Search results for " body size"
showing 6 items of 6 documents
Survival cost of an early immune soliciting in nature.
2009
8 pages; International audience; If immune functions confer obvious benefits to hosts, life-history theory assumes that they also induce costs, leading to trade-offs between immunity and other fitness components. However, whether substantial fitness costs are associated with immune systems in the wild is debatable, as numerous factors may influence the costs and benefits associated with immune activation. Here, we explore the survival cost of immune deployment in postfledging birds. We injected Eurasian collared dove nestlings (Streptopelia decaocto) with antigens from Escherichia coli, and examined whether this immune challenge affected survival after fledging. To assess survival, birds we…
Fishery-induced selection for slow somatic growth in European eel
2012
International audience; Both theoretical and experimental studies have shown that fishing mortality can induce adaptive responses in body growth rates of fishes in the opposite direction of natural selection. We compared body growth rates in European eel (Anguilla anguilla) from three Mediterranean stocks subject to different fishing pressure. Results are consistent with the hypotheses that i) fast-growing individuals are more likely to survive until sexual maturity than slow-growing ones under natural conditions (no fishing) and ii) fishing can select for slow-growing individuals by removing fast-growing ones. Although the possibility of human-induced evolution seems remote for a panmictic…
Assessing the Relationship Between Attitudinal and Perceptual Component of Body Image Disturbance Using Virtual Reality
2018
Body image disturbance (BID) affects quality of life even in the absence of clinically diagnosable eating pathology, and numerous studies have shown its crucial role in the emergence and maintenance of eating disorders. This study aimed at exploring attitudinal and perceptual components of BID using a novel virtual reality (VR)-based paradigm. A community sample of women (N = 27) recreated in VR their perceived body in both an allocentric (third-person view) and egocentric (first-person view) perspective. Specifically, women were able to choose between a wide range of three-dimensional bodies spanning body mass index 12.5-42.5 kg/m2. Attitudinal indexes of BID (body dissatisfaction, body un…
An experimental test of the dose-dependent effect of carotenoids and immune activation on sexual signals and antioxidant activity.
2004
Carotenoid‐based sexual traits are thought to be reliable indicators of male quality because they might be scarce and therefore might indicate the ability of males to gather high‐quality food and because they are involved in important physiological functions (as immune enhancers and antioxidants). We performed an experiment where male and female zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata) were provided with increasing carotenoid doses in the drinking water during 4 weeks (bill color of this species is a carotenoid‐based sexual signal). Simultaneously, birds were split into two groups: one receiving weekly injections of Escherichia coli lipopolysaccharide in order to activate the immune system, the …
Seasonal changes in size, sex-ratio and body condition of the damselfishChromis chromisin the central Mediterranean Sea
2014
Chromis chromisis one of the most abundant fish species on the Mediterranean rocky shores. Acting as a by-pass of nutrients from the pelagic to the rocky littoral system, it plays an important role as a resource provider and has a relevant function in the community assemblage.Chromis chromishas many of the characteristics required of an indicator species (e.g. it is easy to recognize in the field, small sized, widespread and abundant). In this study we focused on individual size, sex-ratio and body condition in a damselfish population occurring in a central Mediterranean marine protected area. Fishing trials on a monthly basis (April–November) allowed us to assess seasonal changes in popula…
Runs of homozygosity in the Italian goat breeds: impact of management practices in low-input systems
2021
Abstract Background Climate and farming systems, several of which are considered as low-input agricultural systems, vary between goat populations from Northern and Southern Italy and have led to different management practices. These processes have impacted genome shaping in terms of inbreeding and regions under selection and resulted in differences between the northern and southern populations. Both inbreeding and signatures of selection can be pinpointed by the analysis of runs of homozygosity (ROH), which provides useful information to assist the management of this species in different rural areas. Results We analyzed the ROH distribution and inbreeding (FROH) in 902 goats from the Italia…