Interpretation of territorial behaviour in terms of a critical disability hypothesis

The hypothesis is that the great majority of behaviour relating to territorial defence presents difficult anomalies in terms of the normal explanatory mechanism of individual selection. Many, if not all, of the difficulties involved can be solved by using a critical disability hypothesis based upon the principle of "group selection". Given this latter model, it is possible to predict the development of (1) highly variable territories, (2) microterritories and (3) macroterritories.     

Ultrastructure of the Erythrocytic Stages of Plasmodium malariae1

This report describes the fine structure of the erythrocytic stages of Plasmodium malariae. Erythrocytic parasites from a naturally acquired human infection and an experimentally infected chimpanzee were morphologically indistinguishable and structurally similar to other primate malarias. New findings included observations of highly structured arrays of merozoite surface coat proteins in the cytoplasm of early schizonts and on the surface of budding merozoites and the presence of knobs in the membranes of Maurer's clefts. Morphological evidence is presented suggesting that proteins are transported between the erythrocyte surface and intracellular parasites via two routes: one associated with Maurer's clefts for transport of membrane-associated knob material and a second associated with caveolae in the host cell membrane for the import or export of host- or parasite-derived substances through the erythrocyte cytoplasm.     

Physiological Predetermination of the Order of Hardseededness Breakdown in Subterranean Clover (Trifolium subterraneum L.)

Hardseededness breakdown in the burr of subterranean clover(Trifolium subterraneum L.) was found to be non-random in occurrencewith respect to the relative position of seed in the burr. Thissuggests the presence of a predeterminative mechanism of theorder of hardseededness breakdown. While seed moisture content did not exhibit a pattern of variationconsistent with that for hardseededness breakdown, seed weightvariation appeared to conform closely with the pattern of breakdown. It is postulated that, either differences in seed size per sewithin the burr may determine the order of hardseededness breakdown,or that such differences may reflect a disproportionate supplyof translocate, and hence promotors or inhibitors, of hardseedednessbreakdown to the seeds of the burr. The implications of this finding to the assessment of genotypesfor differences in level of hardseededness level have been outlined.     

The Exudation from Excised Maize Roots Bathed in Sulphate Media

The fluid exudation fluxes of excised maize roots bathed ina variety of K₂SO₄ solutions have been measured, along withthe ionic concentrations and osmolalities of the exudates. Anapparent imbalance of inorganic ionic charge in the exudate,and a discrepancy in the total salt concentrations comparedwith the measured osmolalities, suggest the presence of significantamounts of organic anions in the exuded fluid. Thin-layer chromatographicmethods indicate these to be mainly amino-acids and organicacids of the Kreb's cycle. Linear regression analysis showsthat the exudation flux is satisfactorily described by a simpleosmotic process together with a constant non-osmotic water fluxof 0.43 µ1 cm^-2 h^-1. The osmotic permeability for theroot is found to be 0.18 x 10^-6 cm sec^-1 atm^-1. The exudationfrom sulphate media is contrasted with that from chloride media.     

Transition from Water to Land in Amphipod Crustaceans

Truly terrestrial Amphipoda are known solely in the Family Talitridae,the only family also found extensively in the supralittoral.Commonly, they are crytozoic inhabitants of the leafmold oftropical or southern cold-temperate forests. Except as recentintroductions, they are absent from Europe and North America.There are a few records from Central America and the Caribbean. The success of the talitrids in colonizing the land is considereddue to invasion of leafmold direct from supralittoral debris.Leafmold provides an insulated niche with sufficient food andmoisture for colonization with little modification. Apart frompossible loss of pleopods, adaptations appear merely to continuetrends already present in littoral species. Present distribution can only partly be explained in terms ofpast geology. Leafmold species are derived from cosmopolitansupralittoral genera and may have arisen independently in differentcountries. Some widely-distributed species, e.g., Talitrus pacificus,may have been transported by man; accidental transplantationof terrestrial amphipods is known. The Amphipoda have not achieved the terrestrial independenceof the Isopoda; they are restricted to a fairly narrow niche.Some species have colonized grasslands but in circumstanceswhich are not environmentally very different from leafmold.     

The shape of things to come: linking developmental plasticity to post‐metamorphic morphology in anurans

Development consists of growth and differentiation, which can be partially decoupled and can be affected by environmental factors to different extents. In amphibians, variation in the larval environment influences development and causes changes in post‐metamorphic shape. We examined post‐metamorphic consequences, both morphological and locomotory, of alterations in growth and development. We reared tadpoles of two phylogenetically and ecologically distant frog species (the red‐eyed treefrog Agalychnis callidryas and the African clawed frog Xenopus laevis) under different temperatures with ad libitum food supply and under different food levels at a constant temperature. Low temperature and low food levels both resulted in similarly extended larval periods. However, low temperature yielded relatively long‐legged frogs with a lower degree of ossification than warm temperature, whereas low food yielded relatively short‐legged frogs with a higher degree of ossification than high food levels. Such allometric differences had no effect on locomotor performance of juveniles. Our results provide a basis for understanding the relationship between growth, differentiation and post‐metamorphic shape in anurans and help explain many of the discrepancies reported in previous studies.     

Revision of Echmatocrinus from the Middle Cambrian Burgess Shale of British Columbia

Echmatocrinus from the Middle Cambrian Burgess Shale of British Columbia was originally described as the earliest crinoid(?) known from the fossil record. Recently, Conway Morris and Ausich & Babcock have questioned whether Echmatocrinus is in fact an echinoderm, comparing it instead to cnidarians with a polyp-like body and pinnate tentacles, and other authors are beginning to use this reinterpretation. We studied the well-preserved holotype of Echmatocrinus brachiatus, two paratypes, and 18 new specimens recovered from different levels in the Burgess Shale sequence at three localities. All are preserved as pyrite films in dark shale with relatively little relief, suggesting a lightly skeletized body. Complete specimens have a long, slightly tapering, large-plated attachment stalk, a conical cup or calyx with numerous small to medium-sized irregular plates, and 7–10 short arms with heavier plating and (in the holotype) soft appendages alternating from opposite sides of several arms. Several morphologic features indicate that Echmatocrinus is an echinoderm and has crinoid affinities: (1) Sutured plates, shown by darker depressed sutures, slightly raised plate centers, and oriented plate ornament, cover all major parts of the body; (2) reticulate surface ornament in the pyrite film on the plates of all specimens matches the ornament in the Burgess Shale edrioasteroid Walcottidiscus, an undoubted echinoderm, but not the pyritized surfaces of other metazoans in the fauna; (3) this distinctive ornament may represent the surface expression of microporous stereom; (4) possible ligament or muscle pads are present between the arm ossicles to fold and unfurl the more heavily plated arms. Within the echinoderms, only crinoids commonly have a calyx attached by a stalk or stem to the substrate and bear erect, moveable, uniserial arms for feeding. Although Echmatocrinus shows some resemblance to octocorals in overall body shape as an attached suspension feeder, almost all the details are different, indicating that Echmatocrinus is most likely unrelated to this group. All complete specimens of Echmatocrinus are attached to hard substrates, either another fossil or skeletal debris. The new specimens indicate that Echmatocrinus was twice as common (about 0.02%) in the Burgess Shale fauna as previously recorded and represents one of the earliest attached, medium-level, skeletized, suspension feeders or microcarnivores in the fossil record.