scholarly journals Exploring the Role of Insulin Signaling in Relative Growth: A Case Study on Wing-Body Scaling in Lepidoptera

2019 ◽  
Vol 59 (5) ◽  
pp. 1324-1337 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kenneth Z McKenna ◽  
Della Tao ◽  
H Frederik Nijhout
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Insulin Signaling ◽  
The Body ◽  
Adult Size ◽  
Tor Signaling ◽  
Relative Growth ◽  
Laboratory Populations ◽  
Body Sizes ◽  
Specific Variation ◽  
Wing Growth

Abstract Adult forms emerge from the relative growth of the body and its parts. Each appendage and organ has a unique pattern of growth that influences the size and shape it attains. This produces adult size relationships referred to as static allometries, which have received a great amount of attention in evolutionary and developmental biology. However, many questions remain unanswered, for example: What sorts of developmental processes coordinate growth? And how do these processes change given variation in body size? It has become increasingly clear that nutrition is one of the strongest influences on size relationships. In insects, nutrition acts via insulin/TOR signaling to facilitate inter- and intra-specific variation in body size and appendage size. Yet, the mechanism by which insulin signaling influences the scaling of growth remains unclear. Here we will discuss the potential roles of insulin signaling in wing-body scaling in Lepidoptera. We analyzed the growth of wings in animals reared on different diet qualities that induce a range of body sizes not normally present in our laboratory populations. By growing wings in tissue culture, we survey how perturbation and stimulation of insulin/TOR signaling influences wing growth. To conclude, we will discuss the implications of our findings for the development and evolution of organismal form.

A new method for estimating the morphometric size at maturity of crabs

1998 ◽  
Vol 55 (3) ◽  
pp. 704-714 ◽  
Author(s):  
George Watters ◽  
Alistair J Hobday
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
A Priori ◽  
Smoothing Splines ◽  
The Body ◽  
New Method ◽  
Second Derivative ◽  
Size At Maturity ◽  
Relative Growth ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Body Sizes

Existing techniques for estimating the morphometric size at maturity of crabs are based on assumptions that may be unnecessary. Here we demonstrate a new method of detecting changes in relative growth (or allometric) relationships and estimating morphometric size at maturity. This method involves fitting several smoothing splines to relationships between body size and claw size, selecting the "best" spline, and finding this spline's maximum second derivative. The body size where the second derivative of the best spline is maximized estimates the morphometric size at maturity. Monte Carlo simulations suggest that uncertainty and bias in the estimate of morphometric size at maturity can be decreased by measuring a large number of crabs from a wide range of body sizes. Our spline method does not require a priori assumptions about the shape of the relative growth relationship; it can detect multiple changes in the relative growth rate; and it is robust to outliers. The modeling technique may also be used to identify regions of allometric change in other types of relationships. We demonstrate the new technique by estimating the morphometric size at sexual maturity for males of both brachyuran (Chionoecetes tanneri) and anomuran (Paralomis spinosissima and P. formosa) crabs.

scholarly journals The body-size dependence of mutual interference

2014 ◽  
Vol 10 (6) ◽  
pp. 20140261 ◽  
Author(s):  
John P. DeLong
Keyword(s):  
Population Dynamics ◽  
Body Size ◽  
Size Dependence ◽  
Empirical Support ◽  
Mutual Interference ◽  
The Body ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Stabilizing Effect ◽  
Body Sizes ◽  
Size Scales

The parameters that drive population dynamics typically show a relationship with body size. By contrast, there is no theoretical or empirical support for a body-size dependence of mutual interference, which links foraging rates to consumer density. Here, I develop a model to predict that interference may be positively or negatively related to body size depending on how resource body size scales with consumer body size. Over a wide range of body sizes, however, the model predicts that interference will be body-size independent. This prediction was supported by a new dataset on interference and consumer body size. The stabilizing effect of intermediate interference therefore appears to be roughly constant across size, while the effect of body size on population dynamics is mediated through other parameters.

Girth body dimensions in men and women with seborrheic dermatitis of varying severity

2021 ◽  
Vol 27 (4) ◽  
pp. 22-27
Author(s):  
Ahmad Raed Khasawneh ◽  
I.V. Serheta ◽  
N.V. Belik ◽  
A.O. Dovhan ◽  
I.I. Zhuchenko
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Seborrheic Dermatitis ◽  
Severe Disease ◽  
Statistical Processing ◽  
Modern Medicine ◽  
The Body ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Men And Women ◽  
Healthy Men ◽  
Body Sizes

Today in modern medicine the study of human health is reoriented to the individual principle, which is based on the identification and study of constitutionally determined patterns of manifestation of certain diseases. The purpose of the study is to establish and analyze the features of the girth body sizes in men and women with generalized fatty form of seborrheic dermatitis of varying severity. The comprehensive body size of 40 men and 40 young women (25-44 years) with generalized fatty seborrheic dermatitis (mild and severe) was determined. The control group consisted of the girth sizes of practically healthy men (n=82) and women (n=154) of the same age group, which were selected from the database of the research center National Pirogov Memorial Medical University. Statistical processing of body circumference was performed in the licensed package “Statistica 6.0” using non-parametric evaluation methods. As a result of studies in patients with seborrheic dermatitis of varying severity of men, compared with practically healthy men, found only greater values of the girth of the shoulder in a relaxed state and thighs, neck (only mild), shin in the upper part and waist (in both cases only with a severe degree), as well as smaller values of the girth of the shoulder in a tense state; and in patients of varying severity of women – greater values of the girth of the shoulder in a relaxed state, thighs, lower legs, neck, waist and all girths of the chest and both thighs (only severe), as well as smaller values of the girth of the hand (only with mild). In both men and women with seborrheic dermatitis, differences in girth body sizes are more pronounced in people with severe disease. Between men or women with seborrheic dermatitis of varying severity, there are no significant or trends in differences in girth body sizes. In the analysis of the manifestations of sexual dimorphism of the circumferential body size between men and women with seborrheic dermatitis found greater values in men with mild and severe disease of the upper extremities, hands, shin, feet and neck (in most cases more pronounced in representatives with mild severity), as well as only in men with mild severity – greater values of all chest girths. For a more correct understanding of changes in girth body sizes in Ukrainian men or women with seborrheic dermatitis of varying severity, it is necessary to analyze other constitutional parameters of the body.

Effects of initial (larval) size and host body temperature on growth in trematodes

2003 ◽  
Vol 81 (4) ◽  
pp. 574-581 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Poulin ◽  
A David M. Latham
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Body Temperature ◽  
Adult Stage ◽  
Species Variation ◽  
Adult Size ◽  
Model Group ◽  
Larval Size ◽  
Relative Growth ◽  
Host Body ◽  
Adult Body

For ectotherms, temperature is an important correlate of variation in body size within species. Variation in body size among related species could also be attributable in part to temperature if the different species grow under different thermal regimes. The roles of both initial (larval) size and host body temperature on final (adult) size of parasitic trematodes were investigated in a comparative analysis. Trematodes are a good model group for such a study, with almost half of known species growing at high and constant temperatures in endothermic vertebrates and the rest at lower and fluctuating temperatures in ectothermic vertebrates. The relative growth of trematodes, i.e., their growth relative to the size of their larvae, varied greatly among species. Increases in body size from the cercarial larval stage to the adult stage averaged almost 40-fold (maximum 1300-fold), whereas increases in size from the metacercarial stage to the adult stage averaged 6-fold (maximum 110-fold). There were no differences between trematodes in ectothermic hosts and trematodes in endothermic hosts with respect to these measures of relative growth, however, which suggests that host type and the thermal regime provided by the host have no effect on the growth of trematodes from larval to adult stages. In contrast, the final (adult) body size of trematodes appears to be determined to some extent by their initial (larval) size, independently of the type of host in which they developed.

scholarly journals Body Size Differences between Foraging and Intranidal Workers of the Monomorphic Ant Lasius niger

Insects ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (7) ◽  
pp. 433
Author(s):  
Mateusz Okrutniak ◽  
Bartosz Rom ◽  
Filip Turza ◽  
Irena M. Grześ
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Field Experiment ◽  
Important Determinant ◽  
Size Variation ◽  
Division Of Labour ◽  
The Body ◽  
Food Type ◽  
Lasius Niger ◽  
Worker Size ◽  
Body Sizes

The association between the division of labour and worker body size of ants is typical for species that maintain physical castes. Some studies showed that this phenomenon can be also observed in the absence of distinct morphological subcastes among workers. However, the general and consistent patterns in the size-based division of labour in monomorphic ants are largely unidentified. In this study, we performed a field experiment to investigate the link between worker body size and the division of labour of the ant Lasius niger (Linnaeus, 1758), which displays limited worker size variation. We demonstrated that the body size of workers exploring tuna baits is slightly but significantly smaller than the size of workers located in the upper parts of the nest. Comparing the present results with existing studies, large workers do not seem to be dedicated to work outside the nest. We suggest that monomorphic workers of certain body sizes are flexible in the choice of task they perform, and food type may be the important determinant of this choice.

scholarly journals Weight-Related Selves and Their Relationship With Body Mass Index Among Young Individuals in Curaçao

2019 ◽  
Vol 45 (4) ◽  
pp. 306-334 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pieternel Dijkstra ◽  
Odette Van Brummen-Girigori ◽  
Dick P. H. Barelds
Keyword(s):  
Body Mass Index ◽  
Body Size ◽  
Secondary School ◽  
Body Dissatisfaction ◽  
Body Mass ◽  
Secondary School Students ◽  
The Body ◽  
School Students ◽  
Two Samples ◽  
Body Sizes

Based on the assumptions of self-discrepancy theory, the present study examined the degree of overweight, weight-related body images, and the relation between these images and body mass index (BMI) among two samples of young people from Curaçao (secondary school students, n = 176; undergraduate students, n = 205). In addition to BMI, participants reported their current, ideal, and most feared body sizes, the thinnest and largest body sizes still acceptable to them, and the body size they considered the healthiest by means of the Contour Drawing Rating Scale. We expected females to show a larger discrepancy between current and ideal body size than males (Hypothesis 1) and that this discrepancy (as an indicator of body dissatisfaction) would be related more strongly to BMI among females than among males (Hypothesis 2). Results yielded support for Hypothesis 1 among secondary school students only. Only in the undergraduate sample, BMI and body dissatisfaction were related, but equally so for males and females. Possible explanations are discussed as well as implications for weight management interventions.

Primary productivity, deoxygenation, and the Gulliver-absence effect determine bivalve body size following the end-Permian mass extinction

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Melanie Tietje ◽  
William J. Foster ◽  
Jana Gliwa ◽  
Clara Lembke ◽  
Autumn Pugh ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Ocean Circulation ◽  
Mass Extinction ◽  
The Body ◽  
Large Species ◽  
Mass Extinctions ◽  
Shell Size ◽  
Body Sizes ◽  
Permian Mass Extinction ◽  
The Impact

<p> The impact of mass extinctions on the body sizes of animals has received considerable attention and debate, as to whether the reduced size of post-extinction organisms is due to the selective extinction of large species, absence of large species as a stochastic effect of low-diversity faunas, or a size decrease within surviving genera and species. Here, we investigated the body sizes of bivalves following the end-Permian mass extinction event and show that the shell size increase of bivalve genera was driven by both evolutionary and ecophenotypic responses. First, some genera show significant increases in body size with the evolution of new species. Further, the same genera record significant within-species increases in average and maximum body size into the late Induan, indicating that ecophenotypic changes were also involved on long-term body size trends. These increases are associated with invigorated ocean circulation, improved oxygenation of the seafloor, and probably increased food supply.</p>

Reproductive patterns of European pond turtles differ between sites: a small scale scenario

2015 ◽  
Vol 36 (4) ◽  
pp. 339-349
Author(s):  
Marco A.L. Zuffi ◽  
Elena Foschi
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Egg Production ◽  
Shell Height ◽  
The Body ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Central Mediterranean ◽  
Population Structures ◽  
Body Sizes ◽  
Reproductive Females ◽  
Similar Body

From 1996 to 2002, we studied the body size, measures of reproductive strategy (relative clutch mass and delayed reproduction at sexual maturity), and reproductive output (clutch frequency and annual egg production) of female European Pond turtles,Emys orbicularis, at two sites separated by 12 km in central Mediterranean Tuscany (San Rossore and Camp Darby, central northern Italy). Females did not reproduce at the first appearance of external sexual characters, but reproduced at larger sizes, probably as older turtles. Among years, reproductive females were more common than were non-reproductive females, yet both groups had similar body sizes. Body size (carapace length and width, plastron length and width, shell height and body mass) varied between localities and among years. Body size differed between reproductive and non reproductive females in Camp Darby, but not in San Rossore females. Shell volume did not vary among years, nor between localities, nor between reproductive status. Reproductive females had higher body condition indices (BCI) than did non-reproductive females, while BCI did not differ between females laying one clutch and females laying multiple clutches. Clutch size did not vary among years. One clutch per year was much more frequent than multiple clutches, and multiple clutches were more frequent in Camp Darby than in San Rossore females, likely due to differences in population structures between sites.

scholarly journals Social selection is density dependent but makes little contribution to total selection in New Zealand giraffe weevils

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
David N Fisher ◽  
Rebecca J LeGrice ◽  
Christina J Painting
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
New Zealand ◽  
Evolutionary Change ◽  
The Body ◽  
Direct Selection ◽  
Social Selection ◽  
Density Dependent ◽  
Phenotypic Assortment ◽  
Body Sizes ◽  
Total Selection

AbstractSocial selection occurs when traits of interaction partners influence an individual’s fitness and can fundamentally alter total selection strength. Unlike for direct selection, however, we have little idea of what factors influence the strength of social selection. Further, social selection only contributes to overall selection when there is phenotypic assortment, but simultaneous estimates of social selection and phenotypic assortment are rare. Here we estimated social selection on body size in a wild population of New Zealand giraffe weevils (Lasiorhynchus barbicornis). We did this in a range of contexts and measured phenotypic assortment for both sexes. Social selection was mostly absent and not affected by sex ratio or the body size of the focal individual. However, at high densities selection was negative for both sexes, consistent with competitive interactions based on size for access to mates. Phenotypic assortment was also density dependent, flipping from positive at low densities to negative at high densities. However, it was always close to zero, indicating negative social selection at high densities will not greatly impede the evolution of larger body sizes. Despite its predicted importance, social selection may only influence evolutionary change in specific contexts, leaving direct selection as the dominant driver of evolutionary change.

scholarly journals Regression models of sonographic parameters of the kidneys in practically healthy women of the ectomorphic somatotype depending on the peculiarities of body size

2018 ◽  
pp. 53-58
Author(s):  
О. S. Ustymenko
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Regression Models ◽  
Left Kidney ◽  
The Body ◽  
Healthy Population ◽  
Scientific Cooperation ◽  
Healthy Women ◽  
Body Sizes ◽  
Length Width ◽  
The Right

The study of the constitutional features of organs in the healthy population makes it possible to find out the peculiarities of changes in their sizes in different pathologies. The purpose of the work is to construct and analyze the regression models of individual sonographic sizes of the kidneys in practically healthy women of the ectomorphic somatotype, depending on the features of anthropo-somatotypological parameters of the body. From the database of research center of the National Pirogov Memorial Medical University, Vinnytsya (within the framework of the agreement on scientific cooperation) were taken the primary sonographic parameters (length, width, front and rear size, area of the longitudinal and cross section of the kidneys and their sinuses, as well as the volume of the right and left kidneys) and anthropometric indices (according to V. V. Bunak in the modification of P. P. Shapаrenko) of practically healthy women-ectomorphs of the first mature age, who in the third generation live in the Podillia region of Ukraine. Regression models of individual sonographic sizes of the kidneys, depending on the features of anthropo-somatotypological parameters of the body, are constructed using the license package “Statistica 6.1”. In practically healthy women of the ectomorphic somatotype all 16 possible reliable regression models of sonographic parameters of the right and left kidneys, based on the anthropometric and somatotypological parameters with determination coefficient R2 from 0.607 to 0.973, were constructed. Constructed regression models of sonographic parameters of both kidneys in practically healthy women of the ectomorphic somatotype most often include body diameters (24.2% of the total number of indicators included in the models), circumferential body sizes (20.9%), cephalometric indices (19.8 %) and the thickness of skin and fat folds (14.3%). The regression models of sonographic parameters of the right kidney in women of the ectomorphic somatotype most often include diameters and circumferential body sizes (by 27.3% of the total number of indicators included to the models of right kidney) and cephalometric indices (18.2%). The regression models of the sonographic parameters of the left kidney in women of the ectomorphic somatotype most often include body diameters and cephalometric indices (by 21.3% of the total number of indices included to the models of the left kidney) and the circumferential body size and thickness of skin and fat folds (by 14.9%).

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