.5 (0.4) and 42.9 (10.1), respectively, for the redbanded leafroller,Argyrotaenia velutinana (Walker), and 90.4 (6.8) and 90.4 (1.3), respectively, for the obliquebanded leafroller,Choristoneura rosaceana (Harris).