The Evolution of Developmental Plasticity in Reproductive Characteristics: An Application of the "Adaptive Coin-Flipping" Principle

1984 ◽  
Vol 123 (3) ◽  
pp. 393-410 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert H. Kaplan ◽  
William S. Cooper
Keyword(s):  
Developmental Plasticity ◽  
Reproductive Characteristics ◽  
Coin Flipping

scholarly journals Fluctuating food resources influence developmental plasticity in wild boar

2013 ◽  
Vol 9 (5) ◽  
pp. 20130419 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marlène Gamelon ◽  
Mathieu Douhard ◽  
Eric Baubet ◽  
Olivier Gimenez ◽  
Serge Brandt ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Wild Boar ◽  
Sus Scrofa ◽  
Developmental Plasticity ◽  
Food Resources ◽  
Adult Females ◽  
Coin Flipping ◽  
Long Term Monitoring ◽  
Reproductive Tactic ◽  
Term Monitoring

To maximize long-term average reproductive success, individuals can diversify the phenotypes of offspring produced within a reproductive event by displaying the ‘coin-flipping’ tactic. Wild boar (Sus scrofa scrofa) females have been reported to adopt this tactic. However, whether the magnitude of developmental plasticity within a litter depends on stochasticity in food resources has not been yet investigated. From long-term monitoring, we found that juvenile females produced similar-sized fetuses within a litter independent of food availability. By contrast, adult females adjusted their relative allocation to littermates to the amount of food resources, by providing a similar allocation to all littermates in years of poor food resources but producing highly diversified offspring phenotypes within a litter in years of abundant food resources. By minimizing sibling rivalry, such a plastic reproductive tactic allows adult wild boar females to maximize the number of littermates for a given breeding event.

Reproductive Characteristics of Red-Tailed Hawks in Yellowstone National Park, an Intact Temperate Landscape

2019 ◽  
Vol 53 (3) ◽  
pp. 309
Author(s):  
Lauren E. Walker ◽  
Lisa M. Baril ◽  
David B. Haines ◽  
Douglas W. Smith
Keyword(s):  
Yellowstone National Park ◽  
National Park ◽  
Reproductive Characteristics

Reproductive characteristics of the african pygmy hedgehog, atelerix albiventris

Reproduction ◽  
2000 ◽  
pp. 143-150 ◽  
Author(s):  
JM Bedford ◽  
OB Mock ◽  
SK Nagdas ◽  
VP Winfrey ◽  
GE Olson
Keyword(s):  
Fallopian Tube ◽  
Zona Pellucida ◽  
Sperm Head ◽  
Reproductive Characteristics ◽  
Cumulus Oophorus ◽  
The Matrix ◽  
Main Components ◽  
Initial Binding ◽  
Structural Matrix

To obtain further perspective on reproduction and particularly gamete function among so-called primitive mammals presently grouped in the Order Insectivora, we have examined the African hedgehog, Atelerix albiventris, in light of unusual features reported in shrews and moles. Atelerix proves to share many but not all of the characteristics seen in these other insectivores. The penis of Atelerix has a 'snail-like' form, but lacks the surface spines common in insectivores and a number of other mammals. Hedgehog spermatozoa display an eccentric insertion of the tail on the sperm head, and they manifest the barbs on the perforatorium that, in shrews, probably effect the initial binding of the sperm head to the zona pellucida. As a possible correlate, the structural matrix of the hedgehog acrosome comprises only two main components, as judged by immunoblotting, rather than the complex of peptides seen in the matrix of some higher mammals. The Fallopian tube of Atelerix is relatively simple; it displays only minor differences in width and in the arborized epithelium between the isthmus and ampulla, and shows no evidence of the unusual sperm crypts that characterize the isthmus or ampulla, depending on the species, in shrews and moles. In common with other insectivores, Atelerix appears to be an induced ovulator, as judged by the ovulation of some 6-8 eggs by about 23 h after injection of hCG. The dense cumulus oophorus appeared to have little matrix, in keeping with the modest dimensions of the tubal ampulla and, while it was not quite as discrete as that of soricids, it did show the same insensitivity to 0.5% (w/v) ovine or bovine hyaluronidase.

Reproductive Characteristics of Winter Wheat Cultivars Subjected to Postanthesis Shading

Crop Science ◽  
1990 ◽  
Vol 30 (4) ◽  
pp. 771-774 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. J. Grabau ◽  
D. A. Van Sanford ◽  
Q. W. Meng
Keyword(s):  
Winter Wheat ◽  
Wheat Cultivars ◽  
Reproductive Characteristics ◽  
Winter Wheat Cultivars
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