Observations on soil haptorid ciliates (Protozoa, Ciliophora) from Slovakia

Biologia ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 62 (6) ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Vďačný ◽  
Eva Tirjaková
Keyword(s):  
Fine Structure ◽  
Body Size ◽  
Central Europe ◽  
Pair Formation ◽  
Slovak Population ◽  
Biogeographic Region ◽  
Terrestrial Habitats ◽  
Protozoa Ciliophora ◽  
Morphology And Morphometry ◽  
Shape And Size

AbstractThe morphology and morphometry of five soil haptorid ciliates (Apospathidium terricola, Diplites telmatobius, Armatoenchelys geleii, Paraenchelys terricola, and Spathidium aciculare), collected from a variety of terrestrial habitats in Slovakia (Central Europe), were investigated using live observation and protargol impregnation. Emphasis was given on the ciliary pattern, the fine structure of dorsal brush, as well as the shape and size of the extrusomes. The Slovak specimens of A. geleii differ considerably from other populations investigated in detail by body size and micronuclei number. Furthermore, the most important difference concerns the number of dorsal brush rows (4 vs. 3). Therefore, it was decided to establish a new subspecies, namely Armatoenchelys geleii barborae ssp. n., for the Slovak population. Shape and nuclear variants of A. terricola and P. terricola are presented and morphometrically characterized. Novel details on the dorsal brush structure of A. terricola and D. telmatobius are reported. Pair formation and exconjugant nuclear reconstruction in P. terricola are described. Two species, namely A. terricola and S. aciculare, are first records for the Holoarctic biogeographic region.

Four small-celled Planothidium species from Central Europe proposed as new to science

2014 ◽  
Vol 43 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Małgorzata Bąk ◽  
Horst Lange-Bertalot
Keyword(s):  
Fine Structure ◽  
Central Europe ◽  
North Sea ◽  
The Baltic Sea ◽  
Electron Microscopic ◽  
New Name ◽  
The North ◽  
Rivers And Lakes ◽  
The North Sea ◽  
The Baltic

AbstractFour small-celled taxa are presented and described — Planothidium werumianum, P. pumilum, P. rhombiculum and P. rostratoholarcticum. Planothidium werumianum, P. pumilum and P. rhombiculum are proposed as new to science and P. rostratoholarcticum as a new name for Achnanthes lanceolata var. rostrata Hustedt 1911. The latter, coming from Germany, is transferred to Planothidium in the species rank. The new name — P. rostratoholarcticum — is necessary to avoid a junior homonym, i.e., Planothidium rostratum (Østrup) Lange-Bertalot 1999, a species described from tropical Thailand. The new taxa were compared to several other, more or less similar small-celled Planothidium spp., such as P. rostratum (Østrup) Lange-Bertalot, P. minutissimum (Krasske) Lange-Bertalot, P. granum (Hohn & Hellerman) Lange-Bertalot, P. daui (Foged) Lange-Bertalot, P. frequentissimum (Lange-Bertalot) Lange-Bertalot and P. engelbrechtii (Cholnoky) Round & Bukhtiyarova. Significant differences could be found through light- and electron microscopic fine structure analysis. Planothidium pumilum and P. rostratoholarcticum occur mainly in eutrophic alkaline rivers and lakes with medium to high conductivity, likewise in estuaries, lagoons, and backwater of the North Sea and the Baltic Sea. Planothidium werumianum and P. rhombiculum were found in small carbonate-rich rivers originating from medium altitude mountains.

Breeding of the toad Bufo verrucosissimus: sexual dimorphism and shifting spawning sites

1994 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 191-198 ◽  
Author(s):  
David N. Tarkhnishvili
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Sexual Dimorphism ◽  
Site Fidelity ◽  
Inverse Correlation ◽  
Pair Formation ◽  
Mountain Forests ◽  
Reproductive Tactics ◽  
Breeding Sites ◽  
Toad Bufo ◽  
Spawning Sites

AbstractThe Colchic toad (Bufo verrucosissimus) inhabits wet mountain forests of Caucasia and breeds in small and unstable slow streams and seepage pools. Pair formation usually takes place on land. Amplexing couples search for new breeding sites every year; there is little site fidelity. Active searching for breeding sites is facilititated by the small size of males; the species is highly dimorphic, males having a mean body length of 70-85 mm, females a length of 100-130 mm. If a larger, more permanent water body appears in a region, reproductive tactics change and males wait for females around the pond. These generalizations are supported by data collected from 1989-1993. There was an inverse correlation between body size of females and males in amplexing pairs.

Testing models of biological scaling with mammalian population densities

2003 ◽  
Vol 81 (5) ◽  
pp. 844-851 ◽  
Author(s):  
F Stephen Dobson ◽  
Bertram Zinner ◽  
Marina Silva
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Body Mass ◽  
Mammalian Species ◽  
Fractal Dimensions ◽  
Scaling Exponent ◽  
Population Densities ◽  
Biological Variables ◽  
Terrestrial Habitats ◽  
Broad Variety ◽  
The Relationship

Two hypotheses have been suggested to explain the form of interspecific scaling of organismal characteristics to body size, such as the well-known increase in total metabolism with body mass. A hypothesis based on simple Euclidean geometry suggests that the scaling of many biological variables to body size should have a scaling exponent of 2/3, or [Formula: see text]0.667. On the other hand, according to a hypothesis based on fractal dimensions, the relationship between biological variables and body mass should have a scaling exponent of 0.750. We conducted a power analysis of the predicted exponents of scaling under the Euclidean and fractal hypotheses, using average adult body masses and population densities collected from the published literature on mammalian species. The collected data reflect 987 mammal populations from a broad variety of terrestrial habitats. Using statistical methods we determined the sample sizes required to decide between the values of the scaling exponent of the density-to-mass relationship based on the Euclidean (–0.667) and fractal (–0.750) hypotheses. Non-linearities in the dataset and insufficient power plagued our tests of the predictions. We found that mammalian species weighing less than 100 kg had a linear scaling pattern, sufficient power to reveal a difference between the scaling coefficients –0.667 and –0.750, and an actual scaling coefficient of –0.719 (barely significantly different from –0.667 but not from –0.750). Thus, our results support the fractal hypothesis, though the support was not particularly strong, which suggests that the relationship between body mass and population density should have a scaling exponent of –0.750.

scholarly journals Monogenean anchor morphometry: systematic value, phylogenetic signal, and evolution

PeerJ ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
pp. e1668 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tsung Fei Khang ◽  
Oi Yoon Michelle Soo ◽  
Wooi Boon Tan ◽  
Lee Hong Susan Lim
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Phylogenetic Signal ◽  
R Package ◽  
Copulatory Organ ◽  
Morphological Integration ◽  
28S Rrna ◽  
Morphometric Data ◽  
Geometric Morphometric ◽  
Shape Data ◽  
Shape And Size

Background.Anchors are one of the important attachment appendages for monogenean parasites. Common descent and evolutionary processes have left their mark on anchor morphometry, in the form of patterns of shape and size variation useful for systematic and evolutionary studies. When combined with morphological and molecular data, analysis of anchor morphometry can potentially answer a wide range of biological questions.Materials and Methods.We used data from anchor morphometry, body size and morphology of 13Ligophorus(Monogenea: Ancyrocephalidae) species infecting two marine mugilid (Teleostei: Mugilidae) fish hosts:Moolgarda buchanani(Bleeker) andLiza subviridis(Valenciennes) from Malaysia. Anchor shape and size data (n= 530) were generated using methods of geometric morphometrics. We used 28S rRNA, 18S rRNA, and ITS1 sequence data to infer a maximum likelihood phylogeny. We discriminated species using principal component and cluster analysis of shape data. Adams’sKmultwas used to detect phylogenetic signal in anchor shape. Phylogeny-correlated size and shape changes were investigated using continuous character mapping and directional statistics, respectively. We assessed morphological constraints in anchor morphometry using phylogenetic regression of anchor shape against body size and anchor size. Anchor morphological integration was studied using partial least squares method. The association between copulatory organ morphology and anchor shape and size in phylomorphospace was used to test the Rohde-Hobbs hypothesis. We created monogeneaGM, a new R package that integrates analyses of monogenean anchor geometric morphometric data with morphological and phylogenetic data.Results.We discriminated 12 of the 13Ligophorusspecies using anchor shape data. Significant phylogenetic signal was detected in anchor shape. Thus, we discovered new morphological characters based on anchor shaft shape, the length between the inner root point and the outer root point, and the length between the inner root point and the dent point. The species onM. buchananievolved larger, more robust anchors; those onL. subviridisevolved smaller, more delicate anchors. Anchor shape and size were significantly correlated, suggesting constraints in anchor evolution. Tight integration between the root and the point compartments within anchors confirms the anchor as a single, fully integrated module. The correlation between male copulatory organ morphology and size with anchor shape was consistent with predictions from the Rohde-Hobbs hypothesis.Conclusions.Monogenean anchors are tightly integrated structures, and their shape variation correlates strongly with phylogeny, thus underscoring their value for systematic and evolutionary biology studies. Our MonogeneaGM R package provides tools for researchers to mine biological insights from geometric morphometric data of speciose monogenean genera.

Biology and Immature Stages of Tetanura pallidiventris, a Parasitoid of Terrestrial Snails (Dipt. Sciomyzidae)

1970 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 6-89 ◽  
Author(s):  
L.V. Knutson
Keyword(s):  
Central Europe ◽  
Laboratory Data ◽  
Systematic Position ◽  
Immature Stages ◽  
Terrestrial Habitats ◽  
Terrestrial Snails ◽  
Cephalopharyngeal Skeleton

AbstractTetanura pallidiventris (Fallén) (Dipt. Scionyzidae) lives in terrestrial habitats in northern and central Europe, where the larvae feed on snails of the genera Cochlicopa, Discus, and Retinella. Field and laboratory data on the ecology and behaviour of the species are presented. The egg, third-instar cephalopharyngeal skeleton, and puparium are described and figured. The species is distinguished from T. fallenii Hendel, and the systematic position of the genus Tetanura Fallén is discussed.

scholarly journals Beyond BMI for self-estimates of body size and shape: A new method for developing stimuli correctly calibrated for body composition

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nadia Maalin ◽  
Sophie Mohamed ◽  
Robin S. S. Kramer ◽  
Piers L. Cornelissen ◽  
Daniel Martin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Eating Disorders ◽  
Body Composition ◽  
Body Size ◽  
Body Shape ◽  
Two Dimensions ◽  
The Body ◽  
Assessment Tools ◽  
Self Assessment ◽  
Size And Shape ◽  
Shape And Size

Abstract Accurate self-assessment of body shape and size plays a key role in the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of both obesity and eating disorders. These chronic conditions cause significant health problems, reduced quality of life, and represent a major problem for health services. Variation in body shape depends on two aspects of composition: adiposity and muscularity. However, most self-assessment tools are unidimensional. They depict variation in adiposity only, typically quantified by the body mass index. This can lead to substantial, and clinically meaningful, errors in estimates of body shape and size. To solve this problem, we detail a method of creating biometrically valid body stimuli. We obtained high-resolution 3D body shape scans and composition measures from 397 volunteers (aged 18–45 years) and produced a statistical mapping between the two. This allowed us to create 3D computer-generated models of bodies, correctly calibrated for body composition (i.e., muscularity and adiposity). We show how these stimuli, whose shape changes are based on change in composition in two dimensions, can be used to match the body size and shape participants believe themselves to have, to the stimulus they see. We also show how multivariate multiple regression can be used to model shape change predicted by these 2D outcomes, so that participants’ choices can be explained by their measured body composition together with other psychometric variables. Together, this approach should substantially improve the accuracy and precision with which self-assessments of body size and shape can be made in obese individuals and those suffering from eating disorders.

Differentiation of external morphology of Damaeidae (Acari: Oribatida) in light of the ontogeny of three species

Zootaxa ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 2775 (1) ◽  
pp. 1 ◽  
Author(s):  
STANISŁAW SENICZAK ◽  
ANNA SENICZAK
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Body Length ◽  
Body Shape ◽  
The Body ◽  
The Other ◽  
External Morphology ◽  
Dorsal Seta ◽  
Size And Shape ◽  
Juvenile Stages ◽  
Shape And Size

Morphology of juvenile stages and ontogeny of Damaeus onustus C. L. Koch, 1844, Damaeus clavipes (Hermann, 1804) and Kunstidamaeus tecticola (Michael, 1888) was investigated. The juveniles of these species differ mainly in body shape and size, and shape of some setae on the gastronotum and legs. The nymphs of all species lose centrodorsal setae of the d-series, and carry the exuviae of previous instars, but D. onustus carries also compact humus mass adhering to exuviae, D. clavipes a lot of loose debris, while K. tecticola usually only exuviae. The kind of camouflage is partly determined by the shape of gastronotal setae; in D. onustus these setae are curved ventrally, in D. clavipes are raised, while in K. tecticola are raised, and strongly curved medial. The nymphs of these species, as the nymphs of all other known Damaeidae, have gastronotal cornicle, which connects the exuviae of previous instars to the gastronotum. The cornicle of particular species differs in shape and location on the gastronotum; in some species is located anteromedial to setae la, in the other between setae lm, and in the other yet between setae lp or h 3 . The adults of these species differ mainly in body size, presence and shape of cuticular apophyses on the body, length of some setae on the prodorsum and notogaster, and the number of setae on legs, including dorsal seta d on genua I–III and tibiae I–IV.

scholarly journals Morphology and Morphometry of Caeca in the Tufted Duck Aythya Fuligula

2009 ◽  
Vol 54-55 (1-4) ◽  
pp. 21-31
Author(s):  
Ewa Działa-Szczepańczyk ◽  
Anna Charuta
Keyword(s):  
Body Weight ◽  
Body Size ◽  
Sexual Dimorphism ◽  
Fluctuating Asymmetry ◽  
The Body ◽  
Asymmetry Coefficient ◽  
Tarsus Length ◽  
Tufted Duck ◽  
Morphology And Morphometry ◽  
Sternum Length

Morphology and Morphometry of Caeca in the Tufted Duck Aythya Fuligula In this study, we examined the caeca of 44 individuals of Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula): 29 males (23 adult and 6 young) and 15 females (8 adult and 7 young). We analyzed the correlations between lengths of left (CLL) and right (CRL) caeca vs. the dimensions of the bird's body: body weight (BW), body length (BL), sternum length (SL) and tarsus length (TL), in relation to the sex of the animals. We also analyzed the asymmetry of caeca and determined its direction and strength, using a fluctuating asymmetry coefficient. Despite the observed sexual dimorphism in the body size, we found neither sex-related differences in the length of caeca, nor any significant correlation between the CLL and CRL vs. body size (BW, BL, SL, TL). 42 birds (94.5%) were asymmetrical with respect to the length of caeca, and in 37 (84.1%) the left caecum was longer. The fluctuating asymmetry coefficient for the length of these organs in the examined group was 0.413.

scholarly journals Sexual Shape and Size Dimorphism in Carabid Beetles of the GenusCeroglossus: is Geometric Body Size Similar Between Sexes Due to Sex Ratio?

2013 ◽  
Vol 30 (4) ◽  
pp. 289-295 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hugo A. Benítez ◽  
Maria-José Sanzana ◽  
Viviane Jerez ◽  
Luis E. Parra ◽  
Cristián E. Hernández ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Sex Ratio ◽  
Carabid Beetles ◽  
Size Dimorphism ◽  
Shape And Size

First records of Parergodrilus heideri (Annelida: "Polychaeta") from North America

Zootaxa ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 3498 (1) ◽  
pp. 81 ◽  
Author(s):  
JIŘÍ SCHLAGHAMERSKÝ ◽  
LEE E. FRELICH
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
North America ◽  
Small Body ◽  
The Other ◽  
Small Body Size ◽  
Free Living ◽  
Soil Mesofauna ◽  
The Family ◽  
Terrestrial Habitats

Parergodrilus heideri Reisinger, 1925 is one of two species of the family Parergodrilidae (together with the marine litoral, interstitial species Stygocapitella subterranea Knöllner, 1934) and one of only two truly soil-dwelling “polychaetes” (the other being Hrabeiella periglandulata Pižl and Chalupský, 1984) that are predominantly known from terrestrial habitats (Reisinger 1925, 1960; Römbke and Jans 1991; Chalupský 1992; Graefe 1993; Rota 1997, 1998; Purschke 1999; Rota et al. 2001; Beylich and Graefe 2007; Martinez-Ansemil and Parapar 2009; Rota et al. 2010). Due to its small body size (adults up to 1 mm) and sensitivity to dessication, the species has usually been found by researchers using some type of wet extraction for soil mesofauna, such as enchytraeids and free-living flatworms (“turbellarians”). However, due to its similar chaetae, Parergodrilus heideri can be easily mistaken for a freshly hatched enchytraeid, even by enchytraeid specialists without experience with this species.

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