scholarly journals The impact of maternal uterine genotype on postnatal growth and adult body size in mice.

Genetics ◽  
1989 ◽  
Vol 122 (1) ◽  
pp. 193-203 ◽  
Author(s):  
D E Cowley ◽  
D Pomp ◽  
W R Atchley ◽  
E J Eisen ◽  
D Hawkins-Brown
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Embryo Transfer ◽  
Small Body ◽  
Large Body ◽  
Tail Length ◽  
Postnatal Growth ◽  
Adult Body Size ◽  
Adult Mice ◽  
Adult Body ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Embryo transfers were used to demonstrate that the genotype of the mother providing the uterine developmental environment significantly influences postnatal growth and adult body size of her progeny. Irrespective of their own genotype, mouse embryos transferred into the uterus of an inbred strain with large body size (C3H) had greater body weights, longer tails and higher growth rates than those transferred into the uterus of a strain with small body size (SWR). Uterine heterosis on body size was smaller than progeny heterosis, and both progeny and uterine heterosis persisted in adult mice. Uterine litter size was significantly negatively associated with body weight, tail length, growth rate and the timing of developmental events. The inbred SWR strain was more sensitive to the embryo transfer procedure than the C3H strain, but effects due to embryo transfer were moderate. Prenatal uterine effects have ramifications for biotechnologies utilizing embryo transfer as well as predictions about evolutionary change by selection.

scholarly journals Associations between prenatal and postnatal growth and adult body size and composition

2003 ◽  
Vol 77 (6) ◽  
pp. 1498-1505 ◽  
Author(s):  
Haojie Li ◽  
Aryeh D Stein ◽  
Huiman X Barnhart ◽  
Usha Ramakrishnan ◽  
Reynaldo Martorell
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Postnatal Growth ◽  
Adult Body Size ◽  
Adult Body

scholarly journals Selection on morphological traits and fluctuating asymmetry by a fungal parasite in the yellow dung fly

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wolf U. Blanckenhorn
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Fungal Infection ◽  
Fluctuating Asymmetry ◽  
Large Body ◽  
The Body ◽  
Female Size ◽  
Adult Body Size ◽  
Scathophaga Stercoraria ◽  
Evolutionary Response ◽  
Adult Body

AbstractA Preprint reviewed and recommended by Peer Community Evolutionary Biology: http://dx.doi.org/10.24072/pci.evolbiol.100027Evidence for selective disadvantages of large body size remains scarce in general. Previous phenomenological studies of the yellow dung fly Scathophaga stercoraria have demonstrated strong positive sexual and fecundity selection on male and female size. Nevertheless, the body size of flies from a Swiss study population has declined by almost 10% from 1993 to 2009. Given substantial heritability of body size, this negative evolutionary response of an evidently positively selected trait suggests important selective factors being missed (e.g. size-selective predation or parasitism). A periodic epidemic outbreak of the fungus Entomophthora scatophagae allowedassessment of selection exerted by this parasite fatal to adult flies. Fungal infection varied over the season from ca. 50% in the cooler and more humid spring and autumn to almost 0% in summer. The probability of dying from fungal infection increased with adult body size. All infected females died before laying eggs, so there was no fungus impact on female fecundity beyond its impact on mortality. Large males showed the typical mating advantage in the field, but this pattern of positive sexual selection was nullified by fungal infection. Mean fluctuating asymmetry of paired appendages (legs, wings) did not affect the viability, fecundity or mating success of yellow dung flies in the field. This study demonstrates rare parasite-mediated disadvantages of large adult body size in the field. Reduced ability to combat parasites such as Entomophthora may be an immunity cost of large size in dung flies, although the hypothesized trade-off between fluctuating asymmetry, a presumed indicator of developmental instability and environmental stress, and immunocompetence was not found here.

Seasonal Reproductive Patterns of Pumpkinseed (Lepomis gibbosus) Populations with Varying Body Size Characteristics

1994 ◽  
Vol 51 (3) ◽  
pp. 490-500 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andy J. Danylchuk ◽  
Michael G. Fox
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Small Body ◽  
Gonadosomatic Index ◽  
Survival Rates ◽  
Significant Negative Correlation ◽  
Spawning Season ◽  
Lepomis Gibbosus ◽  
Reproductive Patterns ◽  
Adult Body Size ◽  
Adult Body

To assess the implications of reproduction on body size and the potential physiological constraint imposed by small body size on reproductive patterns, we examined seasonal nesting patterns and gonad allocation in six pumpkinseed (Lepomis gibbosus) populations exhibiting a range of adult body size characteristics, We found that the two populations exhibiting stunted adult body size initiated nesting activity 1-wk later and had nesting periods 3–7 wk longer than the other four populations. Mean adult body size showed a significant negative correlation with both length of spawning season and gonadosomatic index in the six populations. Within populations, smaller females matured later in the season than larger females. Our results suggest that small adult body size is associated with high reproductive effort and that variation in the timing of reproduction is a consequence of differences in energy reserves between small and large individuals. The extended spawning season of some populations may result in a higher cost of reproduction than that which would be predicted from gonad size alone. Small individuals forced by energy limitations to spawn late in the season are likely to produce offspring with lower survival rates, and their reproductive fitness should be discounted accordingly.

scholarly journals Large body size in the dog is associated with transient GH excess at a young age

2001 ◽  
Vol 170 (2) ◽  
pp. 479-484 ◽  
Author(s):  
RP Favier ◽  
JA Mol ◽  
HS Kooistra ◽  
A Rijnberk
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Large Body ◽  
Young Age ◽  
Adult Body Size ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Adult Body ◽  
Igf I ◽  
Basal Plasma ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Plasma Gh

The main determinants of body size are GH and IGFs. The aim of this study was to investigate whether differences in adult body size of medium-sized and giant dog breeds can be explained by differences in GH release and/or in plasma IGF-I and IGF-II concentrations at a young age. The basal plasma concentrations of GH, IGF-I and IGF-II were determined once weekly in six Great Danes and six beagles from the age of 6 weeks until the age of 24 weeks. In addition, the 6 h secretory profile of GH was determined every 2 weeks. Basal plasma GH concentrations as well as the total area under the curve (AUC) and the AUC above the baseline for GH were significantly higher in Great Danes than in beagles of the same age. In contrast, plasma IGF-I and IGF-II concentrations did not differ significantly between the two breeds. Compared with values in adults, the basal plasma GH concentrations were high until the age of 7 weeks in the beagles, whereas in the Great Danes the basal plasma GH levels remained high during the entire observation period, albeit with a gradual decline. The mean frequency and the mean amplitude of GH pulses tended to be higher in Great Danes than in beagles, although a significant difference was only reached at the age of 19 and 23 weeks for the frequency and at the ages of 9, 11 and 13 weeks for the amplitude. An age-dependent decrease in pulse frequency occurred in the Great Danes. The results of this study demonstrate that differences in adult body size of medium-sized and giant dog breeds are preceded by differences in GH release and not by differences in circulating IGF-I or IGF-II concentrations. Both young Great Danes and young beagles experience a period of high GH release, but this period persists much longer in Great Danes. It is discussed that this difference may be due to delayed maturation of the inhibitory influences of somatostatin on pituitary GH release in the latter dogs.

scholarly journals Decomposing the effects of ocean environments on predator–prey body-size relationships in food webs

2018 ◽  
Vol 5 (7) ◽  
pp. 180707 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tomoya Dobashi ◽  
Midori Iida ◽  
Kazuhiro Takemoto
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Food Webs ◽  
Oxygen Concentration ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Small Body ◽  
Large Body ◽  
Predator Prey ◽  
Body Sizes ◽  
And Function ◽  
The Impact

Body-size relationships between predators and their prey are important in ecological studies because they reflect the structure and function of food webs. Inspired by studies on the impact of global warming on food webs, the effects of temperature on body-size relationships have been widely investigated; however, the impact of environmental factors on body-size relationships has not been fully evaluated because climate warming affects various ocean environments. Thus, here, we comprehensively investigated the effects of ocean environments and predator–prey body-size relationships by integrating a large-scale dataset of predator–prey body-size relationships in marine food webs with global oceanographic data. We showed that various oceanographic parameters influence prey size selection. In particular, oxygen concentration, primary production and salinity, in addition to temperature, significantly alter body-size relationships. Furthermore, we demonstrated that variability (seasonality) of ocean environments significantly affects body-size relationships. The effects of ocean environments on body-size relationships were generally remarkable for small body sizes, but were also significant for large body sizes and were relatively weak for intermediate body sizes, in the cases of temperature seasonality, oxygen concentration and salinity variability. These findings break down the complex effects of ocean environments on body-size relationships, advancing our understanding of how ocean environments influence the structure and functioning of food webs.

scholarly journals Independent evolution towards larger body size in the distinctive Faroe Island mice

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ricardo Wilches ◽  
William H Beluch ◽  
Ellen McConnell ◽  
Diethard Tautz ◽  
Yingguang Frank Chan
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Small Body ◽  
Laboratory Mouse ◽  
Large Body ◽  
Natural Populations ◽  
Size Variation ◽  
Phenotypic Traits ◽  
Island Population ◽  
Multiple Loci

Abstract Most phenotypic traits in nature involve the collective action of many genes. Traits that evolve repeatedly are particularly useful for understanding how selection may act on changing trait values. In mice, large body size has evolved repeatedly on islands and under artificial selection in the laboratory. Identifying the loci and genes involved in this process may shed light on the evolution of complex, polygenic traits. Here, we have mapped the genetic basis of body size variation by making a genetic cross between mice from the Faroe Islands, which are among the largest and most distinctive natural populations of mice in the world, and a laboratory mouse strain selected for small body size, SM/J. Using this F2 intercross of 841 animals, we have identified 111 loci controlling various aspects of body size, weight and growth hormone levels. By comparing against other studies, including the use of a joint meta-analysis, we found that the loci involved in the evolution of large size in the Faroese mice were largely independent from those of a different island population or other laboratory strains. We hypothesize that colonization bottleneck, historical hybridization, or the redundancy between multiple loci have resulted in the Faroese mice achieving an outwardly similar phenotype through a distinct evolutionary path.

Changes in Ecosystems of Bodies of Water Resulting from of the Aaggregates Extraction

2021 ◽  
Vol 25 (9) ◽  
pp. 44-49
Author(s):  
S.S. Uskova
Keyword(s):  
Food Supply ◽  
Small Body ◽  
Large Body ◽  
Small Rivers ◽  
Complete Destruction ◽  
Research Findings ◽  
Downstream Flow ◽  
Bodies Of Water ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Lower Capacity

The evaluation issues on the aggregate’s extraction on the ecosystem of bodies of water has been considered. The dredgers' impact of various capacities on bodies of water of different capacities have been compared, as well as on food supply change of bodies of water for benthos eater. The research findings have showed the dragger's impact of a higher capacity is bigger on a large body of water than this of a lower capacity on a small body of water. The impact manifests itself in decreasing the number and biomass of macrozoobenthos in the area used for the oil and lubricants extraction and the downstream flow. It has been found that the complete destruction of macrozoobenthos at the site of hydraulic engineering activities has not been detected either in small rivers or in large reservoirs.

scholarly journals Heritability and adaptive phenotypic plasticity of adult body size in the mosquito Aedes aegypti with implications for dengue vector competence

2011 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 11-16 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer R. Schneider ◽  
Dave D. Chadee ◽  
Akio Mori ◽  
Jeanne Romero-Severson ◽  
David W. Severson
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Phenotypic Plasticity ◽  
Aedes Aegypti ◽  
Vector Competence ◽  
Dengue Vector ◽  
Adult Body Size ◽  
Adult Body ◽  
Adaptive Phenotypic Plasticity

Grass-flower thrips of the genus Chirothrips (Thysanoptera: Thripidae), with a key to species from Iran

Zootaxa ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 2411 (1) ◽  
pp. 33 ◽  
Author(s):  
KAMBIZ MINAEI ◽  
LAURENCE MOUND
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Species Group ◽  
Identification Key ◽  
Key To Species ◽  
Adult Body Size ◽  
Flower Thrips ◽  
New Synonym ◽  
Adult Body ◽  
Structural Differences

Species of the genus Chirothrips Haliday breed and pupate only within grass florets. Each larva is restricted to a single floret, and adult body size is thus presumably related to floret size. Despite this, some Chirothrips species are distinguished only on states that are related to body size. The validity of some commonly recorded members of the C. manicatus species-group, including C. africanus and C. pallidicornis, is therefore considered questionable. Character states that have been used to define the genus Agrostothrips Hood are shown to be variable, and this genus is placed as a new synonym of Chirothrips. An identification key, based on illustrated structural differences, is provided to the Chirothrips known from Iran: C. aculeatus, C. atricorpus, C. kurdistanus, C. manicatus, C. meridionalis and C. molestus.

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