Search results for "Intraspecific competition"
showing 10 items of 124 documents
Speciation in monogonont rotifers
1997
Monogonont rotifers are cyclical parthenogens livingin limnic habitats with considerable seasonalvariation and often with island-like features. Theoccurrence of bisexual reproduction in these organismsmakes it feasible to define ’fields for generecombination‘, i.e. biological species. In thispaper, we analyze the structure of the diversity inmonogonont rotifers using several data sets: taxonomicand intraspecific diversity as reported inidentification keys, morphological variation reportedin ecological studies, and allozyme and matingbehavior patterns. Our analysis suggests that siblingspecies may be frequent in rotifers. Monogonontrotifers seem to meet conditions for an activespeciation, wh…
The age and evolution of sociality in Stegodyphus spiders: a molecular phylogenetic perspective
2006
Social, cooperative breeding behaviour is rare in spiders and generally characterized by inbreeding, skewed sex ratios and high rates of colony turnover, processes that when combined may reduce genetic variation and lower individual fitness quickly. On these grounds, social spider species have been suggested to be unstable in evolutionary time, and hence sociality a rare phenomenon in spiders. Based on a partial molecular phylogeny of the genus Stegodyphus , we address the hypothesis that social spiders in this genus are evolutionary transient. We estimate the age of the three social species, test whether they represent an ancestral or derived state and assess diversification relative to s…
Biometrical and ecological observations on Cistus salvifolius L.
1993
Abstract Biometrical observations on Cistus salvifolius L. (Cistaceae), a species with a very variable morphology, are presented: data, collected in Sicily, are relative to three environments in which populations of Cistus salvifolius live: garigue, maquis, pinewood. Measurements are compared with other ones, found in the literature, and in some cases they disagree or supply useful indications. On the basis of the different light regimes in the three environments, and of the parameters in which the difference among the three populations is most evident, some observations about the reaction to shade in Cistus salvifolius were made. On the basis of the few data collected, the intraspecific di…
Effects of morphometric descriptor changes on statistical classification and morphospaces
2004
Ten morphometric descriptors (five pairs of form and shape parameters) are used to describe the complex morphology of the first lower molar of two morphologically similar species, Microtus arvalis and M. agrestis. These descriptors are derived either from linear measurements or from outline analysis. The effects of these different descriptors on classical analysis as used in biology or palaeobiology are explored. First, the reliability of results in statistical classification is assessed. All of the descriptors discriminate well between the two species. The initial morphometric scheme (linear or outline) does not induce marked differences in statistical classification and the major discrepa…
Spatio-temporal behaviour of the deep chlorophyll maximum in Mediterranean Sea: Development of a stochastic model for picophytoplankton dynamics
2013
In this paper, by using a stochastic reaction-diffusion-taxis model, we analyze the picophytoplankton dynamics in the basin of the Mediterranean Sea, characterized by poorly mixed waters. The model includes intraspecific competition of picophytoplankton for light and nutrients. The multiplicative noise sources present in the model account for random fluctuations of environmental variables. Phytoplankton distributions obtained from the model show a good agreement with experimental data sampled in two different sites of the Sicily Channel. The results could be extended to analyze data collected in different sites of the Mediterranean Sea and to devise predictive models for phytoplankton dynam…
Male coloration and species recognition in sympatric flycatchers
1994
Currently favoured views for explaining ornaments in males emphasize female preference such that females benefit from increased offspring production, good genes of the offspring, or the attractiveness of sons. Results from long-term studies in the pied flycatcher Ficedula hypoleuca suggest that factors associated with species recognition may also be important for male coloration. In sympatry the collared flycatcher F. albicollis is dominant in competition for nesting sites over the pied flycatcher. Bright pied flycatcher males resemble collared flycatcher males and suffer from interspecific interference, whereas dull and female-like males can acquire nesting sites close to those of the coll…
Maintenance of male reaction to the congeneric song in the Hippolais warbler hybrid zone
1999
Both hybridization and competition may induce character shift on communication systems in hybrid zones, leading either to convergence or divergence. Melodious warblers Hippolais polyglotta and Icterine warblers H. icterina are interspecifically territorial and hybridize along a narrow contact zone. This spatial distribution is favoured by a reaction to the congeneric song. A character displacement, e.g. a decrease of the reaction, was expected within the hybrid zone because of reproduction costs lower than in allopatry. We investigated the pattern of variation of the interspecific reaction by comparing allopatric and sympatric populations. However, our data did not support the hypothesis ch…
Selection on size and secondary sexual characters of the damselfly Calopteryx splendens when sympatric with the congener Calopteryx virgo
2011
Male mating success is often determined by body size or secondary sexual characters because of female mate choice or competition for females. In addition to intraspecific interactions, interspecific interactions may interfere with intraspecific selection. In this study, we investigated sexual selection on size and sexual characters of male banded demoiselle ( Calopteryx splendens (Harris, 1780)) in wild populations sympatric with the beautiful demoiselle ( Calopteryx virgo (L., 1758)). As secondary sexual characters, male C. splendens have pigmented wing spots whose size appears to be under positive selection. Male C. virgo resemble male C. splendens that have the largest wing spots, leadi…
The enigmatic case of the genus Argyresthia in the Azores Islands (Lepidoptera Argyresthiidae)
2020
The species composition of the genus Argyresthia Hübner, 1825 in the Azores is examined. Argyresthia brumella, sp. nov., is described and illustrated from Terceira and Flores Islands. Argyresthia minusculella Rebel, 1940, syn. nov. and Tinea poecilella Rebel, 1940, syn. nov. are synonymized with Argyresthia atlanticella Rebel, 1940. The high variability of A. atlanticella is revealed through the polymorphic wing pattern and the intraspecific genetic divergence of the DNA barcode COI in the specimens examined.
Geographic Variation in Social Parasite Pressure Predicts Intraspecific but not Interspecific Aggressive Responses in Hosts of a Slavemaking Ant
2015
Variation in community composition over a species' geographic range leads to divergent selection pressures, resulting in interpopulation variation in trait expression. One of the most pervasive selective forces stems from antagonists such as parasites. Whereas hosts of microparasites developed sophisticated immune systems, social parasites select for behavioural host defences. Here, we investigated the link between parasite pressure exerted by the socially parasitic slavemaking ant Protomognathus americanus and colony-level aggression in Temnothorax ants from 17 populations. We studied almost the entire geographic range of two host species, including unparasitized populations. As previous s…