Linear enamel hypoplasia as an indicator of physiological stress in great apes: reviewing the evidence in light of enamel growth variation

Physiological stress, such as malnutrition or illness, can disrupt normal enamel growth, resulting in linear enamel hypoplasias (LEHs). Although ecological factors may contribute to LEH expression, other factors, such as surface abrasion and enamel growth variables, are also likely to be involved. Attention to these other factors is necessary before we can begin to understand what LEH might signify in terms of ecological sources of physiological stress in non-human primates. This study focuses on assessing the contribution of these other factors to variation in LEH expression within and across great ape taxa. Here, we present LEH data from unabraded crown regions in samples of seven great ape species. We analyze these data with respect to lateral enamel formation time and the angles that striae of Retzius make with the enamel surface, as these variables are expected to affect variation in LEH expression. We find that although the duration of enamel formation is associated with sex differences in LEH expression, it is not clearly related to taxonomic variation in LEH expression, and does not explain the low frequency of LEH in mountain gorillas found in this and a previous study. Our data on striae of Retzius angles suggest that these influence LEH expression along the tooth crown and may contribute to the consistently high frequencies of LEH seen in Pongo in this and previous studies. We suggest that future work aimed at understanding species variation in these angles is crucial to evaluating taxonomic patterns of LEH expression in great apes.     

Leaf architecture and epidermal characters in Zelkova, Ulmaceae

Zelkova , with six extant species in Eurasia - three in East Asia (Z. schneideriana, Z. serrata, Z. sinica) , one in south-western Asia (Z. carpinifolia) and two in southern Europe (Z. abelicea, Z. sicula) - was investigated with respect to leaf architecture and epidermal characters by LM and SEM. The leaf venation of Zelkova is relatively uniform, while leaf size and shape are highly variable. Characters such as teeth and epidermal cells, trichomes and stomata provide useful specific distinctions. Beginning in the Miocene, increasing aridity in Central Asia would appear to have been responsible for isolating the eastern Asiatic species from their European/western Asiatic counterparts. The European range underwent further changes in response to Quaternary climatic oscillations.     

Tooth Replacement in Late Jurassic Dryolestidae (Eupantotheria, Mammalia)

The discovery of juvenile dentitions of late Jurassic (Kimmeridgian) Dryolestidae (Eupantotheria, Mammalia) from Guimarota, Portugal, yields for the first time information on the mode of tooth replacement in therian mammals prior to the dichotomy of placentals and marsupials. As in extant placentals, tooth replacement occurs at all antemolar positions [incisors (I1–I4), canine (C), premolars (P1–P4)]. P1 and P2 have premolariform milk predecessors, whereas the large premolariform third (P3) and fourth premolars (P4) are preceded by molariform deciduous premolars (dP3, dP4). Tooth replacement takes place in two waves, at least in the lower jaw, with I₂, I₄, P₁, and P₃ in the first series and I₁, I₃, C, P₂, and P₄ in the second. P₄ is the last premolar to erupt, and it is present when the sixth molar (M₆) starts to break through. The reduced tooth replacement pattern of marsupials (with only dP3 being replaced postnatally) evolved secondarily from the primitive or plesiomorphic mammalian condition, which was retained in Dryolestidae and Eutheria.     

The trade-off between tooth strength and tooth penetration: predicting optimal shape of canine teeth

We investigate the shape of canine teeth under the assumption that the tooth's morphology is optimized by the evolutionary trade-off to minimize breakage and maximize ease of the penetration of prey. A series of experiments using artificial teeth to puncture the hides of a deer Odocoileus virginianus and pig Sus scrofa domesticus were conducted to establish the relationships between the tooth shape and the force needed to puncture the hide. The shapes of these teeth were also used in a beam theory analysis to calculate the strength of the teeth. Because the relative costs of puncturing and breakage were not known, a complete prediction of tooth shape was not possible. Instead, we used two independent measures of tooth shape: aspect ratio (total tooth length/tooth width at base) and rate of taper along the shank of the tooth. We quantified rate of taper in several species of felids, and by assuming this was the optimal design, we determined the relative costs of breakage and puncturing that would produce such a taper. Then, we used the relative costs to predict the aspect ratio of the optimum tooth. The average predicted value is about 2.5, very close to the average value in extant species of cats.     

Impact of logging on the richness and diversity of forest butterflies in a tropical dry forest in Thailand

Studies on the impact of logging on tropical forest butterflies have been almost exclusively conducted in moist forest habitats. This study considers the impacts of small-scale logging on butterfly communities at three sites of varying disturbance intensity in a tropical dry forest in western Thailand. Butterfly species richness was similar at all sites, but the abundance of butterflies and diversity of the butterfly community decreased with increased logging disturbance. The recorded decrease in diversity at the relatively large sampling scale used lends further support to the hypothesis that disturbance effects are scale dependent. Species abundance data for butterflies fitted a log-normal distribution at all sites, but also a log-series distribution at the two disturbed sites. These analyses suggest a more complex butterfly community at the undisturbed site, but also that log-series and log-normal distributions may not to be sufficiently sensitive to be useful indicators of community changes following logging. Community ordination separates both the butterfly species and transect samples into three distinct regions corresponding to the three study locations. Ordination axes are correlated with tree density, understorey cover and understorey plant richness. Species with the smallest geographic ranges tend to be the least abundant and occurred most frequently in the undisturbed site. The observed diverging responses to disturbance among butterfly families diminishes the value of butterfly communities as biodiversity indicators, and forest managers should perhaps focus on restricted range species or of groups of recognized sensitive species for this purpose.     

CO2 and O3 effects on host plant preferences of the forest tent caterpillar (Malacosoma disstria)

Elevated levels of CO₂ and O₃ affect plant growth and phytochemistry, which in turn can alter physiological performance of associated herbivores. Little is known, however, about how generalist insect herbivores respond behaviorally to CO₂‐ and O₃‐mediated changes in their host plants. This research examined the effects of elevated CO₂ and O₃ levels on host plant preferences and consumption of forest tent caterpillar (FTC, Malacosoma disstria Hbn.) larvae. Dual choice feeding assays were performed with foliage from birch (Betula papyrifera Marsh.) and aspen (Populus tremuloides Michx., genotypes 216 and 259). Trees were grown at the Aspen Free Air CO₂ Enrichment (FACE) facility near Rhinelander, WI, USA, and had been exposed to ambient or elevated concentrations of CO₂ and/or O₃. Levels of nutritional and secondary compounds were quantified through phytochemical analyses. The results showed that elevated O₃ levels increased FTC larval preferences for birch compared with aspen, whereas elevated CO₂ levels had the opposite effect. In assays with the two aspen genotypes, addition of both CO₂ and O₃ caused a shift in feeding preferences from genotype 259 to genotype 216. Consumption was unaffected by experimental treatments in assays comparing aspen and birch, but were increased for larvae given high O₃ foliage in the aspen genotype assays. Elevated levels of CO₂ and O₃ altered tree phytochemistry, but did not explain shifts in feeding preferences. The results demonstrate that increased levels of CO₂ and O₃ can alter insect host plant preferences both between and within tree species. Also, consequences of altered host quality (e.g., compensatory consumption) may be buffered by partial host shifts in situations when alternative plant species are available. Environmentally induced changes in host plant preferences may have the potential to alter the distribution of herbivory across plant genotypes and species, as well as competitive interactions among them.