Search results for "EPR"
showing 10 items of 13377 documents
Direct and correlated responses to bi-directional selection on pre-adult development time in Drosophila montana.
2019
Selection experiments offer an efficient way to study the evolvability of traits that play an important role in insects’ reproduction and/or survival and to trace correlations and trade-offs between them. We have exercised bi-directional selection on Drosophila montana flies’ pre-adult development time under constant light and temperature conditions for 10 generations and traced the indirect effects of this selection on females’ diapause induction under different day lengths, as well as on the body weight and cold tolerance of both sexes. Overall, selection was successful towards slow, but not towards fast development. However, all fast selection line replicates showed at the end of selecti…
Intensity of male-male competition predicts morph diversity in a color polymorphic lizard.
2017
Sexual selection is one of the main processes involved in the emergence and maintenance of heritable colour polymorphisms in a variety of taxa. Here we test whether the intensity of sexual selection, estimated from population sex ratio, predicts morph diversity in Podarcis muralis, a colour polymorphic lizard with discrete white, yellow, orange, white-orange, and yellow-orange male and female phenotypes (i.e. morphs). In a sample of 116 Pyrenean populations and 5421 lizards, sex ratios (m/f) vary from 0.29 to 2.5, with the number of morphs for each sex ranging from 2 to 5. Male-biased sex ratios are associated with increased morph diversity as measured with Shannon's diversity index. The ma…
Personality, immune response and reproductive success: an appraisal of the pace-of-life syndrome hypothesis.
2017
11 pages; International audience; The pace-of-life syndrome (POLS) hypothesis is an extended concept of the life-history theory that includes behavioural traits. The studies challenging the POLS hypothesis often focus on the relationships between a single personality trait and a physiological and/or life-history trait. While pathogens represent a major selective pressure, few studies have been interested in testing relationships between behavioural syndrome, and several fitness components including immunity. The aim of this study was to address this question in the mealworm beetle, Tenebrio molitor, a model species in immunity studies. The personality score was estimated from a multidimensi…
Pleistocene diversification in Morocco and recent demographic expansion in the Mediterranean pond turtle Mauremys leprosa
2016
Quaternary climatic oscillations and geographic barriers have strongly influenced the distribution and diversification of thermophilic species occurring in the Mediterranean Basin. The Western Mediterranean pond turtle, Mauremys leprosa, is widely distributed throughout the Iberian Peninsula, southern France and most of the Maghreb region, with two subspecies currently recognized. In this work, we used 566 samples, including 259 new individuals, across the species range, and sequenced two mitochondrial markers (cytochrome b gene and control region; 163 samples in a concatenated mtDNA dataset) and one nuclear intron (R35; 23 samples representing all identified sublineages) to study the evolu…
Effects of plant density and cutting-type on rooting and growth of an extensive green roof of Sedum sediforme (Jacq.) Pau in a Mediterranean environm…
2020
Abstract Species of the Sedum genus are a popular choice for green roofs as they thrive in shallow growth layers and are resilient to extreme environmental conditions; they are also easy to propagate from seed, plantlings or plant parts. The use of rooted cuttings is most widespread due to good rates of establishment. In the interest of cost reduction, the direct spreading of Sedum cuttings over the roof area, especially over large areas, has attracted attention in recent years. Considering the interest on the above method and the seeming lack of experimental data available, this study aims to further knowledge in this area. Experimental tests on direct spreading of unrooted cuttings of Sed…
Effect of antibiotic treatment and gamma-irradiation on cuticular hydrocarbon profiles and mate choice in tsetse flies (Glossina m. morsitans).
2018
Background Symbiotic microbes represent a driving force of evolutionary innovation by conferring novel ecological traits to their hosts. Many insects are associated with microbial symbionts that contribute to their host’s nutrition, digestion, detoxification, reproduction, immune homeostasis, and defense. In addition, recent studies suggest a microbial involvement in chemical communication and mating behavior, which can ultimately impact reproductive isolation and, hence, speciation. Here we investigated whether a disruption of the microbiota through antibiotic treatment or irradiation affects cuticular hydrocarbon profiles, and possibly mate choice behavior in the tsetse fly, Glossina mors…
Condition‐dependent mortality exacerbates male (but not female) reproductive senescence and the potential for sexual conflict
2020
Disentangling the relationship between age and reproduction is central to understand life-history evolution, and recent evidence shows that considering condition-dependent mortality is a crucial piece of this puzzle. For example, nonrandom mortality of 'low-condition' individuals can lead to an increase in average lifespan. However, selective disappearance of such low-condition individuals may also affect reproductive senescence at the population level due to trade-offs between physiological functions related to survival/lifespan and the maintenance of reproductive functions. Here, we address the idea that condition-dependent extrinsic mortality (i.e. simulated predation) may increase the a…
Do mosses really exhibit so large distribution ranges? Insights from the integrative taxonomic study of the Lewinskya affinis complex (Orthotrichacea…
2019
The strikingly lower number of bryophyte species, and in particular of endemic species, and their larger distribution ranges in comparison with angiosperms, have traditionally been interpreted in terms of their low diversification rates associated with a high long-distance dispersal capacity. This hypothesis is tested here with Lewinskya affinis (≡ Orthotrichum affine), a moss species widely spread across Europe, North and East Africa, southwestern Asia, and western North America. We tested competing taxonomic hypotheses derived from separate and combined analyses of multilocus sequence data, morphological characters, and geographical distributions. The best hypothesis, selected by a Bayes …
Genetic variation of naturally growing olive trees in Israel: from abandoned groves to feral and wild?
2016
Background Naturally growing populations of olive trees are found in the Mediterranean garrigue and maquis in Israel. Here, we used the Simple Sequence Repeat (SSR) genetic marker technique to investigate whether these represent wild var. sylvestris. Leaf samples were collected from a total of 205 trees at six sites of naturally growing olive populations in Israel. The genetic analysis included a multi-locus lineage (MLL) analysis, Rousset’s genetic distances, Fst values, private alleles, other diversity values and a Structure analysis. The analyses also included scions and suckers of old cultivated olive trees, for which the dominance of one clone in scions (MLL1) and a second in suckers (…
Glomeromycotina: what is a species and why should we care?
2018
International audience; A workshop at the recent International Conference on Mycorrhiza was focused on species recognition in Glomeromycotina and parts of their basic biology that define species. The workshop was motivated by the paradigm-shifting evidence derived from genomic data for sex and for the lack of heterokaryosis, and by published exchanges in Science that were based on different species concepts and have led to differing views of dispersal and endemism in these fungi. Although a lively discussion ensued, there was general agreement that species recognition in the group is in need of more attention, and that many basic assumptions about the biology of these important fungi includ…