scholarly journals Time flies: time of day and social environment affect cuticular hydrocarbon sexual displays in Drosophila serrata

2014 ◽  
Vol 281 (1792) ◽  
pp. 20140821 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susan N. Gershman ◽  
Ethan Toumishey ◽  
Howard D. Rundle

Recent work on Drosophila cuticular hydrocarbons (CHCs) challenges a historical assumption that CHCs in flies are largely invariant. Here, we examine the effect of time of day and social environment on a suite of sexually selected CHCs in Drosophila serrata . We demonstrate that males become more attractive to females during the time of day that flies are most active and when most matings occur, but females become less attractive to males during the same time of day. These opposing temporal changes may reflect differences in selection among the sexes. To evaluate the effect of social environment on male CHC attractiveness, we manipulated male opportunity for mating: male flies were housed either alone, with five females, with five males or with five males and five females. We found that males had the most attractive CHCs when with females, and less attractive CHCs when with competitor males. Social environment mediated how male CHC attractiveness cycled: males housed with females and/or other males showed temporal changes in CHC attractiveness, whereas males housed alone did not. In total, our results demonstrate temporal patterning of male CHCs that is dependent on social environment, and suggest that such changes may be beneficial to males.

2012 ◽  
Vol 102 (6) ◽  
pp. 624-631 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Gemeno ◽  
N. Laserna ◽  
M. Riba ◽  
J. Valls ◽  
C. Castañé ◽  
...  

AbstractMacrolophus pygmaeus is commercially employed in the biological control of greenhouse and field vegetable pests. It is morphologically undistinguishable from the cryptic species M. melanotoma, and this interferes with the evaluation of the biological control activity of M. pygmaeus. We analysed the potential of cuticular hydrocarbon composition as a method to discriminate the two Macrolophus species. A third species, M. costalis, which is different from the other two species by having a dark spot at the tip of the scutellum, served as a control. Sex, diet and species, all had significant effects in the cuticular hydrocarbon profiles, but the variability associated to sex or diet was smaller than among species. Discriminant quadratic analysis of cuticular hydrocarbons confirmed the results of previous molecular genetic studies and showed, using cross-validation methods, that M. pygmaeus can be discriminated from M. costalis and M. melanotoma with prediction errors of 6.75% and 0%, respectively. Therefore, cuticular hydrocarbons can be used to separate M. pygmaeus from M. melanotoma reliably.


1985 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 335-348
Author(s):  
James A. Robins

Recent work on organizational ecology has helped to clarify the discussion of organiza tion-environment relations by providing a precise analytical distinction between the organization and its environment. However, the clarity of the distinction also exposes serious problems in the population perspective on organizations. The fact that ecology has been wedded to evolutionism cripples it in dealing with some of the central issues of organizational analysis. This paper looks at ways in which the precision of ecology may be combined with social and economic theories other than evolutionism to provide a powerful analysis of the organization in its social environment. Neoclassical economics serves as a model for the sort of theory that can be used to replace evolutionism. The paper concludes by examining the underlying axiomatic structure of neoclassical economics and outlining the general logic required to link ecological and social theories for the purposes of organizational analysis.


1994 ◽  
Vol 72 (1) ◽  
pp. 38-42 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark Ciceran ◽  
Anne-Marie Murray ◽  
Gareth Rowell

Genetic and environmental sources of variation in the temporal patterning of song structure may be important variables influencing male field cricket reproductive success. Song structure in both field and laboratory populations of Gryllus pennsylvanicus was examined to assess possible sources of variation. Factors examined included temperature, male age, body mass, time of day, and male spacing patterns. Temperature was positively correlated with pulse rate and negatively correlated with interchirp interval for both field and laboratory populations. Temperature was negatively correlated with chirp duration only in the field population. Calling song structure did not vary with male age or mass. Time of day had a significant effect on the song parameters examined, even when data were corrected for temperature differences. Males calling in the morning had faster pulse rates and shorter chirp durations than males recorded at night time. Male spacing patterns also influenced calling; isolated males had longer intervals between consecutive chirps than clumped males. Data are discussed in terms of acoustical competition between males and female choice.


1989 ◽  
Vol 15 (7) ◽  
pp. 2115-2125 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert K. vander Meer ◽  
David Saliwanchik ◽  
Barry Lavine

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adam R. Reddiex ◽  
Scott L. Allen ◽  
Stephen F. Chenoweth

AbstractHere we describe a collection of re-sequenced inbred lines of Drosophila serrata, sampled from a natural population situated deep within the species endemic distribution in Brisbane, Australia. D. serrata is a member of the speciose montium group whose members inhabit much of south east Asia and has been well studied for aspects of climatic adaptation, sexual selection, sexual dimorphism, and mate recognition. We sequenced 110 lines that were inbred via 17-20 generations of full-sib mating at an average coverage of 23.5x with paired-end Illumina reads. 15,228,692 biallelic SNPs passed quality control after being called using the Joint Genotyper for Inbred Lines (JGIL). Inbreeding was highly effective and the average levels of residual heterozygosity (0.86%) were well below theoretical expectations. As expected, linkage disequilibrium decayed rapidly, with r2 dropping below 0.1 within 100 base pairs. With the exception of four closely related pairs of lines which may have been due to technical errors, there was no statistical support for population substructure. Consistent with other endemic populations of other Drosophila species, preliminary population genetic analyses revealed high nucleotide diversity and, on average, negative Tajima’s D values. A preliminary GWAS was performed on a cuticular hydrocarbon trait, 2-MeC28 revealing 4 SNPs passing Bonferroni significance residing in or near genes. One gene Cht9 may be involved in the transport of CHCs from the site of production (oenocytes) to the cuticle. Our panel will facilitate broader population genomic and quantitative genetic studies of this species and serve as an important complement to existing D. melanogaster panels that can be used to test for the conservation of genetic architectures across the Drosophila genus.


Author(s):  
Martin A. Satrio ◽  
Madeline R. Diedrichsen ◽  
Michael C. Coniglio ◽  
Sean Waugh

Abstract In this study, we present a climatology of observed cell mergers along the paths of 342 discrete, right-moving supercells and their association with temporal changes in low-level mesocyclone strength (measured using azimuthal shear). Nearly half of the examined supercells experience at least one cell merger. The frequency of cell merger occurrence varies somewhat by geographical region and the time of day. No general relationship exists between cell merger occurrence and temporal changes in low-level azimuthal shear; this corroborates prior studies in showing that the outcome of a merger is probably sensitive to storm-scale and environmental details not captured in this study. Interestingly, we find a significant inverse relationship between pre-merger azimuthal shear and the subsequent temporal evolution of azimuthal shear. In other words, stronger low-level mesocyclones are more likely to weaken after cell mergers, and weaker low-level mesocyclones are more likely to strengthen. We also show that shorter-duration cell merger “events” (comprised of multiple individual mergers) are more likely to be associated with a steady or weakening low-level mesocyclone, while longer-duration cell merger events (3–4 individual mergers) are more likely to be associated with a strengthening low-level mesocyclone. These findings suggest what physical processes may influence the outcome of a merger in different scenarios and that the impact of these processes on low-level mesocyclone strength may change depending on storm maturity. We establish a baseline understanding of the supercell-cell merger climatology and highlight areas for future research in how to better anticipate the outcomes of cell mergers.


1993 ◽  
Vol 71 (6) ◽  
pp. 1175-1181 ◽  
Author(s):  
Taoufiq Benziane ◽  
Mireille Campan

Isolated rearing (during the first gonadotropic cycle) was found to modify physiological variables (gonadotropic development, cuticular hydrocarbon production) as well as behavioral modalities of the courtship of male and female Calliphora vomitoria. In males, slower development and a decrease in the volume of the testes and the annex glands were noticed; in females, there was only a reduction in the volume of the terminal follicle without modification of the rate of growth. In contrast, cuticular hydrocarbon production was more disturbed in the female than in the male. Isolated rearing of males did not change either the number or the relative proportions and concentrations of cuticular hydrocarbons. In females, isolation was accompanied by a slight increase in both the relative proportions of cuticular hydrocarbons, namely monomethyalkanes, dimethylalkanes, and alkenes, and the concentrations of all hydrocarbons. Finally, isolated rearing was found to modify the sexual behavior of both partners. Isolated males showed later and scarcer sexual behavior than grouped males. They courted females later and more briefly, with lower frequencies and shorter durations of each stage of courtship; therefore, courtship was reduced with many interruptions. Isolated females appeared more permissive, with lower frequencies and durations of the stages of courtship, and shorter courtship. These differences were emphasized when both partners were reared in isolation. The lack of exchanges during imaginal development led, owing to lack of exercise and (or) nervous maturation, to sex-specific alterations: decreased gonadotropic development in males, modified cuticular hydrocarbon production in females, and reduced sexual behavior in both sexes.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Pierre-André Eyer ◽  
Jared Salin ◽  
Anjel M. Helms ◽  
Edward L. Vargo

AbstractThe production of royal pheromones by reproductives (queens and kings) enables social insect colonies to allocate individuals into reproductive and non-reproductive roles. In many termite species, nestmates can develop into neotenics when the primary king or queen dies, which then inhibit the production of additional reproductives. This suggests that primary reproductives and neotenics produce royal pheromones. The cuticular hydrocarbon heneicosane was identified as a royal pheromone in Reticulitermes flavipes neotenics. Here, we investigated the presence of this and other cuticular hydrocarbons in primary reproductives and neotenics of this species, and the ontogeny of their production in primary reproductives. Our results revealed that heneicosane was produced by most neotenics, raising the question of whether reproductive status may trigger its production. Neotenics produced six additional cuticular hydrocarbons absent from workers and nymphs. Remarkably, heneicosane and four of these compounds were absent in primary reproductives, and the other two compounds were present in lower quantities. Neotenics therefore have a distinct ‘royal’ blend from primary reproductives, and potentially over-signal their reproductive status. Our results suggest that primary reproductives and neotenics may face different social pressures. Future studies of these pressures should provide a more complete understanding of the mechanisms underlying social regulation in termites.


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