Are color or high rearing density related to migratory polyphenism in the band-winged grasshopper, Oedaleus asiaticus?

Locusts represent an impressive example of migratory polyphenism, with high densities triggering a switch from a solitarious, shorter dispersal range, and sometimes greenish phenotype to a gregarious and sometimes darker form exhibiting behavioral, morphological and physiological traits associated with long-distance migratory swarms. While such polyphenism has been well documented in Locusta migratoria and Schistocerca gregaria, the extent to which other grasshoppers exhibit this type of migratory polyphenism is unclear. Anecdotally, the Chinese grasshopper, Oedaleus asiaticus, forms migratory swarms comprised mostly of a darker, brown-colored morph, but also exhibits a non-migratory green-colored morph that predominates at low densities. In a population in Inner Mongolia not currently exhibiting migratory swarms, we found that while green and brown O. asiaticus are found concurrently across our sampled range, only brown grasshoppers were found in high densities. Differences between field-collected brown and green forms matched some but not key predictions associated with the hypothesis that the brown form is morphologically and physiologically specialized for gregarious migration. Controlling for body mass, brown forms had more massive thoraxes, abdomens and legs, and higher metabolic rates, but not more flight muscle or lipid stores. Further, the brown and green grasshoppers did not differ in gregarious behavior, and neither would fly in multiple lab and field trials. Lab or field-rearing at high densities for one-to-multiple juvenile instars caused grasshoppers to exhibit some morphological traits predicted to benefit migration (larger wings and a shift in relative mass from abdomen to thorax), but did not change color or induce flight behavior. One hypothesis to explain these data is that a migratory form of O. asiaticus is partially triggered by high field densities, but that existing ecological conditions blocked full expression of such traits (and outbreak swarms). Alternatively, color variation in this species may more tightly linked to other functions in this species such as crypsis or disease resistance, and mechanisms other than late-juvenile rearing density (e.g. genetic variation, maternal effects) may be more critical for promoting variation in color and/or migratory polyphenism.     

匹伐他汀对体外培养人脐静脉血内皮祖细胞数量及功能的影响

目的:通过体外培养人脐静脉血内皮祖细胞(endothelial progenitor cells,EPCs),观察他汀类新药(匹伐他汀)对EPCs数量及增殖、迁移和粘附功能的影响。方法:采用密度梯度离心法分离培养人脐静脉血单个核细胞,将其接种在包被有人纤维连接蛋白培养板上,培养7 d后,收集贴壁细胞,加入不同浓度匹伐他汀(分别为0.001μmol/L、0.01μmol/L、0.1μmol/L、1.0μmol/L)培养24h,用免疫荧光法观察EPCs吸收FITC-UEA-I和Dil-acLDL情况对EPCs进行鉴定,然后分别采用MTT比色法、改良的Boyden小室、粘附能力测定实验对各实验组测定,来观察匹伐他汀对EPCs数量及增殖、迁移和粘附功能影响。结果:匹伐他汀组与对照组相比,匹伐他汀显著提高了体外培养EPCs的数量及增殖、迁移与粘附能力(P0.05)。匹伐他汀浓度在0.1μmol/L时对EPCs影响达到最大。随着药物浓度的继续增大,EPCs的上述功能反呈下降趋势,但1.0μmol/L组仍高于对照组。结论:匹伐他汀能增加体外培养EPCs的数量及增殖、迁移和粘附能力,可作为EPCs培养的一种改良方法,为其更好的应用于临床具有重要的意义。     

Migratory orientation of sedge warblers (Acrocephalus schoenobaenus) in relation to eating and exploratory behaviour

Orientation tests performed with Emlen funnels show much variation. This scatter in responses can be partially explained by considering the birds’ personalities.We studied a Passerine migrant, the Sedge Warbler (Acrocephalus schoenobaenus), on autumn passage at Kalimok Biological Station, Bulgaria. Birds caught in the morning were kept in cages with known and regularly controlled amounts of food. In the evening they were tested for orientation, the next morning they were observed for 3 min in an unfamiliar cage, then released.Birds that ate on the first day oriented in the expected, southward direction, non-eating birds were scattered.Eating behaviour was related to the exploration pattern on the next day. Eating birds moved and flew less, hopped, looked around and explored the cage more, and were quicker in eating a food item if present.Lean birds ate and explored more but also oriented better, contrary to expectations where fat reserves indicate readiness for migration. A hypothesis is discussed where fat, migration and personality may be linked.Personality aspects may influence the individuals’ ability to cope with an experimental situation and influence the outcome of the tests, therefore its analysis can help in predicting the birds’ performance in apparently unrelated experiments.     

An overview of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi–nematode interactions

Plant parasitic nematodes and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) share plant roots as a resource for food and space. The interest in AMF-nematode interactions lies in the possibility of enhanced resistance or tolerance of AMF-infected plants to nematodes, and the potential value of this for control of crop pests. Data collated from previous studies revealed a great diversity of AMF-nematode responses and we seek to generalise from these by evaluating and discussing interactions involving three groups of nematodes distinguished by their mode of parasitism: (i) ectoparasites; (ii) sedentary endoparasites; and (iii) migratory endoparasites. Based on proximity in tissue, we expected that the interactions between endoparasites and AMF would be stronger, i.e. more reciprocal effects of endoparasitic nematodes on AMF, than those between ectoparasites and AMF. Contrary to this hypothesis, we found that, relative to AMF-free plants, AMF-infected plants were damaged more by ectoparasites than by endoparasites. Of the sedentary endoparasites, numbers of root-knot nematodes were reduced more by mycorrhizal infection than were those of cyst nematodes. The reduction in nematode damage by AMF was not different for root-knot or cyst nematode infested plants. Migratory endoparasitic nematodes were the only group whose numbers were greater on AMF-infected plants. However, the experiments involving migratory nematodes were characterised by relatively high levels of AMF infection and little nematode damage compared to the other feeding types. The outcomes of the AMF-nematode interactions are determined by many factors during the interactions between organisms and their physical, physiological and temporal environments. Assessing effects by recording plant sizes and total nematode or AMF populations at the end of experiments gives very little information on the mechanisms of the interactions. It is time to stop doing studies of black boxes and time to start observing processes, directly by using microscopy and indirectly by application of molecular genetics.     

Migratory decisions in birds: extent of genetic versus environmental control

Migration is one of the most spectacular of animal behaviors and is prevalent across a broad array of taxa. In birds, we know much about the physiological basis of how birds migrate, but less about the relative contribution of genetic versus environmental factors in controlling migratory tendency. To evaluate the extent to which migratory decisions are genetically determined, we examined whether individual western burrowing owls (Athene cunicularia hypugaea) change their migratory tendency from one year to the next at two sites in southern Arizona. We also evaluated the heritability of migratory decisions by using logistic regression to examine the association between the migratory tendency of burrowing owl parents and their offspring. The probability of migrating decreased with age in both sexes and adult males were less migratory than females. Individual owls sometimes changed their migratory tendency from one year to the next, but changes were one-directional: adults that were residents during winter 2004–2005 remained residents the following winter, but 47% of adults that were migrants in winter 2004–2005 became residents the following winter. We found no evidence for an association between the migratory tendency of hatch-year owls and their male or female parents. Migratory tendency of hatch-year owls did not differ between years, study sites or sexes or vary by hatching date. Experimental provision of supplemental food did not affect these relationships. All of our results suggest that heritability of migratory tendency in burrowing owls is low, and that intraspecific variation in migratory tendency is likely due to: (1) environmental factors, or (2) a combination of environmental factors and non-additive genetic variation. The fact that an individual’s migratory tendency can change across years implies that widespread anthropogenic changes (i.e., climate change or changes in land use) could potentially cause widespread changes in the migratory tendency of birds.