Effects of anisotropic interactions on the structure of animal groups

This paper proposes an agent-based model which reproduces different structures of animal groups. The shape and structure of the group is the effect of simple interaction rules among individuals: each animal deploys itself depending on the position of a limited number of close group mates. The proposed model is shown to produce clustered formations, as well as lines and V-like formations. The key factors which trigger the onset of different patterns are argued to be the relative strength of attraction and repulsion forces and, most important, the anisotropy in their application.     

Oxygen and Guanine–Cytosine Profiles in Marine Environments

One of the historic debates in molecular evolution concerns the strong variation in the genomic guanine–cytosine (GC) content of prokaryotes, which ranges from approximately 20–75%: Is this factor selectively neutral, or is it the result of natural selection? In a previous article published by our group, we showed that inside well-defined taxonomic groups of prokaryotes, strictly aerobic organisms tend to display higher genomic GC levels than strictly anaerobic species. In the present study, we examined the GC content of fragments of DNA obtained from microbial communities along a well-defined environmental gradient: a 4,000-m vertical profile in the North Pacific subtropical gyre. The patterns of GC distribution might be associated with oxygen concentrations in the seawater column. These results give further support to the link between a physiologic trait (aerobic respiration) and genomic GC content.