Genotypic succession in the cyclomorphosis of Bosmina longirostris (Cladocera)

SUMMARY. The pattern of cyclomorphosis of Bosmina longirostris was followed over a 21-month period in Lake Travis, Texas. Appreciable variation was observed in body size and in the lengths of antennules and mucrones. Electrophoresis of clonal isolates collected over the period of study showed a seasonal cycle in esterase phenotypes. A definite association was demonstrated between the esterase phenotypes and morphologies of these clonal isolates. Individuals of one esterase phenotype were usually large and long-featured, whereas individuals of the other esterase phenotypes were smaller, with short features. The association of morphology and esterase phenotypes from laboratory experiments corresponded to the association observed in field samples. These results support the hypothesis that the cyclomorphosis of Lake Travis Bosmina involves a succession of clones as well as phenotypic plasticity.     

Basisphenoid and basioccipital pits in microchiropteran bats

We examined 686 skulls of 420 species of microchiropteran bats in 16 families to assess variation in pits in the basisphenoid and basioccipital bones. A total of 26 measurements were used to describe variation in pits, and patterns in the distribution of pits were examined across the families. Pits were absent from 154 species and present in 266 species. While some species had as many as four basisphenoid pits, basioccipital pits, when present, always occurred as a single pair. No species had more than four pits (basisphenoid or basioccipital and basisphenoid) in total. In some families all species either had pits (e.g. Emballonuridae) or none had pits (e.g. Rhinolophidae), but the incidence of pits usually was variable within families. The results of a cluster analysis of families based on the incidence of pits and morphological features of pits bore little resemblance to a recent phylogeny of Microchiroptera. A discriminant function analysis of features of pits of Emballonuridae, Phyllostomidae, Vespertilionidae and Molossidae correctly classified 66% of species to family revealing some continuity in pit structure among related species. There was no evidence of significant sexual dimorphism in the incidence or features of pits. Basisphenoid and basioccipital pits tended to increase in size with skull size. Neither the incidence nor the morphology of basisphenoid nor basioccipital pits was consistently associated with echolocation, diet or foraging behaviour. Pits were present or absent from species using either high‐intensity or low‐intensity echolocation calls, and the same was true of bats using high or low duty cycle modes of echolocation. Furthermore, the presence or absence of pits did not correspond to the presence or absence of harmonics in echolocation calls. We propose that basisphenoid and basioccipital pits are oscillators in the vocal tract and contribute to the production of non‐linear phenomena in vocalizations made by bats. © 2003 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2003, 78 , 215–233.