scholarly journals Evolution of the Unique Anuran Pelvic and Hind limb Skeleton in Relation to Microhabitat, Locomotor Mode, and Jump Performance

2020 ◽  
Vol 60 (5) ◽  
pp. 1330-1345 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shannon M Buttimer ◽  
Natasha Stepanova ◽  
Molly C Womack
Keyword(s):  
Hind Limb ◽  
Evolutionary Rate ◽  
Morphological Changes ◽  
Body Plan ◽  
Individual Species ◽  
Museum Collections ◽  
Jump Performance ◽  
Anuran Species ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
3D Landmarks

Abstract Anurans (frogs and toads) have a unique pelvic and hind limb skeleton among tetrapods. Although their distinct body plan is primarily associated with saltation, anuran species vary in their primary locomotor mode (e.g., walkers, hoppers, jumpers, and swimmers) and are found in a wide array of microhabitats (e.g., burrowing, terrestrial, arboreal, and aquatic) with varying functional demands. Given their largely conserved body plan, morphological adaptation to these diverse niches likely results from more fine-scale morphological change. Our study determines how shape differences in Anura’s unique pelvic and hind limb skeletal structures vary with microhabitat, locomotor mode, and jumping ability. Using microCT scans of preserved specimens from museum collections, we added 3D landmarks to the pelvic and hind limb skeleton of 230 anuran species. In addition, we compiled microhabitat and locomotor data from the literature for these species that span 52 of the 55 families of frogs and ∼210 million years of anuran evolution. Using this robust dataset, we examine the relationship between pelvic and hind limb morphology and phylogenetic history, allometry, microhabitat, and locomotor mode. We find pelvic and hind limb changes associated with shifts in microhabitat (“ecomorphs”) and locomotor mode (“locomorphs”) and directly relate those morphological changes to the jumping ability of individual species. We also reveal how individual bones vary in evolutionary rate and their association with phylogeny, body size, microhabitat, and locomotor mode. Our findings uncover previously undocumented morphological variation related to anuran ecological and locomotor diversification and link that variation to differences in jumping ability among species.

Tetrazolium Salt and Electron-Microscopic Studies of Cellular Degeneration and Necrosis in the Interdigital Areas of the Developing Chick Limb

1971 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 229-251
Author(s):  
S. P. HAMMAR ◽  
N. K. MOTTET
Keyword(s):  
Cell Death ◽  
Enzyme Activity ◽  
Succinate Dehydrogenase ◽  
Hind Limb ◽  
Morphological Changes ◽  
Morphological Evidence ◽  
Tetrazolium Salt ◽  
Limb Buds ◽  
Cellular Degeneration ◽  
Intracellular Digestion

Cellular degeneration and necrosis were studied in the interdigital areas of developing hind limb buds of normal chick embryos by means of enzyme-specific tetrazolium salts and electron microscopy. Using succinic acid as a substrate and the tetrazolium salt, nitro blue tetrazolium, succinate dehydrogenase was specifically demonstrated via a colour reaction in which degenerating and necrotic cells--those with no enzyme activity--did not stain, while those with enzyme activity stained deeply blue-black. The interdigital cells exhibited near absent levels of succinate dehydrogenase as early as stage 26-27, one to two days prior to when morphological evidence of degeneration and necrosis was present. It was postulated that the mechanism of cell death resulted from decreased activity and/or loss of strategic cellular enzymes such as succinate dehydrogenase, with a subsequent fall in the cellular adenosine triphosphate (ATP) level and a resultant compromise in vital cellular processes, eventually leading to cell death. The evidence indicated that ‘biochemical degeneration’ occurred prior to morphological changes in cells. The ultrastructural events of degenerating and necrotic cells were also studied. Most ‘dying’ cells observed had already been phagocytosed and were observed in various stages of degeneration. The degenerating cells exhibited both nuclear and cytoplasmic changes. There was evidence of active intracellular digestion within the phagocytes. Numerous lysosomes were observed within these cells, and some appeared fused with the digestive vacuole's membranes. The origin of the phagocytes was not determined. No definite information was obtained concerning the utility of cellular degeneration and necrosis in the interdigital areas of the hind limb buds. It appeared to be at least partially causal in separation of the digits.

scholarly journals Locally rare species influence grassland ecosystem multifunctionality

2016 ◽  
Vol 371 (1694) ◽  
pp. 20150269 ◽  
Author(s):  
Santiago Soliveres ◽  
Peter Manning ◽  
Daniel Prati ◽  
Martin M. Gossner ◽  
Fabian Alt ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Rare Species ◽  
Common Species ◽  
Ecosystem Functions ◽  
Individual Species ◽  
Conservation Priorities ◽  
Below Ground ◽  
Species Specific ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Ecosystem Multifunctionality

Species diversity promotes the delivery of multiple ecosystem functions (multifunctionality). However, the relative functional importance of rare and common species in driving the biodiversity–multifunctionality relationship remains unknown. We studied the relationship between the diversity of rare and common species (according to their local abundances and across nine different trophic groups), and multifunctionality indices derived from 14 ecosystem functions on 150 grasslands across a land-use intensity (LUI) gradient. The diversity of above- and below-ground rare species had opposite effects, with rare above-ground species being associated with high levels of multifunctionality, probably because their effects on different functions did not trade off against each other. Conversely, common species were only related to average, not high, levels of multifunctionality, and their functional effects declined with LUI. Apart from the community-level effects of diversity, we found significant positive associations between the abundance of individual species and multifunctionality in 6% of the species tested. Species-specific functional effects were best predicted by their response to LUI: species that declined in abundance with land use intensification were those associated with higher levels of multifunctionality. Our results highlight the importance of rare species for ecosystem multifunctionality and help guiding future conservation priorities.

scholarly journals Museum Collections as a Reflection of Cultural Landscape: the Interpretation of Collective Memory

2018 ◽  
Vol 3 (4) ◽  
pp. 170 ◽  
Author(s):  
Oskar Habjanič ◽  
Verena Perko
Keyword(s):  
Collective Memory ◽  
Cultural Landscape ◽  
Local Community ◽  
Political Identity ◽  
Vulnerable Groups ◽  
Museum Collections ◽  
The Past ◽  
Social Tasks ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Private Collections

The article deals with the relationship between the local community, museum collections, collective memory and the cultural landscape. The ICOM Code of Museum Ethics defines a museum collection as a cultural and natural heritage of the communities from which they have been derived. The collections, especially in regional museums, are inextricably linked to the community. The cultural landscape can be read also as a bridge between the society and natural environment. The cultural landscape is vitally connected with a national, regional, local, ethnic, religious or political identity. Furthermore, the cultural landscape is a reflection of the community's activities. Therefore, private collections are the foundation of the collective memory and empower museums for important social tasks. They offer an opportunity for multilayered interpretation of the past and give a possibility for museums to work on the inclusion of vulnerable groups. The collections could be a mediator and unique tool for recovering of the “broken” memory. In this way certain tragic past events, ignored or only bigotedly mentioned by history, can be re-evaluated.

Tracking Species in Space and Time: Assessing the Relationships Between Paleobiogeography, Paleoecology, and Macroevolution

2008 ◽  
Vol 14 ◽  
pp. 233-248 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alycia L. Stigall
Keyword(s):  
Ecological Factors ◽  
Geographic Range ◽  
Individual Species ◽  
Species Ranges ◽  
Speciation Rate ◽  
Biogeographic Patterns ◽  
Environmental Controls ◽  
Historical Factors ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Relationship

In all species, geographic range is constrained by a combination of ecological and historical factors. Ecological factors relate to the species' niche, its environmental or biotic limits in multidimensional space, while historical factors pertain to a species' ancestry, specifically the location at which a species evolved. Historical limitations are primary during speciation, while ecological factors control the subsequent expansion and contraction of species range. By assessing biogeographic changes during the lifespan of individual species, we can assess the relationship between paleobiogeography, paleoecology, and macroevolution. Quantitative paleobiogeographic analyses, especially those using GIS-based and phylogenetic methods, provide a framework to rigorously test hypotheses about the relationship between species ranges, biotic turnover, and paleoecology. These new tools provide a way to assess key questions about the co-evolution of life and earth. Changes in biogeographic patterns, reconstructed at the species level, can provide key information for interpreting macroevolutionary dynamics–particularly speciation mode (vicariance vs. dispersal) and speciation rate during key intervals of macroevolutionary change (biodiversity crises, widespread invasion events, and adaptive radiations). Furthermore, species ranges can be reconstructed using ecological niche modeling methods to examine the effects of environmental controls on geographic range shifts. Particularly fruitful areas of investigation in future paleobiogeographic analysis include (1) the relationship between species ranges and speciation events/mode, (2) relationship between shifting ecological regimes and range expansion and contraction, (3) the impact of interbasinal species invasions on both community structure and macroevolutionary dynamics, (4) the mechanics of transitions between endemic to cosmopolitan faunas at local, regional, and global scales, (5) how ecology and geographic range impacts species extinction during both background and crisis intervals.Three case studies are presented to illustrate both the methods and utility of this theoretical approach of using paleobiogeographic patterns to assess macroevolutionary dynamics. The first case study examines paleobiogeographic patterns in shallow marine invertebrates during the Late Devonian Biodiversity Crisis. During this interval, speciation by vicariance declined precipitously and only species exhibiting expanding geographic ranges survived the crisis interval. Patterns of biogeographic change during the Late Ordovician Richmondian invasion (Cincinnati Arch region) reveal similar patterns; speciation rate declines during invasion intervals and widely distributed endemic species are best able to survive in the new invasive regime. Phylogenetic biogeographic patterns during the Miocene radiation of North American horses suggest climatic parameters were important determinants of speciation and dispersal patterns.

scholarly journals Diet of tadpoles for five anuran species of northeast Brazil

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Airan dos Santos Protázio ◽  
Arielson dos Santos Protázio ◽  
Vivian Gama ◽  
Samantha Vieira Silva ◽  
Carla Giovanna Cruz dos Santos ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Atlantic Forest ◽  
Aquatic Environment ◽  
Trophic Ecology ◽  
Northeast Brazil ◽  
Anuran Species ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Forest Biome

In this study, the diet of tadpoles of five anuran species was described. The species were collected from either lotic or lentic environments in Caatinga and the Atlantic Forest biome of northeast Brazil. The diet of these tadpoles consisted of algae, protozoa, plants, fungi and animals. Diatoms were the most important items within the diet of Leptodactylus natalensis. Trachelomonas, diatoms, Phacus and Scenedesmus were the most important items comprising the diet of Leptodactylus cf. macrosternum. Trachelomonas, Oscillatoria and Scenedesmus were the most important items comprising the diet of Pithecophus nordestinus. Diatoms and Scenodesmus were the most important items of the diet for Rhinella jimi. For Scinax x-signatus, diatoms (Atlantic Forest population), Oscillatoria, undetermined filament and pollen (Caatinga population) were the most important items consumed. Scinax x-signatus and L. natalensis from Atlantic Forest, and L. cf. macrosternum and P. nordestinus from Caatinga had diets that were the most similar. The diversity of items found in the diets of species considered may be attributed to mechanisms used by tadpoles to obtain food, which favour the acquisition of suspended materials that are highly available in the environment. We discuss the possible effects of the relationship between algae and tadpoles and the importance of recording larvae diets to better understand the dynamics of the aquatic environment and the trophic ecology of tadpoles.

scholarly journals Short-Term Memory Deficits in the SLEEP Inbred Panel

2019 ◽  
Vol 1 (4) ◽  
pp. 471-488 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shailesh Kumar ◽  
Kirklin R. Smith ◽  
Yazmin L. Serrano Negron ◽  
Susan T. Harbison
Keyword(s):  
Learning And Memory ◽  
Sleep Duration ◽  
Genetic Architecture ◽  
Short Term Memory ◽  
Morphological Changes ◽  
Brain Structures ◽  
Social Conditions ◽  
Short Term ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
The Brain

Although sleep is heritable and conserved across species, sleep duration varies from individual to individual. A shared genetic architecture between sleep duration and other evolutionarily important traits could explain this variability. Learning and memory are critical traits sharing a genetic architecture with sleep. We wanted to know whether learning and memory would be altered in extreme long or short sleepers. We therefore assessed the short-term learning and memory ability of flies from the Sleep Inbred Panel (SIP), a collection of 39 extreme long- and short-sleeping inbred lines of Drosophila. Neither long nor short sleepers had appreciable learning, in contrast to a moderate-sleeping control. We also examined the response of long and short sleepers to enriched social conditions, a paradigm previously shown to induce morphological changes in the brain. While moderate-sleeping control flies had increased daytime sleep and quantifiable increases in brain structures under enriched social conditions, flies of the Sleep Inbred Panel did not display these changes. The SIP thus emerges as an important model for the relationship between sleep and learning and memory.

scholarly journals The Relationship Between Muscle Strength, Anaerobic Performance, Agility, Sprint Ability and Vertical Jump Performance in Professional Basketball Players

2012 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 149-158 ◽  
Author(s):  
Utku Alemdaroğlu
Keyword(s):  
Muscle Strength ◽  
Vertical Jump ◽  
Body Height ◽  
Field Tests ◽  
Anaerobic Performance ◽  
Basketball Players ◽  
Jump Performance ◽  
Professional Basketball ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Sprint Ability

The Relationship Between Muscle Strength, Anaerobic Performance, Agility, Sprint Ability and Vertical Jump Performance in Professional Basketball PlayersThe purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between isokinetic knee strength, anaerobic performance, sprinting ability, agility and vertical jump performance in first division basketball players. Twelve male first division basketball players participated in this study. The mean age was 25.1 ± 1.7 yrs; mean body height 194.8 ± 5.7 cm; mean body mass 92.3± 9.8 kg; mean PBF 10.1± 5.1; and mean VO2max50.55 ± 6.7 ml/kg/min. Quadriceps and hamstrings were measured at 60° and 180°/s, anaerobic performance was evaluated using the Wingate anaerobic power test, sprint ability was determined by single sprint performance (10-30 m), jump performance was evaluated by countermovement (CMJ) and squat jump (SJ) tests and agility performance was measured using the T drill agility test. Quadriceps strength was significantly correlated with peak power at all contraction velocities. However, for mean power, significant correlation was only found between the 60° left and 180° right knee quadriceps measurements. No measure of strength was significantly related to the measurements from/results of field tests. Moreover, strong relations were found between the performance of athletes in different field tests (p< 0.05). The use of correlation analysis is the limitation of the this study.

scholarly journals Diversity and associations between coastal habitats and anurans in southernmost Brazil

2013 ◽  
Vol 85 (2) ◽  
pp. 575-584 ◽  
Author(s):  
MAURO C.L.M. OLIVEIRA ◽  
MAURICIO B. DOS SANTOS ◽  
DANIEL LOEBMANN ◽  
ALEXANDRE HARTMAN ◽  
ALEXANDRO M. TOZETTI
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Water Availability ◽  
Plant Cover ◽  
Abundant Species ◽  
Thermal Variation ◽  
Environmental Filter ◽  
Anuran Species ◽  
Drift Fence ◽  
Pampa Biome ◽  
The Relationship

This study aimed to verify the relationship between habitat and the composition of anuran species in dune and restinga habitats in southernmost Brazil. The habitats were sampled between April 2009 and March 2010 using pitfalls with drift fence. We have captured 13,508 individuals of 12 anuran species. Species richness was lower in the dunes and dominance was higher in the resting. Apparently the less complex plant cover, water availability, and wide daily thermal variation in dunes act as an environmental filter for frogs. This hypothesis is reinforced by the fact that the most abundant species (Physalaemus biligonigerus and Odonthoprynus maisuma) bury themselves in the sand, minimizing these environmental stresses. Despite being in the Pampa biome, the studied community was more similar to those of coastal restinga environment of southeast Brazil than with other of the Pampa biome. The number of recorded species is similar to those observed in other open habitats in Brazil, showing the importance of adjacent ones to the shoreline for the maintenance of the diversity of anurans in southernmost Brazil.

scholarly journals DNA damage and brain trauma: a clue to pathophysiology and biomarker development

2019 ◽  
Vol 46 (s2) ◽  
pp. S60
Author(s):  
LN Hazrati
Keyword(s):  
Dna Damage ◽  
Structural Changes ◽  
Morphological Changes ◽  
Memory Loss ◽  
List Type ◽  
Dna Breaks ◽  
Contact Sports ◽  
Increased Risk ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Relationship

Mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) or concussion is a very common occurrence in contact sports, and can cause brain damage with long-term symptoms, including depression, aggression, memory loss, and an increased risk of neurodegeneration later in life. Recently, there has been increased attention towards concussion in sport both in research and media, however the nature and pathophysiology of mTBI-induced neurodegeneration remain unknown. The objective of this study is to identify early pathophysiological markers of TBI. This study used a collection of donated postmortem brains with a history of repetitive mTBI in contact sports and non-TBI control brains. Nanostring ncounter’s immune panel was used to evaluate gene expression, and results showed that brains with a history of TBI tended to group with significantly older brains with no history of TBI in regards to their immune profile. Further analysis of this expression panel revealed that genes associated with senescence and secretory phenotype were upregulated in brains with a history of mTBI. Additionally, immunohistochemistry for γ-H2AX (a marker for double stranded DNA breaks) showed that brains with a history of repetitive TBI accumulated a spectrum of DNA damages not present in controls. This damage was widespread and involved mainly glial cells including oligodendrocytes, and astrocytes. The latter showed morphological changes reminiscent of senescence, including soma swelling and beading of processes. Further, these changes were accompanied by translocation of structural nuclear proteins. These changes preceded the appearance of abnormal protein deposition in the brain. Overall, these results suggest that DNA damage and cellular senescence are upstream events in the manifestation of post-mTBI symptoms and pathology, and represent promising opportunities for discovery of biomarkers for early TBI detection and follow-up of progression.LEARNING OBJECTIVESThe presentation will enable the learner to:1.Explore the relationship between trauma and DNA structural changes2.Explore the relationship between trauma and senescence

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