On the Origin of Mendelian Genetics

SYNOPSIS. An examination of research on heredity in the yearsbetween Mendel's scientific work and his multiple rediscovery(approximately 1850–1900) suggests that at the turn ofthe century the elucidation of the mechanism of the transmissionof hereditary traits from parent to offspring was inevitable.By 1900, a variety of different investigators were either attackingthe problem of genetic transmission directly and successfully,or were examining specific aspects of the issue. However, itappears that the identity of analysis used by Mendel and byhis rediscoverers was primarily the result of the latter allfollowing Mendel's formulation. Had Mendel not been rediscovered,the "Laws of Heredity" would likely have been formulated quitedifferently, and been discovered and refined over a period oftime rather than all being discovered and given their finalform at the very outset.     

Errata

In south-eastern Arizona, heterostylous (often trimorphic) populations of Oxalis alpina (Rose) Knuth are visited most commonly by females of the solitary bee Heterosarus bakeri Cockerell. Bees collect pollen from flowers and are presumed to be the major pollinators of O. alpina in this region. Analysis of pollen loads from the corbiculae of H. bakeri suggests that individual bees may specialize temporally on different floral forms. However, the apparent preferential collection of pollen probably results from spatial segregation of morphs and the localized foraging behaviour of bees rather than preference on the part of individual bees for particular stylar forms. As a group, bees appear to visit floral morphs of O. alpina indiscriminately, even though individual bees may have a preponderance of pollen from one morph type. Despite spatial segregation leading to pollinator flights between members of the same incompatibility group, capsule and seed production in populations of O. alpina is high for all forms. Loss of the mid form in some populations cannot be attributed to pollinator preferences for individual style morphs.     

Microsatellite markers isolated from polyploid wood‐sorrel Oxalis alpina (Oxalidaceae)

Twelve polymorphic microsatellite loci were isolated from polyploid alpine wood‐sorrel, Oxalis alpina (Oxalidaceae), and optimized for future studies of its breeding system. The loci were screened for variability among 72 individuals from Pinos Altos, New Mexico. The primers amplified loci with allele number ranging from two to 17 per locus and with estimates of Nei's genetic diversity varying from 0.10 to 0.99. These primers provide an opportunity to use polymorphic DNA markers to study the causes of breeding system variability in this species.     

Mist Net Effort Required to Inventory a Forest Bat Species Assemblage

Abstract: Little quantitative information exists about the survey effort necessary to inventory temperate bat species assemblages. We used a bootstrap resampling algorithm to estimate the number of mist net surveys required to capture individuals from 9 species at both study area and site levels using data collected in a forested watershed in northwestern California, USA, during 1996–2000. The mean number of simulated surveys required to capture individual species varied with species' rarity and ranged from 1.5 to 44.9. We retrospectively evaluated strategies to reduce required survey effort by subsampling data from 1996 to 1998 and tested the strategies in the field during 1999 and 2000. Using data from 1996 to 1998, the mean number of simulated surveys required to capture 8 out of 9 species was 26.3, but a 95% probability of capture required >61 surveys. Inventory efficiency, defined as the cumulative proportion of species detected per survey effort, improved for both the study area and individual sites by conducting surveys later in summer. We realized further improvements in study area inventory efficiency by focusing on productive sites. We found that 3 surveys conducted between 1 July and 10 September at each of 4 productive sites in this 10-km² study area resulted in the capture of 8 species annually. Quantitative estimation of the survey effort required to assess bat species occurrence improves the ability to plan and execute reliable, efficient inventories. Results from our study should be useful for planning inventories in nearby geographical areas and similar habitat types; further, the analytical methods we used to assess effort are broadly applicable to other survey methods and taxa.