scholarly journals Variation in developmental rates is not linked to environmental unpredictability in annual killifishes

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. K. Rowiński ◽  
W. Sowersby ◽  
J. Näslund ◽  
S. Eckerström-Liedholm ◽  
K. Gotthard ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Incubation Temperature ◽  
Environmental Variation ◽  
Adaptive Plasticity ◽  
Bet Hedging ◽  
Egg Development ◽  
Environmental Predictability ◽  
Linear Relationships ◽  
In The Wild ◽  
Developmental Rates ◽  
Species Specific

ABSTRACTComparative evidence suggests that adaptive plasticity may evolve as a response to predictable environmental variation. However, less attention has been placed on unpredictable environmental variation, which is considered to affect evolutionary trajectories by increasing phenotypic variation (or bet-hedging). Here, we examine the occurrence of bet-hedging in egg developmental rates in seven species of annual killifish, which originate from a gradient of variation in precipitation rates, under three treatment incubation temperatures (21°C, 23°C, and 25°C). In the wild, these species survive regular and seasonal habitat desiccation, as dormant eggs buried in the soil. At the onset of the rainy season, embryos must be sufficiently developed in order to hatch and complete their life-cycle. We found substantial differences among species in both the mean and variation of egg development rates, as well as species-specific plastic responses to incubation temperature. Yet, there was no clear relationship between variation in egg development time and variation in precipitation rate (environmental predictability). The exact cause of these differences therefore remains enigmatic, possibly depending on differences in other natural environmental conditions in addition to precipitation predictability. Hence, if species-specific variances are adaptive, the relationship between development and variation in precipitation is complex, and does not diverge in accordance with simple linear relationships.

scholarly journals Seasonality and competition select for variable germination behavior in perennials

2022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hanna ten Brink ◽  
Thomas Ray Haaland ◽  
Oystein Hjorthol Opedal
Keyword(s):  
Simulation Models ◽  
Population Variation ◽  
Priority Effects ◽  
Bet Hedging ◽  
Environmental Predictability ◽  
Hedging Strategies ◽  
Unpredictable Environments ◽  
Evolutionary Simulation ◽  
Negative Frequency Dependent Selection ◽  
Germination Timing

The common occurrence of within-population variation in germination behavior and associated traits such as seed size has long fascinated evolutionary ecologists. In annuals, unpredictable environments are known to select for bet-hedging strategies causing variation in dormancy duration and germination strategies. Variation in germination timing and associated traits is also commonly observed in perennials, and often tracks gradients of environmental predictability. Although bet-hedging is thought to occur less frequently in long-lived organisms, these observations suggest a role of bet-hedging strategies in perennials occupying unpredictable environments. We use complementary numerical and evolutionary simulation models of within- and among-individual variation in germination behavior in seasonal environments to show how bet-hedging interacts with density dependence, life-history traits, and priority effects due to competitive differences among germination strategies. We reveal substantial scope for bet-hedging to produce variation in germination behavior in long-lived plants, when "false starts" to the growing season results in either competitive advantages or increased mortality risk for alternative germination strategies. Additionally, we find that two distinct germination strategies can evolve and coexist through negative frequency-dependent selection. These models extend insights from bet-hedging theory to perennials and explore how competitive communities may be affected by ongoing changes in climate and seasonality patterns.

scholarly journals The Domestication of Evolution

1983 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 283-292 ◽  
Author(s):  
Raymond P. Coppinger ◽  
Charles Kay Smith
Keyword(s):  
Life History ◽  
Sexual Maturity ◽  
Domestic Animals ◽  
Stable Environment ◽  
In The Wild ◽  
Species Specific

A coming ‘Age of Interdependent Forms’ seems destined to mark the success of what could be called ‘despecialized/interspecific fitness’ among neotenic strains (perpetuating juvenile traits) of species such as humans and domestic animals. Humans as well as the first domesticants underwent a neotenic evolution in the wild during the repeated interglacial periods which, acting on a number of mammalian forms, selected against adult species-specific ancestral adaptations to a stable environment. Neotenic species continue to look and behave more like ancestral youths than adults—even after sexual maturity and throughout their life-history. As they retain lifelong youthful dependency motivations, they can easily, under suitable conditions, become interdependent forms. By the time of melting of the last Pleistocene glacier, all the domestic partners had already become more dependency-prone than formerly, and were behaviourally despecialized enough to form the alliance that is now changing the order of Nature.

scholarly journals Transposable Elements in the Organization and Diversification of the Genome of Aegilops speltoides Tausch (Poaceae, Triticeae)

2018 ◽  
Vol 2018 ◽  
pp. 1-9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Olga Raskina
Keyword(s):  
Transposable Elements ◽  
Mobile Element ◽  
Plant Genome ◽  
Aegilops Speltoides ◽  
Genome Architecture ◽  
Different Types ◽  
In The Wild ◽  
Species Specific ◽  
Current Species

Repetitive DNA—specifically, transposable elements (TEs)—is a prevailing genomic fraction in cereals that underlies extensive genome reshuffling and intraspecific diversification in the wild. Although large amounts of data have been accumulated, the effect of TEs on the genome architecture and functioning is not fully understood. Here, plant genome organization was addressed by means of cloning and sequencing TE fragments of different types, which compose the largest portion of the Aegilops speltoides genome. Individual genotypes were analyzed cytogenetically using the cloned TE fragments as the DNA probes for fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH). The obtained TE sequences of the Ty1-copia, Ty3-gypsy, LINE, and CACTA superfamilies showed the relatedness of the Ae. speltoides genome to the Triticeae tribe and similarities to evolutionarily distant species. A significant number of clones consisted of intercalated fragments of TEs of various types, in which Fatima (Ty3-gypsy) sequences predominated. At the chromosomal level, different TE clones demonstrated sequence-specific patterning, emphasizing the effect of the TE fraction on the Ae. speltoides genome architecture and intraspecific diversification. Altogether, the obtained data highlight the current species-specific organization and patterning of the mobile element fraction and point to ancient evolutionary events in the genome of Ae. speltoides.

42 Vitrification of invitro-produced feline embryos

2020 ◽  
Vol 32 (2) ◽  
pp. 146
Author(s):  
D. Fuller ◽  
J. Herrick ◽  
J. Graham ◽  
J. Barfield
Keyword(s):  
Dimethyl Sulfoxide ◽  
Liquid Nitrogen ◽  
Room Temperature ◽  
Culture Medium ◽  
Fetal Calf Serum ◽  
Calf Serum ◽  
Epididymal Sperm ◽  
Quality Grade ◽  
Developmental Rates ◽  
Species Specific

Preservation of feline embryos is useful in propagating endangered species, preserving valuable genetics, and supporting biomedical research. Although a wide variety of cryoprotectants (CP) and protocols are successfully used for vitrification of invitro-produced (IVP) embryos, there are often species-specific differences in viability of embryos post-warming. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the viability of IVP feline embryos after vitrification using two common CPs, propanediol (PrOH) or ethylene glycol (EG). Embryos were produced with oocytes and frozen-thawed epididymal sperm collected from local spay-neuter clinics using a published IVP protocol developed for producing domestic feline embryos. Day 7 early blastocysts (stage 5), blastocysts (stage 6), and expanded blastocysts (stage 7) were evaluated for quality (grade 1 or 2) and randomly assigned to one of three treatments: vitrification with PrOH (n=32), vitrification with EG (n=31), or control (n=47), which was allowed to continue in culture until Day 8. The vitrification protocol was as follows. The base medium for all vitrification media was a HEPES-buffered feline optimized culture medium (FOCMH). Embryos were placed in 0.5mL of equilibration medium (7.5% dimethyl sulfoxide, 7.5% PrOH or EG, 0.5M sucrose, 10% Ficoll, and 20% fetal calf serum (FCS)) for 5min at room temperature. Individual embryos were then moved to 20-μL drops of vitrification medium (15% dimethyl sulfoxide, 15% PrOH or EG, 0.5M sucrose, 10% Ficoll, and 20% FCS) at room temperature for 30s before being loaded onto Cryolock devices and plunged into liquid nitrogen. Warming was done using a 3-step process for all vitrified embryos. First, embryos were moved from liquid nitrogen directly to 0.5mL of 1M sucrose, 10% Ficoll, and 20% FCS at 37°C for 1min. Next, embryos were moved to 0.5mL of 0.5M sucrose, 10% Ficoll, and 20% FCS at 20°C for 3min. Finally, embryos were transferred to 0.5mL of FOCMH for 5min at 37°C. All warmed embryos were cultured in medium, optimized for feline embryos, with 5% FCS and evaluated for re-expansion of the blastocoele and progression in development at 24 and 48h. Results are from five replicates. Embryos vitrified in EG exhibited higher percentages of viable embryos 24h after warming (84%) than embryos vitrified in PrOH (59%; P<0.05). The continued embryonic growth of viable embryos after culture for 48h showed equivalent developmental rates, at 87, 96, and 100% for control, EG-treated, and PrOH-treated embryos, respectively (P>0.05). Results indicate EG is a more successful CP treatment for vitrification of feline embryos when evaluating viability 24h post-warming. We report a higher viability of embryos post-thaw than previous studies using the same CPs (Pope et al. 2012 Reprod. Domest. Anim. 47, 125). This may be due to the shorter exposure time to the CPs we used during the vitrification process. We conclude that EG and PrOH are effective CPs for Day 7 feline IVP embryos using this protocol. Further research is needed to increase treatment numbers and evaluate pregnancy rates from embryos transferred post-warming.

scholarly journals Assessing the Psychological Priorities for Optimising Captive Asian Elephant (Elephas maximus) Welfare

Animals ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 39 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jake Stuart Veasey
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Processes ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Asian Elephant ◽  
Evolutionary Significance ◽  
Identification System ◽  
Asian Elephants ◽  
In Captivity ◽  
In The Wild ◽  
Human Care ◽  
Species Specific

The welfare status of elephants under human care has been a contentious issue for two decades or more in numerous western countries. Much effort has gone into assessing the welfare of captive elephants at individual and population levels with little consensus having been achieved in relation to both the welfare requirements of captive elephants, or their absolute welfare status. A methodology capable of identifying the psychological priorities of elephants would greatly assist in both managing and assessing captive elephant welfare. Here, a Delphi-based Animal Welfare Priority Identification System© (APWIS©) is trialled to evaluate the reliability of the methodology and to determine the welfare significance of individual behaviours and cognitive processes for Asian elephants (Elaphus maximus). APWIS© examines the motivational characteristics, evolutionary significance and established welfare impacts of individual behaviours and cognitive processes of each species being assessed. The assessment carried out here indicates appetitive behaviours essential for survival in the wild, together species-specific social and cognitive opportunities are likely to be important to the welfare of Asian elephant in captivity. The output of this assessment, for the first time, provides comprehensive species-specific psychological/welfare priorities for Asian elephants that should be used to inform husbandry guidelines, habitat design and management strategies and can also provide a valuable reference tool for Asian elephant welfare assessment. The effective application of these insights could lead to substantive improvements in captive Asian elephant welfare.

A TEMPERATURE-DEPENDENT MODEL OF EGG DEVELOPMENT OF THE WESTERN CORN ROOTWORM, DIABROTICA VIRGIFERA VIRGIFERA LECONTE (COLEOPTERA: CHRYSOMELIDAE)

1991 ◽  
Vol 123 (6) ◽  
pp. 1183-1197 ◽  
Author(s):  
A.W. Schaafsma ◽  
G.H. Whitfield ◽  
C.R. Ellis
Keyword(s):  
Simulation Model ◽  
Diabrotica Virgifera Virgifera ◽  
Base Temperature ◽  
Diabrotica Virgifera ◽  
Degree Days ◽  
Egg Development ◽  
Egg Hatch ◽  
Developmental Threshold ◽  
Soil Temperatures ◽  
Developmental Rates

AbstractDevelopmental rates of post-diapause eggs of Diabrotica virgifera virgifera LeConte were compared in the laboratory at six constant temperatures, 12, 16, 20, 24, 28, and 32°C. Linear and nonlinear models were fitted to temperature versus developmental data and were used to predict egg hatch in the field. A four-parameter model fitted to median developmental rates (r2 = 0.99) indicated that development was linear between 16 and 28°C, optimal at 28°C, and decreased at 32°C. The lower development threshold (± SE) (10.5 ± 0.1°C) was determined by linear regression and the x-intercept method. Completion of post-diapause egg development required 258 ± 3 degree-days (± SE) above the base temperature. This compared well with the mean degree-days accumulated to 50% hatch (± SE) of 265 ± 24 which we observed in the field at several locations over 3 years using a degree-day model incorporating an 11°C developmental threshold and soil temperatures at 5- and 10-cm depths. A stochastic simulation model, incorporating a nonlinear developmental function dependant on soil temperatures taken every 2 h also predicted 50% hatch within 2 days. This model was validated in the field with 19 independent records of soil temperatures for several locations at two depths in the soil over 3 years. The simulation model accurately predicted time of 5 and 95% hatch, which indicates that this model has broad application in predicting the pattern of egg hatch for pest management.

Development of a diagnostic molecular marker for Philonema spp. (Nematoda; Dracunculoidea) infecting salmonids in British Columbia

1995 ◽  
Vol 52 (S1) ◽  
pp. 129-133 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. Després ◽  
M.L. Adamson ◽  
T.E. McDonald
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
Sockeye Salmon ◽  
Pcr Amplification ◽  
Base Substitution ◽  
Rainbow Trout Oncorhynchus Mykiss ◽  
Nematode Parasites ◽  
Rdna Sequences ◽  
Morphological Criteria ◽  
In The Wild ◽  
Species Specific

We developed a species specific DNA probe based on differential PCR amplification that distinguishes two congeneric nematode parasites of salmonids in British Columbia: Philonema agubernaculum Simon and Simon, 1936, usually parasitic in lake resident rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss; and P. oncorhynchi Kuitunen-Ekbaum, 1933, parasitic in anadromous sockeye salmon, O. nerka. The region differentially amplified was the D3 expansion domain of the 28S rDNA. Sequences of the two species differ in two parts of the domain, one a single base substitution and the other a three base duplication in P. oncorhynchi. A primer specific to P. oncorhynchi (amplifying P. oncorhynchi, not P. agubernaculum) was defined in the duplication region. Using differential amplification, we showed that sockeye smolts are infected with P. agubernaculum, although returning adults harbour only P. oncorhynchi. This technique could conceivably be used to quantify the frequency of heterologous infections in the wild, before infecting worms are identifiable at the species level based on morphological criteria.

scholarly journals Incubation under climate warming affects learning ability and survival in hatchling lizards

2017 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 20170002 ◽  
Author(s):  
Buddhi Dayananda ◽  
Jonathan K. Webb
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Learning ◽  
Climate Warming ◽  
Cognitive Abilities ◽  
Incubation Temperature ◽  
Learning Ability ◽  
Lizard Species ◽  
Southeastern Australia ◽  
Temperature Regimes ◽  
In The Wild ◽  
Incubation Temperatures

Despite compelling evidence for substantial individual differences in cognitive performance, it is unclear whether cognitive ability influences fitness of wild animals. In many animals, environmental stressors experienced in utero can produce substantial variation in the cognitive abilities of offspring. In reptiles, incubation temperatures experienced by embryos can influence hatchling brain function and learning ability. Under climate warming, the eggs of some lizard species may experience higher temperatures, which could affect the cognitive abilities of hatchlings. Whether such changes in cognitive abilities influence the survival of hatchlings is unknown. To determine whether incubation-induced changes in spatial learning ability affect hatchling survival, we incubated velvet gecko, Amalosia lesueurii , eggs using two fluctuating temperature regimes to mimic current (cold) versus future (hot) nest temperatures. We measured the spatial learning ability of hatchlings from each treatment, and released individually marked animals at two field sites in southeastern Australia. Hatchlings from hot-incubated eggs were slower learners than hatchlings from cold-incubated eggs. Survival analyses revealed that hatchlings with higher learning scores had higher survival than hatchlings with poor learning scores. Our results show that incubation temperature affects spatial learning ability in hatchling lizards, and that such changes can influence the survival of hatchlings in the wild.

BIONOMICS OF THE ALFALFA BLOTCH LEAFMINER, AGROMYZA FRONTELLA (DIPTERA: AGROMYZIDAE), IN EASTERN ONTARIO

1981 ◽  
Vol 113 (7) ◽  
pp. 593-600 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. C. Guppy
Keyword(s):  
Lower Epidermis ◽  
Thermal Requirements ◽  
Linear Relationships ◽  
Developmental Rates ◽  
Eastern Ontario ◽  
Highly Correlated ◽  
Alfalfa Blotch Leafminer ◽  
Agromyza Frontella

AbstractThe alfalfa blotch leafminer, Agromyza frontella (Rondani), typically develops through three complete generations a year. It overwinters as a partially developed pupa that completes its development in mid-May. Three distinct adult flight periods occur: mid-May to mid-June, late June to late July, and early to late August. Eggs are deposited singly in alfalfa leaflets beneath the lower epidermis and on hatching, the larvae move toward the upper leaflet surface where they feed on the mesophyll and develop through three instars to form blotch mines, each representing about 27% of the leaflet area. The mature larvae emerge from the mines and drop to the soil to form light brown puparia, mainly in the top 2.5 cm of soil.Duration of each stage decreased with rise in temperature up to 25° but none of the stages survived 30°C. Developmental rates plotted against temperature gave highly correlated linear relationships for all stages. The theoretical threshold for the egg, larva, and pupa was 7°, 3°, and 4°C, respectively; thermal requirements for these stages were 55, 123, and 333°D, respectively.Survival of the larvae was higher in leaflets with solitary mines than in those with multiple mines; only 25% of the leaflets with two mines gave rise to two mature larvae. Three larvae seldom survived in a single leaflet.

An intergeneric hybrid in the family Phocoenidae

1998 ◽  
Vol 76 (1) ◽  
pp. 198-204 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robin W Baird ◽  
Pamela M Willis ◽  
Tamara J Guenther ◽  
Paul J Wilson ◽  
Bradley N White
Keyword(s):  
Dna Sequences ◽  
Parental Species ◽  
Intergeneric Hybrid ◽  
Harbour Porpoise ◽  
Colour Pattern ◽  
Phocoena Phocoena ◽  
Female Fetus ◽  
The Family ◽  
In The Wild ◽  
Species Specific

A 60-cm female fetus recovered from a Dall's porpoise (Phocoenoides dalli) found dead in southern British Columbia was fathered by a harbour porpoise (Phocoena phocoena). This is the first report of a hybrid within the family Phocoenidae and one of the first well-documented cases of cetacean hybridization in the wild. In several morphological features, the hybrid was either intermediate between the parental species (e.g., vertebral count) or more similar to the harbour porpoise than to the Dall's porpoise (e.g., colour pattern, relative position of the flipper, dorsal fin height). The fetal colour pattern (with a clear mouth-to-flipper stripe, as is found in the harbour porpoise) is similar to that reported for a fetus recovered from a Dall's porpoise to off California. Hybrid status was confirmed through genetic analysis, with species-specific repetitive DNA sequences of both the harbour and Dall's porpoise being found in the fetus. Atypically pigmented porpoises (usually traveling with and behaving like Dall's porpoises) are regularly observed in the area around southern Vancouver Island. We suggest that these abnormally pigmented animals, as well as the previously noted fetus from California, may also represent hybridization events.

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