Search results for "Adaptive value"
showing 4 items of 14 documents
Alcohol boosts pheromone production in male flies and makes them sexier
2020
The attraction of Drosophila melanogaster towards byproducts of alcoholic fermentation, especially ethanol, has been extensively studied 1–4. However, the adaptive value of this behavior has not been elucidated. Previous studies have suggested anthropomorphic interpretations of D. melanogaster behavior towards alcohols 5,6. Here, we instead assert that there exists a simple yet vital biological rationale for alcohol contact and consumption by these insects. We show that exposure to alcohols, especially methanol, results in an immediate amplification of fatty acid ester pheromone levels, which in turn elevates the probability that a male will successfully compete for a female during courtshi…
Environmental effects on molecular and phenotypic variation in populations of Eruca sativa across a steep climatic gradient
2013
Abstract In Israel Eruca sativa has a geographically narrow distribution across a steep climatic gradient that ranges from mesic Mediterranean to hot desert environments. These conditions offer an opportunity to study the influence of the environment on intraspecific genetic variation. For this, we combined an analysis of neutral genetic markers with a phenotypic evaluation in common-garden experiments, and environmental characterization of populations that included climatic and edaphic parameters, as well as geographic distribution. A Bayesian clustering of individuals from nine representative populations based on amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) divided the populations into a…
The Human Mammary Odour Factor: Variability and Regularities in Sources and Functions
2019
In the course of evolution, human mothers have been, and still are, under strong selective pressure to induce their newborns’ colostrum ingestion promptly after birth. As a concentrate of nutrients, passive immunity, antioxidants, growth factors and symbiotic microbiota, colostrum functions as the evolved antidote to ubiquitous pathogens and threats of neonatal exhaustion. Under such constraints, any means to speed up colostrum/milk intake can only have been beneficial to neonatal viability and adaptive life onset along evolutionary time. The areolar-nipple areas of human lactating females emit lacteal substrates conveying chemostimuli that are attractive and release mouthing and sucking in…
The crisis of psychiatry – insights and prospects from evolutionary theory
2012
Darwin’s emphasis on natural selection has had a transformative influence on how biological and medical sciences are conceptualized and conducted. However, the relevance of his ideas for the understanding of psychiatric conditions is still under-appreciated. Modern understanding of disease has required appreciation of the dialectical give and take between environmental influences, life history theory imperatives, human behavioral ecology, and characteristics of adaptive processes at all levels of the individual. This has enabled a better comprehension of metabolic disturbances, cancers, auto-immune disease, inherited anemias, and vulnerability to infectious disease 1. Here we propose that a…