Search results for "Pair formation"
showing 9 items of 9 documents
Does beak coloration of male blackbirds play a role in intra and/or intersexual selection?
2002
In many bird species, males may show brightly coloured traits and variance in male mating success may be explained by female preference and/or competition between males favouring the most coloured males. Male beak coloration has been suggested to play an important role in the pairing pattern of European blackbirds. Here, we investigate female preference and male-male interactions in relation to male beak coloration in this species. We used a field experiment to measure female and male responses toward stuffed decoys showing either of two beak coloration representing the extremes of the natural variation from yellow to orange. Decoys were situated on the centre of plots and behaviours of mal…
Assortative mating by size without a size-based preference: the female-sooner norm as a mate-guarding criterion.
2013
7 pages; International audience; The study of size-assortative mating, or homogamy, is of great importance in speciation and sexual selection. However, the proximate mechanisms that lead to such patterns are poorly understood. Homogamy is often thought to come from a directional preference for larger mates. However, many constraints affect mating preferences and understanding the causes of size assortment requires a precise evaluation of the pair formation mechanism. Mate-guarding crustaceans are a model group for the study of homogamy. Males guard females until moult and reproduction. They are also unable to hold a female during their own moult and tend to pair with females closer to moult…
Solubility and acid-base properties and activity coefficients of chitosan in different ionic media and at different ionic strengths, at T=25°C
2009
Studies on the acid-base properties and solubility of a polyammonium polyelectrolyte (chitosan) with different molecular weights (MW 310 and 50 kDa), were performed at T=25 °C, in the pH range 2.5–7. The protonation of chitosan was investigated by potentiometry ([H+]-glass electrode) in NaCl, NaNO3 and mixed NaNO3+Na2SO4 ionic media, at different ionic strengths. Protonation constants were calculated as a function of dissociation degree α by means of two different models, namely, a simple linear model and the modified Henderson–Hasselbalch equation. Experimental data were also fitted using a model independent of α (Diprotic-like model), according to which the acid-base properties can be sim…
Hydrolysis and chemical speciation of dioxouranium(VI) ion in aqueous media simulating the major ion composition of seawater
2004
Abstract The hydrolysis and chemical speciation of the dioxouranium(VI) ion at 25 °C was studied in a number of binary electrolytes (LiCl, NaCl, MgCl2, CaCl2, Na2SO4) and some mixtures (NaCl–Na2SO4, NaNO3–Na2SO4, CaCl2–MgCl2) as well as artificial seawater (SSWE) as a function of ionic strength. The results in LiCl, CaCl2 and MgCl2 solutions confirmed the formation of (UO2)2(OH)22+, (UO2)3(OH)42+, (UO2)3(OH)5+ and (UO2)3(OH)7− species (at I=0 mol l−1: log Tβ22=−5.76, log Tβ34=−11.82, log Tβ35=−15.89 and log Tβ37=−29.26). For NaNO3, NaCl and artificial seawater the hydrolysis constant for the formation of the UO2(OH)+ species was also determined (at I=0 mol l−1: log Tβ11=−5.19). The results …
Protonation of Carbonate in Aqueous Tetraalkylammonium Salts at 25°C.
2006
Protonation constants of carbonate were determined in tetramethylammonium chloride (Me4NClaq 0.1≤I/mol kg−1 ≤4) and tetraethylammonium iodide (Et4NIaq 0.1≤I/mol kg−1 ≤1) by potentiometric ([H+]-glass electrode) measurements. Dependence of protonation constants on ionic strength was taken into account by modified specific ion interaction theory (SIT) and by Pitzer models. Literature data on the protonation of carbonate in NaClaq (0.1≤I/mol kg−1 ≤6) were also critically analysed. Both protonation constants of carbonate follow the trend Et4NI>Me4NCl > NaCl. An ion pair formation model designed to take into account the different protonation behaviours of carbonate in different supporting electr…
Energetically costly precopulatory mate guarding in the amphipod Gammarus pulex: causes and consequences
2003
Precopulatory mate guarding (PCMG) is thought to have evolved as a male mating strategy in species in which female receptivity is limited to a short time. It is common among crustaceans, and energetic costs associated with PCMG are thought to promote size-assortative pairing in such species, although direct evidence is lacking. Using both field surveys and laboratory experiments, we assessed the energetic costs of PCMG in Gammarus pulex and investigated their possible causes. Energetic costs were measured as differences in lipid and glycogen reserves. In field-collected samples, size-corrected lipid and glycogen reserves of paired males were both significantly higher than those of unpaired …
Winter male plumage coloration correlates with breeding status in a cooperative breeding species
2007
The function of colored ornaments is usually related to the signaling of individual quality in intra- and intersexual interactions. In cooperative breeding species, where only a fraction of the male population access the breeding status and the other fraction has the option to help breeding pairs, colored traits might provide the females with a reliable information on the quality of potential mate. Males of the cooperative breeding azure-winged magpies (Cyanopica cyanus) display conspicuous blue plumage coloration. Here we explored the role played by structural blue coloration of males and the probability of becoming a breeder or a helper. Birds were trapped during 4 consecutive years, and …
Electronic and Steric Effects: How Do They Work in Ionic Liquids? The Case of Benzoic Acid Dissociation
2010
The need to have a measure of the strength of some substituted benzoic acids in ionic liquid solution led us to use the protonation equilibrium of sodium p-nitrophenolate as a probe reaction, which was studied by means of spectrophotometric titration at 298 K. In order to evaluate the importance of electronic effect of the substituents present on the aromatic ring, both electron-withdrawing and -donor substituents were taken into account. Furthermore, to have a measure of the importance of the steric effect of the substituents both para- and ortho-substituted benzoic acids were analyzed. The probe reaction was studied in two ionic liquids differing for the ability of the cation to give hydr…
Determination of basic strenght of aliphatic amines through ion pair formation in some ionic liquid solutions
2010
To have an evaluation of the basic strength of aliphatic amines in ionic liquid solution, the stability constants relevant to the formation of amine/p-nitrophenol ion pairs were determined in different ionic liquids at 298 K. In particular, aliphatic (pyrrolidinium) and aromatic (imidazolium) ionic liquids were used. Imidazolium ions, bmim(+) and bm(2)im(+), having different hydrogen bond donor abilities were taken into account. Anions were chosen ([BF(4)(-)], [PF(6)(-)], and [NTf(2)(-)]; where NTf(2) = bis(trifluoromethansulfonyl)imide) showing different shape, size, and coordination ability. Several primary, secondary (cyclic or not), and tertiary amines were used to study the effect of a…