Search results for "Animal"
showing 10 items of 22159 documents
Modularity as a source of new morphological variation in the mandible of hybrid mice.
2012
Abstract Background Hybridization is often seen as a process dampening phenotypic differences accumulated between diverging evolutionary units. For a complex trait comprising several relatively independent modules, hybridization may however simply generate new phenotypes, by combining into a new mosaic modules inherited from each parental groups and parts intermediate with respect to the parental groups. We tested this hypothesis by studying mandible size and shape in a set of first and second generation hybrids resulting from inbred wild-derived laboratory strains documenting two subspecies of house mice, Musmusculus domesticus and Musmusculus musculus. Phenotypic variation of the mandible…
Lake eutrophication and brownification downgrade availability and transfer of essential fatty acids for human consumption
2016
Article
Gray plumage color is more cryptic than brown in snowy landscapes in a resident color polymorphic bird
2020
Abstract Camouflage may promote fitness of given phenotypes in different environments. The tawny owl (Strix aluco) is a color polymorphic species with a gray and brown morph resident in the Western Palearctic. A strong selection pressure against the brown morph during snowy and cold winters has been documented earlier, but the selection mechanisms remain unresolved. Here, we hypothesize that selection favors the gray morph because it is better camouflaged against predators and mobbers in snowy conditions compared to the brown one. We conducted an online citizen science experiment where volunteers were asked to locate a gray or a brown tawny owl specimen from pictures taken in snowy and snow…
Experimental increase in fecundity causes upregulation of fecundity and body maintenance genes in the fat body of ant queens.
2021
In most organisms, fecundity and longevity are negatively associated and the molecular regulation of these two life-history traits is highly interconnected. In addition, nutrient intake often has opposing effects on lifespan and reproduction. In contrast to solitary insects, the main reproductive individual of social hymenopterans, the queen, is also the most long-lived. During development, queen larvae are well-nourished, but we are only beginning to understand the impact of nutrition on the queens' adult life and the molecular regulation and connectivity of fecundity and longevity. Here, we used two experimental manipulations to alter queen fecundity in the ant Temnothorax rugatulus and …
Trail-following pheromones in basal termites, with special reference to Mastotermes darwiniensis
2007
0098-0331 (Print) Journal Article; In the framework of an evolutionary study, trail pheromones have been studied in the most basal extant termite, Mastotermes darwiniensis (Mastotermitidae), and two other basal termites, the Termopsidae Porotermes adamsoni (Porotermitinae) and Stolotermes victoriensis (Stolotermitinae). Although workers of M. darwiniensis do not walk in single file while exploring a new environment under experimental conditions and are unable to follow artificial trails in 'open field' experiments, they do secrete a trail-following pheromone from their sternal glands. This unique behavior might reflect a primitive function of communication of the sternal gland. The major co…
Fauna Europaea: Coleoptera 2 (excl. series Elateriformia, Scarabaeiformia, Staphyliniformia and superfamily Curculionoidea)
2015
Fauna Europaea provides a public web-service with an index of scientific names (including synonyms) of all living European land and freshwater animals, their geographical distribution at country level (up to the Urals, excluding the Caucasus region), and some additional information. The Fauna Europaea project covers about 230,000 taxonomic names, including 130,000 accepted species and 14,000 accepted subspecies, which is much more than the originally projected number of 100,000 species. This represents a huge effort by more than 400 contributing specialists throughout Europe and is a unique (standard) reference suitable for many users in science, government, industry, nature conservation an…
Revision of the calcareous fen arachnofauna: habitat affinities of the fen-inhabiting spiders
2018
Calcareous fens are one of the most species-rich habitats of the temperate zone of the Northern Hemisphere. In spite of this species richness, however, calcareous fens are still rather poorly investigated. Consequently, the data of the fen-associated spider fauna are also largely lacking. The aim of the research was to study the spider fauna of the calcareous fens of Latvia and to draw conclusions about what kind of spider species and ecological groups typically inhabit calcareous fen habitats. Spiders were sampled in the summer months of 2010, 2011, and 2012 at nine different calcareous fens of the coastal lowland of Latvia. The spider collection was performed by pitfall traps and a sweep …
Evidence of a highly complex phylogeographic structure on a specialist river bird species, the dipper (Cinclus cinclus)
2008
This study details the phylogeographic pattern of the white-throated dipper (Cinclus cinclus), a Palearctic, temperate, passerine bird that is exclusively associated with flowing water. Our results reveal a complex phylogeographic structure with at least five distinct lineages for the Western Palearctic region. As for many species of the Western Palearctic fauna and flora, this genetic structure is probably linked to the isolation of populations in different southern refuges during glacial periods. Furthermore, the isolation of populations in Scandinavia and/or Eastern regions, but also in Morocco and probably in Corsica, was accentuated by ecological and biogeographic barriers during Quate…
An Appraisal of Calcium Cyanamide as Alternative N Source for Spring-Summer and Fall Season Curly Endive Crops: Effects on Crop Performance, NUE and …
2020
A two-year study was conducted in both spring-summer and fall seasons to evaluate calcium cyanamide (CaCN2) as an alternative nitrogen (N) source for curly endive (Cichorium endivia L. var. crispum) grown in a Mediterranean environment. Four types of N applications were administered: (i) pre-transplanting base application of 100 kg N ha&minus
The genome sequence of the grape phylloxera provides insights into the evolution, adaptation, and invasion routes of an iconic pest
2020
Background: Although native to North America, the invasion of the aphid-like grape phylloxera Daktulosphaira vitifoliae across the globe altered the course of grape cultivation. For the past 150 years, viticulture relied on grafting-resistant North American Vitis species as rootstocks, thereby limiting genetic stocks tolerant to other stressors such as pathogens and climate change. Limited understanding of the insect genetics resulted in successive outbreaks across the globe when rootstocks failed. Here we report the 294-Mb genome of D. vitifoliae as a basic tool to understand host plant manipulation, nutritional endosymbiosis, and enhance global viticulture. Results: Using a combination of…