scholarly journals Absence of general rules governing molluscan body-size response to climatic fluctuation during Cenozoic

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Debarati Chattopadhyay ◽  
Devapriya Chattopadhyay

AbstractBody size is a key factor in dictating the fate of interaction between an organism and its surrounding environment. A negative temperature-size relationship (TSR) has been suggested as one of the universal responses to climatic warming. It is also predicted that groups with narrow latitudinal range, tropical affinity and higher body size, would show higher sensitivity to climatic fluctuation. Moreover, because of the difference in thermal sensitivity, it is also expected that the response to climatic fluctuation would be different between epifaunal and infaunal groups. To confirm the generality of these relationship among marine families, we compiled the relationship between body-size and global temperature trends over Cenozoic using a database of marine benthic molluscs of class gastropoda and bivalvia resolved to temporal stages. We evaluated the dependence of climate induced body-size response to the existing size and latitudinal spread via correlating the first-difference correlation coefficient of temperature-size (ρ1st(size-temp)) with maximum size and latitudinal spread of family respectively. Cenozoic record of this highly diverse group does not show any signature of TSR for molluscan class or for any other regional, ecological groups during the past 66My long climatic fluctuation. We did not find any evidence supporting heightened response to climatic fluctuation in groups with limited latitudinal spread or with large body-size. The tropical species did not show significant difference in their body-size response in comparison to temperate species. It also shows lack of any difference in response between ecological groups of molluscs with varying substrate relationship and hence, refutes the predicted variation due to difference in thermal specialization. Although a negative correlation between maximum latitudinal spread and ρ1st(size-temp)is observed for infaunal families, it is not statistically significant. Our results highlight the limited validity of “universal rules” in explaining the climate induced morphological response of marine communities in deep time and underscores the complexity in generalizing the biotic outcome of future climatic fluctuation.

2001 ◽  
Vol 170 (2) ◽  
pp. 479-484 ◽  
Author(s):  
RP Favier ◽  
JA Mol ◽  
HS Kooistra ◽  
A Rijnberk

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.


2020 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
pp. 278-283
Author(s):  
S.G. Ermilov

The oribatid mite subgenus Scheloribates (Topobates) Grandjean, 1958, is recorded from the Neotropical region for the first time. A new species of this subgenus is described from the leaf litter collected in Cayo Agua Island, Panama. Scheloribates (Topobates) panamaensis sp. nov. differs from its related species by the very large body size and presence of a strong ventrodistal process on the leg femora II–IV.


2013 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 143
Author(s):  
Petrus P Letsoin ◽  
Henneke Pangkey ◽  
Julius Sampekalo ◽  
Inneke F.M Rumengan ◽  
Stenly Wullur ◽  
...  

The rotifer Brachionus rotundiformis (total body length 240.59±10.24 μm, lorica length 175.28±9.18 μm, and lorica width 124.28±7.76μm) is commonly used as starter food in the larval rearing of marine fish. But, larvae of some marine tropical fish species required starter food with body size smaller than B. rotundiformis. The present study was aimed to isolate minute rotifers from nature and to assess the possibility of culturing these rotifers. Sampling of rotifers was conducted in an estuary of Mangket (Kema-Minut), using plankton net (mesh size 40 µm). A trial of culturing the rotifers was conducted at salinities of 10, 20 and 30 ppt by using a microalga, Nannochloropsis oculata. A species of rotifer identified as Colurella sp. (family Lepadellidae) was successfully isolated from the sampling location. Body size of Colurella sp. was extremely small (Total length 123.22±5.45 μm, lorica length 95.96±3.81 μm, and lorica width 53.57±3.11 μm), which were smaller than Brachionus rotundiformis SS-type as a conventional starter food for marine fish larvae.  Results of culturing the minute rotifer Colurella sp. showed that the species grew well at salinities of 10, 20 and 30 ppt with no significant difference among treatments (ANOVA, p>0.05), indicating a potential use of minute rotifer Colurellasp. as starter food for marine fish larvae. Rotifera Branchionus rotundiformis (ukuran tubuh: panjang total 240,59±10,24 μm, panjang lorika 175,28±9,18 μm, dan lebar lorika 124,28±7,76μm) sering digunakan sebagai pakan awal pemeliharaan larva ikan laut. Namun, larva beberapa spesis ikan laut tropis membutuhkan pakan awal berukuran tubuh lebih kecil dari Branchionus rotundiformis. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mendapatkan minute rotifer dari alam (berukuran tubuh lebih kecil dari B. rotundiformis) dan menguji kemungkinan pemeliharaannya. Sampling rotifer dilakukan di perairan estuari Desa Mangket (Kema-Minut), menggunakan plankton net (ukuran mata jaring 40 µm). Uji coba pemeliharaan dilakukan pada salinitas (10, 20, dan 30 ppt) dengan menggunakan Nannochloropsis oculata. Satu spesies minute rotifer yang teridentifikasi sebagai Colurella sp. (family Lepadellidae) berhasil diisolasi dari lokasi sampling. Colurella sp. memiliki ukuran tubuh sangat kecil (panjang total [PT] 123,22±5,45 µm, panjang lorika [PL] 95,96±3,81 µm, dan lebar lorik [LL] 53,57±3,11 µm) yang mana lebih kecil dari Branchionus rotundiformis tipe-SS sebagai pakan awal larva ikan laut. Hasil uji coba pemeliharaan minute rotifer Colurella sp. menunjukkan bahwa spesis ini dapat tumbuh pada salinitas 10, 20, dan 30 ppt dengan perbedaan kepadatan populasi yang tidak signifikan antar perlakuan (Uji ANOVA, p > 0.05) mengindikasikan potensi pemanfaatan minute rotifer Colurella sp. sebagai pakan awal larva ikan laut.


Animals ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (11) ◽  
pp. 2053
Author(s):  
Junsong Shi ◽  
Baohua Tan ◽  
Lvhua Luo ◽  
Zicong Li ◽  
Linjun Hong ◽  
...  

How to maximize the use of the genetic merits of the high-ranking boars (also called superior ones) is a considerable question in the pig breeding industry, considering the money and time spent on selection. Somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) is one of the potential ways to answer the question, which can be applied to produce clones with genetic resources of superior boar for the production of commercial pigs. For practical application, it is essential to investigate whether the clones and their progeny keep behaving better than the “normal boars”, considering that in vitro culture and transfer manipulation would cause a series of harmful effects to the development of clones. In this study, 59,061 cloned embryos were transferred into 250 recipient sows to produce the clones of superior Pietrain boars. The growth performance of 12 clones and 36 non-clones and the semen quality of 19 clones and 28 non-clones were compared. The reproductive performance of 21 clones and 25 non-clones were also tested. Furthermore, we made a comparison in the growth performance between 466 progeny of the clones and 822 progeny of the non-clones. Our results showed that no significant difference in semen quality and reproductive performance was observed between the clones and the non-clones, although the clones grew slower and exhibited smaller body size than the non-clones. The F1 progeny of the clones showed a greater growth rate than the non-clones. Our results demonstrated through the large animal population showed that SCNT manipulation resulted in a low growth rate and small body size, but the clones could normally produce F1 progeny with excellent growth traits to bring more economic benefits. Therefore, SCNT could be effective in enlarging the merit genetics of the superior boars and increasing the economic benefits in pig reproduction and breeding.


Author(s):  
Ricardo Wilches ◽  
William H Beluch ◽  
Ellen McConnell ◽  
Diethard Tautz ◽  
Yingguang Frank Chan

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.


PLoS ONE ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. e3876 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Jaco Klok ◽  
Jon F. Harrison

2011 ◽  
Vol 2011 ◽  
pp. 1-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adam Hartstone-Rose ◽  
Jonathan M. G. Perry

In a recent study, we quantified the scaling of ingested food size (Vb )—the maximum size at which an animal consistently ingests food whole—and found that Vb scaled isometrically between species of captive strepsirrhines. The current study examines the relationship between Vb and body size within species with a focus on the frugivorous Varecia rubra and the folivorous Propithecus coquereli. We found no overlap in Vb between the species (all V. rubra ingested larger pieces of food relative to those eaten by P. coquereli), and least-squares regression of Vb and three different measures of body mass showed no scaling relationship within each species. We believe that this lack of relationship results from the relatively narrow intraspecific body size variation and seemingly patternless individual variation in Vb within species and take this study as further evidence that general scaling questions are best examined interspecifically rather than intraspecifically.


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