Convergent evolutionary processes driven by foraging opportunity in two sympatric morph pairs of Arctic charr with contrasting post‐glacial origins

The expression of two or more discrete phenotypes amongst individuals within a species (morphs) provides multiple modes upon which selection can act semi‐independently, and thus may be an important stage in speciation. In the present study, we compared two sympatric morph systems aiming to address hypotheses related to their evolutionary origin. Arctic charr in sympatry in Loch Tay, Scotland, exhibit one of two discrete, alternative body size phenotypes at maturity (large or small body size). Arctic charr in Loch Awe segregate into two temporally segregated spawning groups (breeding in either spring or autumn). Mitochondrial DNA restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis showed that the morph pairs in both lakes comprise separate gene pools, although segregation of the Loch Awe morphs is more subtle than that of Loch Tay. We conclude that the Loch Awe morphs diverged in situ (within the lake), whereas Loch Tay morphs most likely arose through multiple invasions by different ancestral groups that segregated before post‐glacial invasion (i.e. in allopatry). Both morph pairs showed clear trophic segregation between planktonic and benthic resources (measured by stable isotope analysis) but this was significantly less distinct in Loch Tay than in Loch Awe. By contrast, both inter‐morph morphological and life‐history differences were more subtle in Loch Awe than in Loch Tay. The strong ecological but relatively weak morphological and life‐history divergence of the in situ derived morphs compared to morphs with allopatric origins indicates a strong link between early ecological and subsequent genetic divergence of sympatric origin emerging species pairs. The emergence of parallel specialisms despite distinct genetic origins of these morph pairs suggests that the effect of available foraging opportunities may be at least as important as genetic origin in structuring sympatric divergence in post‐glacial fishes with high levels of phenotypic plasticity. © 2012 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2012, ?? , ??–??.     

Bacterial degradability of an intrafeather unmelanized ornament: a role for feather‐degrading bacteria in sexual selection?

The impact of feather‐degrading bacilli on feathers depends on the presence or absence of melanin. In vitro studies have demonstrated that unmelanized (white) feathers are more degradable by bacteria than melanized (dark) ones. However, no previous study has looked at the possible effect of feather‐degrading bacilli on the occurrence of patterns of unmelanized patches on otherwise melanized feathers. The pied flycatcher Ficedula hypoleuca Pallas, 1764 is a sexually dimorphic passerine with white wing bands consisting of unmelanized patches on dark flight feathers. These patches are considered to be a sexually selected trait in Ficedula flycatchers, especially in males, where the patches are more conspicuous (larger and possibly whiter) than in females. Using in vitro tests of feather bacterial degradation, we compared the degradability of unmelanized and melanized areas of the same feather for 127 primaries collected from the same number of individuals in a population breeding in central Spain (58 males and 69 females). In addition, we also looked for sex differences in feather degradability. Based on honest signalling theory and on the fact that there is stronger sexual selection for males to signal feather quality than in females, we predicted that unmelanized areas should be more degradable by bacteria than melanized ones within the same feather, and that these unmelanized areas should also be more degradable in males than in females. We confirmed both predictions. Microstructural differences between cross‐section dimensions of unmelanized and melanized barbs, but not differences in the density of barbs within unmelanized and melanized areas of feathers in males and females, could partly explain differences in degradability. This is the first study to show differences in bacterial degradability among markings on the same feather and among unmelanized feather patches between males and females as predicted by sexual selection theory. © 2012 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2012, 105 , 409–419.     

Biological controls upon the physical taphonomy of exceptionally preserved salamanders from the Miocene of Rubielos de Mora,northeast Spain

McNamara, M.E., Orr, P.J., Manzocchi, T., Alcalá, L., Anadón, P. & Peñalver, E. 2011: Biological controls upon the physical taphonomy of exceptionally preserved salamanders from the Miocene of Rubielos de Mora, northeast Spain. Lethaia, Vol. 45, pp. 210–226. The middle Miocene Rubielos de Mora Konservat‐Lagerstätte of northeast Spain is hosted within profundal, finely laminated, lacustrine mudstones. The diverse biota includes abundant salamanders. Most individuals died during separate episodes and sank rapidly postmortem. Specimens are typically preserved in dorso‐ventral aspect, the most hydrodynamically stable orientation. The near‐cylindrical morphology of the body, however, allowed some carcasses to settle in or subsequently re‐orientate into, lateral orientations. Loss of skeletal elements (i.e. reduced completeness) reflects their location within the body and followed a distal to proximal trend. Two stages are identified: initial loss of a small number of phalanges, followed by loss of more proximal limb bones plus additional phalanges. Disarticulation is more complex: it occurred via several mechanisms (notably, abdominal rupture and re‐orientation of part of the body and limbs during decay) and shows no consistent pattern among specimens. The physical taphonomy of the salamanders is controlled predominantly by intrinsic biological factors, i.e. the geometry of the body and of individual skeletal elements, the orientation, inherent strength and location of specific joints and the extent to which soft tissues, particularly the skin, persist during decay. These biological factors probably control patterns of physical taphonomy of other fossil tetrapods with a similar skeletal configuration. □Articulation, completeness, Konservat‐Lagerstätten, orientation, quantitative taphonomy, salamanders.     

不同壳色福寿螺形态性状与体质量的关系

【背景】福寿螺因其食性杂、抗逆性和繁殖力强以及自然天敌少等不断扩散,侵害农作物,被列为我国首批外来入侵物种。国内外学者一直致力于研究对其的防治与监控。自然界中福寿螺存在2种壳色——黄色和黑色,壳色受遗传因素和环境因素的双重影响。广东省福寿螺多以黑色为主,福寿螺倾向于与不同壳色的螺交配。壳色在一定程度上影响其交配的选择性,但2种壳色的福寿螺繁殖力指标差异不显著。而关于这2种壳色的螺在形态学上的差异鲜有报道。【方法】利用生物统计软件和分析方法进行相关性分析、通径分析及多元回归分析,计算相关系数、通径系数和决定系数,研究2种壳色福寿螺形态性状与体质量的关系。【结果】2种壳色福寿螺的体质量、层高的变异系数较大,且黄色比黑色变异系数大。对黄色福寿螺体质量影响较大的依次为壳高、口宽;对黑色福寿螺体质量影响较大的依次为口宽、层高。【结论与意义】2种壳色福寿螺在形态性状方面差异显著,可以将壳色作为特征标记,为福寿螺的监测与灾害评估提供参考。     

Predicting the environmental niche of the genus Phymaturus: Are palluma and patagonicus groups ecologically differentiated?

The genus Phymaturus (Reptilia: Liolaemidae) is distributed in the mountains and rocky plateaux of Argentina and Chile and comprises two groups of species, palluma and patagonicus. The two lineages have diverged early in the evolution of the genus and up to today, there is very little geographical overlap between them. We worked with records of localities from the literature, herpetological collections and field data to evaluate habitat suitability of the genus Phymaturus. We used 11 environmental variables to develop environmental niche models (ENMs) for each group within the genus using the Maxent software, and to determine those variables that best explain the distribution of each group. We also estimated measures of niche similarity using ENMTools to determine whether niche differentiation is real or apparent. The geographical overlap between the groups was very low considering the large geographical range of the genus. Some variables, such as mean annual temperature, soil type and bare soil cover, have a high contribution to the models for both groups. The current niche overlap between Phymaturus groups indicates that the environmental niches of the palluma and patagonicus groups are not equivalent. Based on background analysis, we cannot reject the hypothesis that similarity (or divergence) between groups of Phymaturus is no more than expected based on the availability of habitat. The results of this study are a first approximation to the knowledge of the environmental variables associated with the palluma and patagonicus groups, and reveal that the ecological differences found between these groups are more likely due to habitat availability in their respective regions than to differences in habitat preferences.     

Costs versus risks: Architectural changes with changing light quantity and quality in saplings of temperate rainforest trees of different shade tolerance

Light requirements and functional strategies of plants to cope with light heterogeneity in the field have a strong influence on community structure and dynamics. Shade intolerant plants often show a shade avoidance strategy involving a phytochrome‐mediated stem elongation in response to changes in red : far red ratio, while shade‐tolerant plants typically harvest light very efficiently. We measured plant size, stem diameter, internode and leaf lengths in randomly chosen saplings of 11 woody species differing in their shade tolerance in both a secondary forest and an old‐growth temperate evergreen rainforest in southern Chile. We also recorded the irradiance spectrum and the diffuse and direct light availabilities at each sampling point. Significant differences were found for the mean light environment of the saplings of each species, which also differed in basal stem diameter, internode length and leaf length, but not in plant height. Both plant slenderness (plant height/stem diameter) and mean internode length increased with increasing light availability, but no relationship was found between any of these two traits and red : far red ratio. The change in plant slenderness with light availability was of lesser magnitude with increasing shade tolerance of the species, while internode change with light availability increased with increasing shade tolerance of the species. Shade tolerators afford higher costs (thicker stems and plants), which render more biomechanically robust plants, and respond more to the light environment in a trait strongly influencing light interception (internode length) than shade intolerant species. By contrast, less shade‐tolerant plants afforded higher risks with a plastic response to escape from the understorey by making thinner plants that were biomechanically weaker and poorer light interceptors. Thus, species differing in their shade tolerances do differ in their plastic responses to light. Our results contribute to explain plant coexistence in heterogeneous light environments by improving our mechanistic understanding of species responses to light.     

植物中SAM Mtases基因研究进展

SAM Mtases是从多种植物中分离到的一类S-腺苷-L-甲硫氨酸依赖性氧位甲基转移酶基因,该基因对植物体内木质素、类苯基丙烷、类黄酮类、生物碱和脂肪族化合物等许多次生代谢产物合成有直接的影响,并且在植物抗病、抗紫外线、杀虫、抗菌、植物激素生长和信号调节、植物共生、花粉管伸长和花粉生长等生理过程中起重要作用.该文总结了国内外已经克隆到的SAM Mtases同源基因的分离、分类及其功能,为进一步研究SAM Mtases基因在植物生理代谢调控中的地位及在植物抗性及药用成分育种上的应用提供参考.     

曼陀罗叶水浸液对大豆幼根生长及细胞分裂的影响

以曼陀罗叶干粉为供体,大豆种子为受体,用室内培养皿法研究了曼陀罗叶水浸液化感胁迫对大豆种子萌发、幼根生长、根毛发育和根尖细胞分裂的影响。结果表明:各试验浓度的曼陀罗叶干粉水浸提液均抑制了大豆种子的萌发以及幼根和侧根的生长,且幼根生长随胁迫浓度的增加呈现逐渐缩短变粗变褐的趋势;化感胁迫还使根尖分生区细胞的染色体畸变和微核高频率发生。根毛发生和根尖细胞的分裂对化感胁迫都表现出"低促高抑"的响应,即轻度胁迫能显著促进根毛的生长并提高根尖细胞的分裂指数,而高度胁迫对根毛的生长有极显著的抑制作用,且使根尖细胞的分裂指数显著下降。     

山楂酸减少L02细胞脂质累积作用的研究(英文)

非酒精性脂肪性肝在发达国家和发展中国家中是一种常见的肝脏疾病。引起非酒精性脂肪性肝病的最常见原因有肥胖、糖尿病和高胆固醇。尽管非酒精性脂肪性肝病的发病率日益升高,事实上至今尚未发现可以用于治疗的药物。山楂酸是一种五环三萜化合物,已报道具有多种药理特性,包括抗炎、抗氧化以及免疫调节作用。我们的前期研究表明,山楂酸能够抑制高脂饲料诱导大鼠非酒精性脂肪性肝病的生成。本研究中,我们将探讨山楂酸体外对肝细胞(LO2)脂质累积的抑制作用。结果表明,山楂酸可抑制游离脂肪酸(FFA)诱导的LO2细胞脂质累积,进一步研究表明,山楂酸可抑制LO2细胞的SCAP mRNA水平和蛋白水平的表达。     

盲蝽科一新种及中国四新纪录种(半翅目,盲蝽科)

记述了盲蝽科1新种,金毛束盲蝽Pilophorus fulvicomus sp.nov.。报道了中国4新纪录种:印度蚁叶盲蝽Hallodapus indicus(Poppius,1911),九州蚁叶盲蝽Hallodapus kyushuensis M iyamoto,1966,贝克束盲蝽Pilophorus bakeriSchuh,1984和印支宽敖盲蝽Wygomiris indochinensis(Schuh,1984)。提供了新种和新纪录种雄性生殖器特征图。模式标本保存于南开大学昆虫学研究所。