Influence of intertree distance on foraging behaviour of Rhagoletis pomonella in the field

Abstract. 1. We tested a prediction from contemporary foraging theory that animals should decrease their allocation of energy to the searching of individual patches when interpatch travel costs decrease.
2. We used individual Rhagoletis pomonella Walsh (Diptera: Tephritidae) females foraging for oviposition sites (= Crataegus fruit) in a host tree which was surrounded by four other trees at varying distances.
3. We found that flies generally invested less search, measured as time spent searching a tree or number of leaves visited on a tree, when neighbouring trees were nearby than when farther away.
4. Under our test conditions, flies appeared to have difficulty locating neighbouring trees at a distance of more than 1.6 m.
5. Our study calls into question the interpretation of search effort by insects within resource patches in the absence of information on interpatch distances.     

Geographic isolation and evolution of Mediterranean endemic Cyclamen: insights from chloroplast trnL (UAA) intron sequence variation

 In this study we construct a phylogenetic hypothesis for the relatedness among disjunct subspecies of Cyclamen repandum and its two allopatric congeners, C. creticum and C. balearicum in order to examine the evolutionary divergence of currently isolated populations across the western Mediterranean. The most parsimonious phylogenetic tree obtained from sequencing the cpDNA trnL (UAA) intron suggests a major phylogeographic divide in southern Greece between two clades. The first clade comprises samples of C. repandum subsp. peloponnesiacum (from the Peloponnese) and C. creticum (from Crete). The second comprises samples of C. repandum subsp. repandum (from Croatia, Italy, southern France, Corsica, Sardinia and Sicily), C. repandum subsp. rhodense (from Rhodes and Kos) and C. balearicum (from the Balearic Islands and southern France). These data suggest that C. creticum has evolved in allopatry from C. repandum subsp. peloponnesiacum and that C. balearicum and C. repandum ssp. rhodense have diverged from C. repandum subsp. repandum at its western and eastern distribution limits. At one small site on Corsica, a population of C. repandum may have introgressed with relictual populations of C. balearicum. These divergence patterns illustrate how a phylogenetic perspective can be used to better understand the evolution of endemism in the Mediterranean flora. Received February 19, 2001 Accepted August 22, 2001     

A protocol for temporal calibration of general area cladograms

Aim To describe a protocol for incorporating a temporal dimension into historical biogeographical analysis, while maintaining the essential independence of all datasets, involving the generation of general area cladograms. Location Global. Methods General area cladograms (GACs) are a reconstruction of the evolutionary history of a set of areas and unrelated clades within those areas. Nodes on a GAC correspond to speciation events in a group of taxa; general nodes are those at which multiple unrelated clades speciate. We undertake temporal calibration of GACs using molecular clock estimates of splitting events between extant taxa as well as first appearance data from the fossil record. We present two examples based on re‐analysis of previously published data: first, a temporally calibrated GAC generated from secondary Brooks parsimony analysis (BPA) of six extant bird clades from the south‐west of North America using molecular clock estimates of divergence times; and second, an analysis of African Neogene mammals based on a phylogenetic analysis for comparing trees (PACT) analysis. Results A hypothetical example demonstrates how temporal calibration reveals potentially critical information about the timing of both unique and general events, while also illustrating instances of incongruence between dates generated from molecular clock estimates and fossils. For the African Neogene mammal dataset, our analysis reveals that most mammal clades underwent geodispersal associated with the Neogene climatic optimum (c. 16 Ma) and vicariant speciation in central Africa correlated with increased aridity and cooler temperatures around 2.5 Ma. Main conclusions Temporally calibrated GACs are valuable tools for assessing whether coordinated patterns of speciation are associated with large‐scale climatic or tectonic phenomena.     

Sinistral snail shells in the sea: developmental causes and consequences

The paucity of sinistral (left-coiling) relative to dextral (right-coiling) species of gastropods in the marine realm is an enigma. In Conus , one of the most diverse marine animal genera, sinistral shell coiling has evolved as a species-wide character only once. Fossils of this species, Conus adversarius , are found in Upper Pliocene and lowermost Pleistocene deposits in the southeastern USA. Conus adversarius had nonplanktonic larval development; this may have been a critical factor for the early establishment of the species, as well as sinistral marine species in other clades. Notably, most specimens of aberrantly sinistral modern Conus are derived from typically dextral species that have nonplanktonic development. If C. adversarius was reproductively isolated from dextral conspecifics, then this species may provide an example of nearly instantaneous sympatric speciation in the fossil record. Furthermore, the common and widespread – while geologically short-lived – fossil shells of C. adversarius show large amounts of variability in form and this variation may be related, at least in part, to a pleiotropic effect associated with the reversed coiling direction of this species.     

Vertical partitioning between sister species of Rhizopogon fungi on mesic and xeric sites in an interior Douglas‐fir forest

Understanding ectomycorrhizal fungal (EMF) community structure is limited by a lack of taxonomic resolution and autecological information. Rhizopogon vesiculosus and Rhizopogon vinicolor (Basidiomycota) are morphologically and genetically related species. They are dominant members of interior Douglas‐fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii var. glauca) EMF communities, but mechanisms leading to their coexistence are unknown. We investigated the microsite associations and foraging strategy of individual R. vesiculosus and R. vinicolor genets. Mycelia spatial patterns, pervasiveness and root colonization patterns of fungal genets were compared between Rhizopogon species and between xeric and mesic soil moisture regimes. Rhizopogon spp. mycelia were systematically excavated from the soil and identified using microsatellite DNA markers. Rhizopogon vesiculosus mycelia occurred at greater depth, were more spatially pervasive, and colonized more tree roots than R. vinicolor mycelia. Both species were frequently encountered in organic layers and between the interface of organic and mineral horizons. They were particularly abundant within microsites associated with soil moisture retention. The occurrence of R. vesiculosus shifted in the presence of R. vinicolor towards mineral soil horizons, where R. vinicolor was mostly absent. This suggests that competition and foraging strategy may contribute towards the vertical partitioning observed between these species. Rhizopogon vesiculosus and R. vinicolor mycelia systems occurred at greater mean depths and were more pervasive in mesic plots compared with xeric plots. The spatial continuity and number of trees colonized by genets of each species did not significantly differ between soil moisture regimes.     

Emerging role of ferrous iron in bacterial growth and host–pathogen interaction: New tools for chemical (micro)biology and antibacterial therapy

Chemical tools capable of detecting ferrous iron with oxidation-state specificity have only recently become available. Coincident with this development in chemical biology has been increased study and appreciation for the importance of ferrous iron during infection and more generally in host–pathogen interaction. Some of the recent findings are surprising and challenge long-standing assumptions about bacterial iron homeostasis and the innate immune response to infection. Here, we review these recent developments and their implications for antibacterial therapy.