Search results for "Physiological"
showing 10 items of 2262 documents
Nitric Oxide in Plants: Production and Cross-talk with Ca2+ Signaling
2008
International audience; Nitric oxide (NO) is a diatomic gas that performs crucial functions in a wide array of physiological processes in animals. The past several years have revealed much about its roles in plants. It is well established that NO is synthesized from nitrite by nitrate reductase (NR) and via chemical pathways. There is increasing evidence for the occurrence of an alternative pathway in which NO production is catalysed from L-arginine by a so far non-identified enzyme. Contradictory results have been reported regarding the respective involvement of these enzymes in specific physiological conditions. Although much remains to be proved, we assume that these inconsistencies can …
Survival cost of an early immune soliciting in nature.
2009
8 pages; International audience; If immune functions confer obvious benefits to hosts, life-history theory assumes that they also induce costs, leading to trade-offs between immunity and other fitness components. However, whether substantial fitness costs are associated with immune systems in the wild is debatable, as numerous factors may influence the costs and benefits associated with immune activation. Here, we explore the survival cost of immune deployment in postfledging birds. We injected Eurasian collared dove nestlings (Streptopelia decaocto) with antigens from Escherichia coli, and examined whether this immune challenge affected survival after fledging. To assess survival, birds we…
Intraspecific variability in host manipulation by parasites
2011
8 pages; International audience; Manipulative parasites have the capacity to alter a broad range of phenotypic traits in their hosts, extending from colour, morphology and behaviour. While significant attention has been devoted to describing the diversity of host manipulation among parasite clades, and testing the adaptive value of phenotypic traits that can be manipulated, there is increasing evidence that variation exists in the frequency and intensity of the changes displayed by parasitized individuals within single host-manipulative parasite systems. Such variability occurs within individuals, between individuals of a same population, and across populations. Here we review the non-genet…
Evidence for ontogenetically and morphologically distinct alternative reproductive tactics in the invasive Round Goby Neogobius melanostomus.
2017
Alternative reproductive tactics are characterized by the occurrence of discrete alternative morphs that differ in behavioural, morphological and physiological traits within the same sex. Although much effort has been made to describe the behaviour, morphology and physiology of such alternative morphs, less effort has been invested investigating how much overlap there is in the characteristics of such morphs in natural populations. We studied random population samples of the invasive Round Goby Neogobius melanostomus from five different localities in the river Rhine system in the Netherlands. We found two morphologically and physiologically distinct male morphs which likely represent altern…
Egalitarian mixed-species bird groups enhance winter survival of subordinate group members but only in high-quality forests
2020
AbstractOnly dominant individuals have unrestricted access to contested resources in group-living animals. In birds, subordinates with restricted access to resources may respond to intragroup contests by acquiring extra body reserves to avoid periods of food shortage. In turn, higher body mass reduces agility and increases predation and mortality risk to subordinates. Birds often live in hierarchically organized mixed-species groups, in which heterospecific individuals are considered to substitute for conspecifics as protection against predators at a significantly reduced competition cost. Crested tits (Lophophanes cristatus) and willow tits (Poecile montanus) form mixed-species groups duri…
Phenotypic Divergence among West European Populations of Reed Bunting Emberiza schoeniclus: The Effects of Migratory and Foraging Behaviours
2013
[EN] Divergent selection and local adaptation are responsible for many phenotypic differences between populations, potentially leading to speciation through the evolution of reproductive barriers. Here we evaluated the morphometric divergence among west European populations of Reed Bunting in order to determine the extent of local adaptation relative to two important selection pressures often associated with speciation in birds: migration and diet. We show that, as expected by theory, migratory E. s. schoeniclus had longer and more pointed wings and a slightly smaller body mass than the resident subspecies, with the exception of E. s. lusitanica, which despite having rounder wings was the s…
Sexually dimorphic tegumental gland openings in Laniatores (Arachnida, Opiliones), with new data on 23 species
2009
International audience; Sexually dimorphic glands often release sexual pheromones both in vertebrates and invertebrates. Species of Laniatores (Arachnida, Opiliones) seem to depend on chemical communication but few studies have addressed this topic. In this study, we review the literature for the Phalangida and present new data for 23 species of Laniatores. In 16 taxa, we found previously undescribed sexually dimorphic glandular openings on the femur, patella, metatarsus, and tarsus of legs I and metatarsus of legs III and IV. For the other species, we provide scanning electron micrographs of previously undescribed sexually dimorphic setae and pegs located on swollen regions of the legs. We…
Synergistic reduction of a native key herbivore performance by two non-indigenous invasive algae
2019
Abstract Native generalist grazers can control the populations of non-indigenous invasive algae (NIIA). Here, it was found that the simultaneous consumption of two co-occurring NIIA, Caulerpa cylindracea and C. taxifolia var. distichophylla, hinders the grazing ability of the main Mediterranean herbivorous, the native sea urchin Paracentrotus lividus. The ingestion of any of the two NIIA alone did not produce any difference in sea urchin righting time with respect to usual algal diet. In contrast, the simultaneous consumption of both NIIA, which grow intermingled in nature and are consumed by P. lividus, retarded its righting behavior. Such result reveals substantial physiological stress in…
Dynamical model identification of population of oysters for water quality monitoring
2014
International audience; The measurements of valve activity in a population of bivalves under natural environmental conditions (16 oysters in the Bay of Arcachon, France) are used for a physiological model identification. A nonlinear auto-regressive exogenous (NARX) model is designed and tested. The model takes into account the influence of environmental conditions using measurements of the sunlight intensity, the moonlight and tide levels. A possible influence of the internal circadian/circatidal clocks is also analyzed. Through this application, it is demonstrated that the developed dynamical model can be used for estimation of the normal physiological rhythms of permanently immersed oyste…
The effectiveness of fish feeding behaviour in mirroring trawling-induced patterns
2017
The ability to observe and predict trawling-induced patterns at spatial and temporal scales that are relevant to inform realistic management strategies is a challenge which scientists have consistently faced in recent decades. Here, we use fish feeding behaviour, a biological trait easily impaired by trawling disturbance, to depict alterations in fish condition (i.e. individual fitness) and feeding opportunities. The benthivorous fish Mullus barbatus barbatus was selected as a model species. The observed trends of responses to trawling in prey species confirmed the effectiveness of a non-trawled zone in sustaining higher levels of diet diversity (e.g. quantity and quality of ingested prey) …