Search results for "Systematics"
showing 10 items of 6702 documents
Bee pollen, a substrate that stimulates ochratoxin A production by Aspergillus ochraceus Wilh.
2004
The capacity of bee pollen as a substrate for production of ochratoxin A (OTA) by a strain of Aspergillus ochraceus was studied. For control purposes corn, wheat and rice grains, and eleven liquid media were assayed. They were Yeast Extract Sucrose broth (YES), YES supplemented with 0.05, 0.1, 0.5, 1 and 5% bee pollen, YES supplemented with 0.5% peptone, 50% must, Wickerham medium, Aflatoxin Production medium and Coconut Broth Medium. Cultures were maintained at 28 degrees C for 4 weeks and were analyzed every seven days for OTA by liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection. OTA production in bee pollen was significantly (P < 0.01) higher than production in corn, wheat and rice grain…
The Afrotropical genus Rhinolaetia Schouteden, 1965 and its systematic position within Scutelleridae (Hemiptera: Heteroptera)
2016
The monotypic Afrotropical genus Rhinolaetia Schouteden, 1865 (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Scutelleridae) is redescribed. The head, wings, female genitalia and habitus of Rhinolaetia overlaeti Schouteden, 1965 are illustrated. Morphological features of Rhinolaetia and selected representatives of six scutellerid subfamilies are listed and compared. The systematic position of this genus is briefly discussed. Close affinity of Rhinolaetia overlaeti with representatives of subfamilies Odontotarsinae and Odontoscelinae is observed.
COST OF REPRODUCTION IN THE WILD: MANIPULATION OF REPRODUCTIVE EFFORT IN THE BANK VOLE
2003
For three years, we manipulated litter size by adding or subtracting pups in eight wild populations of the bank vole, Clethrionomys glareolus, to examine reproductive costs and allocation of reproductive effort between offspring number and size. In general, litter enlargements did not increase the number of weanlings per mother and significantly decreased the size of weanlings. Reproductive effort and the breeding success of individuals varied within breeding seasons, but time of breeding and litter manipulation did not interact to affect reproductive trade-offs. Our 3-yr field experiment revealed that litter enlargements also reduced survival and fecundity of mothers. Small mammals have be…
Extra-pair paternity and male characteristics in the pied flycatcher
1995
The pied flycatcher (Ficedula hypoleuca) is sexually dichromatic with extreme variation in male plumage coloration. The benefit for males of having black plumage is controversial, and few studies have found evidence for a sexual selection benefit of being black rather than brown. However, blacker males may be better able to achieve extra-pair fertilizations (EPFs), which may be an important component of sexual selection. We studied the role of EPFs in sexual selection in the pied flycatcher by establishing a set-up where two males with different back coloration (blacker vs browner) bred simultaneously near each other. DNA fingerprinting analysis revealed that 11% of offspring resulted from …
Age-related effects of chronic hantavirus infection on female host fecundity.
2015
1. Pathogens often cause detrimental effects to their hosts and, consequently, may influence host population dynamics that may, in turn, feed back to pathogen transmission dynamics. Understanding fitness effects of pathogens upon animal host populations can help to predict the risks that zoonotic pathogens pose to humans. 2. Here we determine whether chronic infection by Puumala hantavirus (PUUV) affects important fitness-related traits, namely the probability of breeding, reproductive effort and mother and offspring condition, in the bank vole (Myodes glareolus). Using 9 years empirical data in a PUUV endemic area in Central Finland, we found differences between reproductive characteristic…
PARASITES AND SEXUAL REPRODUCTION IN PSYCHID MOTHS
2004
Persistence of sexual reproduction among coexisting asexual competitors has been a major paradox in evolutionary biology. The number of empirical studies is still very limited, as few systems with coexisting sexual and strictly asexual lineages have been found. We studied the ecological mechanisms behind the simultaneous coexistence of a sexually and an asexually reproducing closely related species of psychid moth in Central Finland between 1999 and 2001. The two species compete for the same resources and are often infected by the same hymenopteran parasitoids. They are extremely morphologically and behaviorally similar and can be separated only by their reproductive strategy (sexual vs. as…
Melastomeae come full circle: biogeographic reconstruction and molecular clock dating.
2001
Rhexia, with 11 species in the Coastal Plain province of North America, is the only temperate zone endemic of the tropical eudicot family Melastomataceae. It is a member of the only pantropical tribe of that family, Melastomeae. Based on the chloroplast gene ndhF, we use a fossil-calibrated molecular clock to address the question of the geographic origin and age of Rhexia. Sequences from 37 species in 21 genera representing the tribe's geographical range were analyzed together with five outgroups. To obtain better clade support, another chloroplast region, the rpl16 intron, was added for 24 of the species. Parsimony analysis of the combined data and maximum-likelihood analysis of ndhF alone…
<strong>Identification of the nymphal stages of two European seed bugs, <em>L. equestris</em> and <em>L. simulans</em> …
2013
The genus Lygaeus Fabricius, 1794 includes more than fifty species, mainly distributed in the Old World regions, with 17 species known from the Palearctic (Pericart 2001; Wachmann et al. 2007), and only two from Central Europe, i.e., L . equestris (Linnaeus, 1758) and L . simulans Deckert, 1985 (Pericart 2001).
Spatial patterns of disparity and diversity of the Recent cuttlefishes (Cephalopoda) across the Old World
2003
Aim Diversity and disparity metrics of all Recent cuttlefishes are studied at the macroevolutionary scale (1) to establish the geographical biodiversity patterns of these cephalopods at the species level and (2) to explore the relationships between these two metrics. Location Sampling uses what is known about these tropical, subtropical and warm temperate cephalopods of the Old World based on a literature review and on measurements of museum specimens. Some 111 species spread across seventeen biogeographical areas serve as basic units for exploring diversity and disparity metrics in space. Methods Landmarks describe the shape of the cuttlebone (the inner shell of the sepiids) and difference…
First North American Record of the Old World CylapineFulvius subnitensPoppius (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Miridae) from Virginia, with Descriptions and …
2011
Abstract. The first North American record for Fulvius subnitens Poppius is reported based on one specimen collected in southcentral Virginia. Fulvius anthocoroides (Reuter), Fulvius imbecilis (Say), Fulvius slateri Wheeler, and Fulvius subnitens are diagnosed and described, and color images of adults, updated distributions, a review of feeding habits, and an identification key are provided. For each species, the nomenclatural history and most important citations are given.