Population dynamics ofGlaux maritima (L.) along a distributional cline

Population fluctuations ofGlaux maritima, along a transect on a Baltle sea shore meadow, were recorded between 1979 and 1983. A bimodal distribution in numbers along the transect reflects the variation in factors regulating numbers: The two maintenance systems of the species, vegetative propagation and sexual reproduction play different roles. Vegetative propagation is fast and responds quickly to variations in the environment. The seeds germinate in strongly fluctuating temperatures which are triggered by disturbances such as flooding, damaging the vegetation.     

The occurrence and frequency of 2n pollen in 2x, 4x,and 6x wild,tuber-bearing Solanum species from Mexico,and Central and South America

Summary The occurrence of 2n pollen-producing plants was investigated in 187 plant introductions (PIs) of 38 wild species of tuber-bearing Solanum. These 2x, 4x, and 6x species are from Mexico, and Central and South America. The determination of 2n pollen-producing plants was conducted using acetocarmine glycerol. Plants with more than 1% large-size pollen were regarded as 2n pollen-producing plants. 2n pollen-producing plants were identified in the following species: 10 out of 12 Mexican 2x species, seven of nine South American 2x species, seven of seven Mexican and Central American 4x species, five of five South American 4x species, and five of five Mexican 6x species. The frequency of 2n pollen-producing plants varied among species at the same ploidy level, but the range of frequency, generally between 2 and 10% among species, was similar over different ploidy levels. The general occurrence of 2n pollen in both 2x and polyploid species, which are evolutionarily related, is evidence that the mode of polyploidization in tuber-bearing Solanums is sexual polyploidization. Furthermore, the frequencies of 2n pollen-producing plants in autogamous disomic polyploid species were not markably different from those of their related diploid species. It is thought that the frequent occurrence of 2n gametes with autogamy tends to disturb the fertility and consequently reduce fitness of polyploids. Thus, we propose that the breeding behavior of polyploids and the occurrence of 2n gametes may be genetically balanced in order to conserve high fitness in polyploid species in tuberbearing Solanum.Paper No. 3114 from the Laboratory of Genetics. Research supported by the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences; International Potato Center; USDA, SEA, CGRO 84-CRCR-1-1389; and Frito Lay, Inc.     

Endophyte transmission and activity in the Anabaena-Azolla association

Summary The survival of Azolla was studied in an artificial system which simulated the soil/water interface and the desiccation of soil during a fallow period in lowland rice culture. Tests with non-sporulating and sporulating Azolla fronds showed that Azolla only survives with sporulated fronds. At their reappearance the Azolla fronds already harboured the Anabaena endophyte. A detailed light microscopic and transmission electron microscopic study of macro- and micros-porocarp formation and development revealed that the endophyte is transmitted by the macrosporocarps and not by the microsporocarps. The Anabaena cells within the macrosporocarps are found just below the indusium cap. These cells are not nitrogen-fixing akinetes. The free-living Anabaena cells at the stem apex and below the overarching developing leaves do not bear heterocysts and accordingly are non nitrogen-fixing. During the development of the leaf the Anabaena enters the leaf cavity, but later the pore of this, cavity closes and the imprisoned cyanobacteria are lysed before the leaf decays. As the Azolla leaves age a nitrogen-fixing capability is successively built up concomittantly with the production of heterocysts. Heterocyst frequencies of 40–50% can be found inAnabaena azollae. Usually a gradient of nitrogen-fixing capacity occurs along the Azolla rhizome with two distinct peaks at leaf number 7/8 and at leaf number 13/14 from the apex.     

Sexual dimorphism in neuronal projections from the antennae of silk moths (Bombyx mori,Antheraea polyphemus) and the gypsy moth (Lymantria dispar)

Summary The antennal lobe of both sexes of the silk moth Bombyx mori contains 55–60 ventrally located antennal glomeruli; in addition, that of the male contains a dorsal macroglomerular complex (MGC). A group of identifiable glomeruli consisting of two lateral large glomeruli (LLG) and four medial small glomeruli (MSG) is present in both sexes, but the LLG are greatly enlarged in the female. A MGC is also present in the male gypsy moth Lymantria dispar and male giant silk moth Antheraea polyphemus. The MGC in all of these species is organized into 3–4 distinct levels of glomeruli. Antennal sensory fibers were stained by cobalt backfills in B. mori, A. polyphemus, and L. dispar. Most fibers stained from cut long hairs (sensilla trichodea) projected to MGC in males and LLG in both sexes of B. mori. The distribution of fibers in the MGC of B. mori was topographically biased in that a majority of fibers from anterior branches projected medially in MGC while most fibers from posterior branches projected laterally or anteriorly. Terminal arborizations of single fibers were each restricted to a single glomerular level of the MGC. Fibers projecting to the posterior antennal center were frequently stained in cut-hair and control preparations, apparently by uptake of cobalt through intact sensilla on flagellar branches.     

Parasites and showy males: malarial infection and color variation in fence lizards

Summary Hamilton and Zuk (1982) proposed that the quality of male showy traits reflects genetically-based resistance to parasites and can be used by females to select mates that are less prone to parasitic attack. The hypothesis requires that a particular state of a variable showy trait should be associated with parasite infection. We tested this idea with a population of western fence lizards, Sceloporus occidentalis, infected with the malarial parasite, Plasmodium mexicanum. Ventral color pattern is strongly dimorphic in fence lizards and varies greatly among males in this population. Malaria-infected males exhibited significantly more black and less pale on their ventral surface than did noninfected males of similar body size. This difference was not a function of differing ages of infected and noninfected animals of the same body size. However, logistic regression demonstrated that females using male ventral color as a gauge of infection status would only marginally improve their chance of choosing a noninfected lizard over random selection of mates.     

Rise in age of sexual maturation in male Japanese monkeys at Takasakiyama in relation to nutritional conditions

A few reports have suggested the possibility that feeding conditions might affect the sexual maturation of free-ranging Japanese monkeys in provisionized troops. In the present study, the sexual maturation of male monkeys at Takasakiyama in 1984, nine years after the start of restriction of artificial feeding, was examined externally and histologically and the results were compared with data obtained in 1971, when artificial foods were abundantly given. Spermatogenesis was not observed in any of the males under 4.5 years old in the present study, whereas it was noted in some premature 3.5-year-old males and in all males over 4.5 years old in the 1971 study. The age of sexual maturation thus rose by one or more years over the 13-year period from 1971 to 1984. The lag in sexual maturation of the males at Takasakiyama in 1984 could have been induced by the restriction of artificial feeding.     

A ten-month study of endogenous testosterone levels and behaviour in outdoor-living female rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta)

Endogenous testosterone levels were measured in association with sexual, aggressive, and social/affiliative behaviors in 11 outdoor-housed female rhesus monkeys over a ten-month period. Several behaviors (sex directed toward the male, sex received from the male, aggression directed toward the male, submission directed toward the male, submission directed toward the female, and groom another female) were significantly (p<0.05) positively correlated with testosterone in from one to five females. No trends were strong enough across all females to suggest that any of these correlations have species-wide significance. Factor analysis revealed clearcut clusters of behaviors, but elevations in testosterone were not strongly associated with any of these clusters. It is concluded that endogenous testosterone levels have little measurable effect on overt behavior in female rhesus monkeys.     

Odontometric profile of a prehistoric southeastern Florida population

This study analyzes and compares the dental size variation and sexual dimorphism of the Highland Beach Mound people, a late southeastern prehistoric aboriginal Florida population (ca. 800-1200 AD) with a somewhat earlier midwestern group (ca. 200-800 AD) and an Archaic sample (ca. 4160-2558 BC). The lengths and breadths of maxillary and mandibular permanent teeth of 99 individuals were measured, and crown surface areas were calculated for the molars. Results indicated that there was little sexual dimorphism. Only the mesiodistal dimensions of the upper P2 and lower C were significantly different at the P less than 0.05 level. In terms of dental size, what appears to be a chronologically based reduction in most points of comparison was seen in all three groups, with the exception of the molars, which were larger in the Highland Beach sample than in the earlier Schultz Mound.     

Social organization and spawning in the Atlantic sharpnose puffer,Canthigaster rostrata (Tetraodontidae)

Synopsis Social organization and spawning in the sharpnose pufferCanthigaster rostrataere studied on a reef in the San Blas Islands, Panama. Sexes were dimorphic. In mixed coral and rubble habitat, females defended territories against other females and small males. From one to six female territories were included within the territories of certain large males. These haremic males visited their females and patrolled their territories throughout the day. Smaller, non-haremic males occupied territories or home ranges within or adjacent to those of haremic males or were wanderers. Spawning between a haremic male and a territorial female occurred within the female's territory. The female prepared an algal nest into which demersal eggs were deposited. There was no parental care. Eggs were spherical, translucent, and measured approximately 0.66 mm in diameter. Larvae were about 1.4 mm TL and closely resembled those of other species ofCanthigaster.     

Immunocytochemical studies on the LHRH system of the Japanese quail: influence by photoperiod and aspects of sexual differentiation

Summary Immunocytochemistry was used to determine if photoperiod and/or sex have any effect on the pattern of the luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone (LHRH) system in the brain of the Japanese quail. Immunopositive perikarya were found within three major areas of the brain: the rostral paraolfactory lobe, the preoptic, and the septal region. A quantitative analysis of LHRH cell numbers was performed on male and female quail after two photoperiodic treatments: sexually mature birds exposed to 24 weeks of 20 h light: 4 h darkness (20L4D), and birds with a regressed reproductive system (induced by transfer from a photoregime of 20L4D to 25 short days of 8L16D). Two-way analysis of variance showed that short-day males display significantly (p < 0.05) more immunopositive perikarya (607 + 134) than long-day males (291 + 114), short-day females (293 + 103) or long-day females (330 + 92). The density of LHRH-immunoreactive nerve fibres and the intensity of the immunostaining in the median eminence were always greater in long-day sexually mature quail (male and female) than in animals exposed to 25 days of 8L16D. These results demonstrate that the LHRH system of the quail is influenced by photoperiod and mirrors sexual differentiation.