Search results for "Natural population growth"
showing 10 items of 19 documents
Hantavirus infections in fluctuating host populations: the role of maternal antibodies.
2010
Infected females may transfer maternal antibodies (MatAbs) to their offspring, which may then be transiently protected against infections the mother has encountered. However, the role of maternal protection in infectious disease dynamics in wildlife has largely been neglected. Here, we investigate the effects of Puumala hantavirus (PUUV)-specific MatAbs on PUUV dynamics, using 7 years' data from a cyclic bank vole population in Finland. For the first time to our knowledge, we partition seropositivity data from a natural population into separate dynamic patterns for MatAbs and infection. The likelihood of young of the year carrying PUUV-specific MatAbs during the breeding season correlated p…
Defense strategies used by two sympatric vineyard moth pests.
2014
8 pages; International audience; Natural enemies including parasitoids are the major biological cause of mortality among phytophagous insects. In response to parasitism, these insects have evolved a set of defenses to protect themselves, including behavioral, morphological, physiological and immunological barriers. According to life history theory, resources are partitioned to various functions including defense, implying trade-offs among defense mechanisms. In this study we characterized the relative investment in behavioral, physical and immunological defense systems in two sympatric species of Tortricidae (Eupoecilia ambiguella, Lobesia botrana) which are important grapevine moth pests. …
No evidence for differential sociosexual behavior and space use in the color morphs of the European common wall lizard (Podarcis muralis)
2020
Abstract Explaining the evolutionary origin and maintenance of color polymorphisms is a major challenge in evolutionary biology. Such polymorphisms are commonly thought to reflect the existence of alternative behavioral or life‐history strategies under negative frequency‐dependent selection. The European common wall lizard Podarcis muralis exhibits a striking ventral color polymorphism that has been intensely studied and is often assumed to reflect alternative reproductive strategies, similar to the iconic “rock–paper–scissors” system described in the North American lizard Uta stansburiana. However, available studies so far have ignored central aspects in the behavioral ecology of this spec…
Population variability in space and time.
2000
One of the most ubiquitous phenomena of all natural populations is their variability in numbers in space and time. However, there are notable differences among populations in the way the population size fluctuates. One of the major challenges in population and community ecology is to explain and understand this variety and to find possible underlying rules that might be modified from case-to-case. Population variability also has a spatial component because fluctuations are often synchronized over relatively large distances. Recently, this has led to growing interest in how 'internal' (density-dependent) processes interact with 'external' factors such as environmental variability.
From habitat use to social behavior: natural history of a voiceless poison frog, Dendrobates tinctorius
2019
AbstractDescriptive studies of natural history have always been a source of knowledge on which experimental work and scientific progress rely. Poison frogs are a well-studied group of small Neotropical frogs with diverse parental behaviors, distinct calls, and bright colors that warn predators about their toxicity; and a showcase of advances in fundamental biology through natural history observations. The dyeing poison frog, Dendrobates tinctorius, is emblematic of the Guianas region, widespread in the pet-trade, and increasingly popular in research. This species shows several unusual behaviors, such as the lack of advertisement calls and the aggregation around tree-fall gaps, which remain …
Starvation resistance and tissue-specific gene expression of stress-related genes in a naturally inbred ant population
2016
Starvation is one of the most common and severe stressors in nature. Not only does it lead to death if not alleviated, it also forces the starved individual to allocate resources only to the most essential processes. This creates energetic trade-offs which can lead to many secondary challenges for the individual. These energetic trade-offs could be exacerbated in inbred individuals, which have been suggested to have a less efficient metabolism. Here, we studied the effect of inbreeding on starvation resistance in a natural population of Formica exsecta ants, with a focus on survival and tissue-specific expression of stress, metabolism and immunity-related genes. Starvation led to large tis…
RESISTANCE AND TOLERANCE IN A HOST PLANT–HOLOPARASITIC PLANT INTERACTION: GENETIC VARIATION AND COSTS
2002
Host organisms are believed to evolve defense mechanisms (i.e., resistance and/or tolerance) under selective pressures exerted by natural enemies. A prerequisite for the evolution of resistance and tolerance is the existence of genetic variation in these traits for natural selection to act. However, selection for resistance and/or tolerance may be constrained by negative genetic correlations with other traits that affect host fitness. We studied genetic variation in resistance and tolerance against parasitic infection and the potential fitness costs associated with these traits using a novel study system, namely the interaction between a flowering plant and a parasitic plant. In this system…
Sexual advertisement and immune function in an arachnid species (Lycosidae)
2004
A simple version of the immunocompetence handicap hypothesizes that through condition-dependence, the size of the sexual trait may be positively related to immune function at the population level. In the present study, we investigated the relationship between sexual advertisement and immune function in a natural population of male wolf spiders, Hygrolycosa rubrofasciata (Araneae: Lycosidae). Males of H. rubrofasciata have a costly and condition-dependent acoustic signal, courtship drumming. In the mating season, males drum against dry leaves while wandering around the habitat searching for receptive females. Males increase their mating success by increasing their drumming rate and mobility.…
Temporal changes of chromosomal polymorphism in natural populations of Drosophila subobscura
1984
The behaviour of the chromosomal polymorphism of D. subobscura was analyzed in relation to temporal changes, daily, seasonal and annual. Firstly, chromosome analyses were carried out over a year in a natural population. Samples were taken at monthly intervals in Tibidabo, a locality close to Barcelona. In all the months except January, the number of individuals captured was enough to carry out a chromosome analysis of that population. The A, E and O chromosomes showed a great uniformity in the frequencies of gene arrangement over the year. However, significant changes occur in the frequencies of J and U chromosomes. The J1 and U1+2+8 arrangements showed a similar tendency, with two maxima, …
Inheritance of resistance to aBacillus thuringiensistoxin in a field population of diamondback moth (Plutella xylostella)
1995
Inheritance of resistance to the Bacillus thuringiensis Berl. CryIA(b) crystal protein was studied in Plutella xylostella L. (diamondback moth). A field population 50-fold more resistant to CryIA(b) than a control susceptible strain was used. Dose-mortality curves of the resistant population, the susceptible strain and the F 1 from the two reciprocal crosses were compared. Resistance transmission to the F 1 was dependent on the sex of the resistant progenitor. Sex ratio of the survivors to high doses of CryIA(b) in the F 1 of the two reciprocal crosses did not corroborate the preliminary hypothesis of resistance being due to a recessive sex-linked allele. Since, in a previous work, the loss…