scholarly journals Unraveling the Olfactory Biases of Male Euglossine Bees: Species-Specific Antennal Responses and Their Evolutionary Significance for Perfume Flowers

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katharina Brandt ◽  
Stefan Dötterl ◽  
Santiago R. Ramírez ◽  
Florian Etl ◽  
Isabel Cristina Machado ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Phylogenetic Signal ◽  
Chemical Compounds ◽  
Species Level ◽  
Evolutionary Significance ◽  
Euglossine Bees ◽  
Specific Chemical ◽  
Antennal Response ◽  
Euglossine Bee ◽  
Species Specific ◽  
Antennal Responses

Male euglossine bees exhibit unique adaptations for the acquisition and accumulation of chemical compounds from “perfume flowers” and other sources. During courtship display, male bees expose perfume mixtures, presumably to convey species-specific recognition and/or mate choice signals to females. Because olfaction regulates both signal production (in males) and signal detection (in females) in this communication system, strong selective pressures are expected to act on the olfactory system, which could lead to sensory specialization in favor of an increased sensitivity to specific chemical compounds. The floral scents of euglossine-pollinated plants are hypothesized to have evolved in response to the preexisting sensory biases of their male euglossine bee pollinators. However, this has never been investigated at the peripheral olfactory circuitry of distinct pollinating genera. Here, we present a comparative analysis using electroantennography (EAG) of males across the phylogeny of 29 euglossine bee species, among them Euglossa and Eulaema species. First, we tested whether antennal responses differ among different euglossine genera, subgenera and species. Secondly, we conducted a comparative phylogenetic analysis to investigate the macroevolutionary patterns of antennal responses across the euglossine bee phylogeny. We found that antennal response profiles are very unique on the species level and differ on the subgenus and the genus level. The differences can be explained by chemical compounds typically found in the floral scent bouquets of perfume flowers and specific compounds of species either pollinated by Euglossa (e.g., ipsdienol) or Eulaema bees (e.g., (−)-(E)-carvone epoxide). Also, we detected a phylogenetic signal in mean antennal responses and found that especially at the species level of our simulation the overall antennal responses exhibit greater disparity relative to a null model of pure Brownian-motion across the phylogeny. Altogether, our results suggest that (1) euglossine bee species exhibit species-specific antennal responses that differ among euglossine genera and subgenera, (2) antennal responses diverge early after speciation events, and (3) scent composition of perfume flowers evolved in response to pollinator-mediated selection imposed by preexisting sensory biases in euglossine bees.

scholarly journals Ebony Wood Identification to Battle Illegal Trade

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mehrdad Jahanbanifard ◽  
Barbara Gravendeel ◽  
Frederic Lens ◽  
Fons Verbeek
Keyword(s):  
Global Market ◽  
Musical Instruments ◽  
Species Level ◽  
Eastern Africa ◽  
Wood Identification ◽  
Accurate Identification ◽  
Specific Chemical ◽  
Molecular Barcoding ◽  
Species Specific ◽  
Tof Ms

Illegal logging is a serious global issue. It is not only a great threat to rare forest species, but also contributes to the current biodiversity crisis and climate change. Despite international agreements, 10-30% of all imported wood has been illegally logged. Many of these trees, especially rosewood (Dalbergia) and ebony (Diospyros), are very important for the global market because of their high economic value. Ebony is a common name for the black heartwood (inner parts of the stem) of some Diospyros species. These woods are used in products such as acoustic musical instruments. The genus Diospyros includes over 700 species globally. More than 200 of them are endemic to Madagascar, which is a one of the richest regions in terms of biodiversity. This island is situated in the Indian Ocean off the coast of Eastern Africa and is known for its unique biodiversity. Due to over-harvesting in recent decades, many Malagasy species of Diospyros are listed as endangered under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES; CITES checklist for Diospyros). Trade of these species requires CITES permits. All described Malagasy ebony species under Appendix II meaning that, while not currently threatened with extinction they may become so if trade is not controlled. Controlling the logging trade is often more difficult than it seems. Labels are easily switched, different species of wood can be mixed, permits can be falsified, and many more tricks are used to get illegally logged wood onto the global market. One of the most commonly used techniques to identify timber products is the assessment of species-specific cellular patterns (White et al. 1991). Wood anatomy has been practiced for more than 200 years, and automated tools have been developed to identify wood at the genus and species level over the past decade (Figueroa-Mata et al. 2018, Hafemann et al. 2014, Koch et al. 2011, Ravindran et al. 2018). However, the lack of sufficient resolution for species-level identification, especially for speciose genera such as Diospyros, is the main drawback of this method. Identification using molecular barcoding is an alternative but challenging method as timber is composed mainly of dead cells and the few living cells often have poor DNA quality. A third identification method is direct analysis in real time time-of-flight mass spectrometry (DART TOF MS; Espinoza et al. 2015, Evans et al. 2017). This method analyses the chemical composition of a wood sample, resulting in a species-specific chemical fingerprint. DART TOF MS has already been successfully applied to several tree genera including Dalbergia (rosewood), Aquilaria (agarwood), and Quercus (oak). The main disadvantage of this method is that it can only be applied to heartwood samples from the inner part of the trunk. In order to develop a comprehensive and accurate identification tool to identify Malagasy ebony woods, we are working towards building an image recognition model based on wood anatomical microscopic images. As a case study, we successfully trained our classifier using a public dataset (Martins et al. 2012) such that our model was able to distinguish different tree genera of that dataset with 93% accuracy. We are currently extending this work to the subgeneric level of Diospyros. This will be used to establish the presence of ebony woods in acoustic musical instruments based on reference samples from wood specimens preserved in natural history musea. To achieve sufficient accuracy, we are focusing on the microscopic features of transverse and tangential orientation planes in ebony woods. Our database will include very high resolution images of Diospyros species, and can help wood anatomist at wood identification institute and customs officers at harbours to increase the accuracy of the identification of illegally logged ebony woods.

scholarly journals Root Weevil Feeding on Rhododendron: A Review

1983 ◽  
Vol 1 (3) ◽  
pp. 67-71
Author(s):  
Robert P. Doss
Keyword(s):  
Chemical Compounds ◽  
Specific Chemical ◽  
Volatile Terpene

Specific chemical compounds present in Rhododendron leaves stimulate adult root weevil feeding. The resistance of certain Rhododendron species to weevil feeding is due to the presence of volatile terpene constituents of the leaves.

scholarly journals Behaviour of cranes (family Gruidae) mirrors their phylogenetic relationships

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nela Nováková ◽  
Jan Robovský
Keyword(s):  
Phylogenetic Relationships ◽  
Phylogenetic Signal ◽  
Species Level ◽  
Monophyletic Group ◽  
Molecular Tree ◽  
Behavioural Repertoire ◽  
Over Time

Abstract Background The behavioural repertoire of every species evolved over time and its evolution can be traced through the phylogenetic relationships in distinct groups. Cranes (family Gruidae) represent a small, old, monophyletic group with well-corroborated phylogenetic relationships on the species level, and at the same time they exhibit a complex and well-described behavioural repertoire. Methods We therefore investigated the evolution of behavioural traits of cranes in a phylogenetic context using several phylogenetic approaches and two types of trait scoring. The cranes exhibit more than a hundred behavioural displays, almost one third of which may be phylogenetically informative. Results More than half of the analysed traits carry a significant phylogenetic signal. The ancestor of cranes already exhibited a quite complex behavioural repertoire, which remained unchanged in Balearicinae but altered greatly in Gruinae, specifically by the shedding of traits rather than their creation. Trait scoring has an influence on results within the Gruinae, primarily in genera Bugeranus and Anthropoides. Conclusions Albeit the behavioural traits alone cannot be used for resolving species-level relationships within the Gruidae, when optimized on molecular tree, they can help us to detect interesting evolutionary transformations of behaviour repertoire within Gruiformes. The Limpkin (Aramus guarauna) seems to be the most enigmatic species and should be studied in detail for its behavioural repertoire, which may include some precursors of crane behavioural traits.

scholarly journals The megalopa stage of Portunus spinimanus Latreille, 1819 and Portunus gibbesii (Stimpson, 1859) (Decapoda, Brachyura, Portunidae) from the southeastern Atlantic coast of the United States

Zootaxa ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 1638 (1) ◽  
pp. 21-37 ◽  
Author(s):  
MARIA LUCIA NEGREIROS-FRANSOZO ◽  
NADIA MEYERS ◽  
VÍVIAN FRANSOZO ◽  
SUSAN THORTON-DE VICTOR
Keyword(s):  
South Carolina ◽  
Atlantic Coast ◽  
Relative Size ◽  
The United States ◽  
Species Level ◽  
Crab Larvae ◽  
Juvenile Instar ◽  
Species Specific ◽  
Swimming Crabs ◽  
Southeastern Atlantic

The identification of megalopae from plankton samples is difficult, because this larval stage is the least well known among crab larvae, unknown in some species and poorly described in others. Wild megalopa specimens of some swimming crabs (family Portunidae Rafinesque, 1815) were captured alive from neuston samples obtained during summer surveys near the coast of Charleston, South Carolina (U.S.A). For identification purposes, larvae were reared to the 8th juvenile instar. After reaching the 5th juvenile instar, the juvenile crabs exhibited morphological features suitable for identification to the species level. The specimens belonged to two species of Portunidae, Portunus spinimanus Latreille, 1819 and P. gibbesii (Stimpson, 1859). Their megalopae were described in detail and compared to other portunid megalopae known from the southeastern Atlantic coast of the U.S.A. Species-specific characters of portunid megalopae are the number of carpal spines on the chelipeds, the relative size of the sternal spines (7th sternite), the number of antennal flagellum segments, and the setation of mouthparts.

scholarly journals Blooms of Toxic Cyanobacterium Nodularia spumigena in Norwegian Fjords During Holocene Warm Periods

Toxins ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 257
Author(s):  
Robert Konkel ◽  
Anna Toruńska-Sitarz ◽  
Marta Cegłowska ◽  
Žilvinas Ežerinskis ◽  
Justina Šapolaitė ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Dna Sequences ◽  
Phytoplankton Community ◽  
Sediment Cores ◽  
Specific Chemical ◽  
Nodularia Spumigena ◽  
History Of ◽  
Recent Sediments ◽  
Species Specific ◽  
Ecosystem Changes ◽  
Deep Sediments

In paleoecological studies, molecular markers are being used increasingly often to reconstruct community structures, environmental conditions and ecosystem changes. In this work, nodularin, anabaenopeptins and selected DNA sequences were applied as Nodularia spumigena markers to reconstruct the history of the cyanobacterium in the Norwegian fjords. For the purpose of this study, three sediment cores collected in Oslofjorden, Trondheimsfjorden and Balsfjorden were analyzed. The lack of nodularin in most recent sediments is consistent with the fact that only one report on the sporadic occurrence and low amounts of the cyanobacterium in Norwegian Fjords in 1976 has been published. However, analyses of species-specific chemical markers in deep sediments showed that thousands of years ago, N. spumigena constituted an important component of the phytoplankton community. The content of the markers in the cores indicated that the biomass of the cyanobacterium increased during the warmer Holocene periods. The analyses of genetic markers were less conclusive; they showed the occurrence of microcystin/nodularin producing cyanobacteria of Nostocales order, but they did not allow for the identification of the organisms at a species level.

Effect of different crystalline phase of ZnO/Cu nanocatalysts on cellulose pyrolysis conversion to specific chemical compounds

Cellulose ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 25 (10) ◽  
pp. 5623-5642 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. Podrojková ◽  
A. Oriňak ◽  
R. Oriňaková ◽  
L. Procházková ◽  
V. Čuba ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Crystalline Phase ◽  
Chemical Compounds ◽  
Specific Chemical ◽  
Cellulose Pyrolysis

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.

scholarly journals Bifidobacterial Distribution Across Italian Cheeses Produced from Raw Milk

2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (12) ◽  
pp. 599 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christian Milani ◽  
Giulia Alessandri ◽  
Leonardo Mancabelli ◽  
Gabriele Andrea Lugli ◽  
Giulia Longhi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Raw Milk ◽  
Fermented Food ◽  
Species Level ◽  
Rrna Gene ◽  
Bacterial Populations ◽  
Microbial Profiling ◽  
Interactive Network ◽  
Microbe Interactions ◽  
Internally Transcribed Spacer ◽  
Species Specific

Cheese microbiota is of high industrial relevance due to its crucial role in defining the organoleptic features of the final product. Nevertheless, the composition of and possible microbe–microbe interactions between these bacterial populations have never been assessed down to the species-level. For this reason, 16S rRNA gene microbial profiling combined with internally transcribed spacer (ITS)-mediated bifidobacterial profiling analyses of various cheeses produced with raw milk were performed in order to achieve an in-depth view of the bifidobacterial populations present in these microbially fermented food matrices. Moreover, statistical elaboration of the data collected in this study revealed the existence of community state types characterized by the dominance of specific microbial genera that appear to shape the overall cheese microbiota through an interactive network responsible for species-specific modulatory effects on the bifidobacterial population.

scholarly journals Identifying the North American Plum Species Phylogenetic Signal Using Nuclear, Mitochondrial, and Chloroplast DNA Markers

2016 ◽  
Vol 141 (6) ◽  
pp. 623-644 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dario J. Chavez ◽  
Thomas G. Beckman ◽  
José X. Chaparro
Keyword(s):  
Chloroplast Dna ◽  
Prunus Persica ◽  
Phylogenetic Signal ◽  
Phylogenetic Analyses ◽  
Nuclear Gene ◽  
Its Region ◽  
Single Copy ◽  
Species Level ◽  
Species Relationships ◽  
The North

Prunus phylogeny has been extensively studied using chloroplast DNA (cpDNA) sequences. Chloroplast DNA has a slow rate of evolution, which is beneficial to determine species relationships at a deeper level. The chloroplast-based phylogenies have a limitation due to the transfer of this organelle by interspecific hybridization. This creates difficulties when studying species relationships. Interspecific hybrids in Prunus occur naturally and have been reported, which creates a problem when using cpDNA-based phylogenies to determine species relationships. The main goal of this project was to identify nuclear gene regions that could provide an improved phylogenetic signal at the species level in Prunus. A total of 11 species in Prunus and within section Prunocerasus were used. Two peach (Prunus persica) haploids were used to test the reliability of the molecular markers developed in this project to amplify single-copy genes. A total of 33 major genes associated with vernalization response, 16 with tree architecture, and 3 with isozymes, were tested. Similarly, 41 simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers, seven cpDNA regions, and the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region, were used. Multiple gene regions were identified and provided the greatest number of characters, greatest variability, and improved phylogenetic signal at the species level in Prunus section Prunocerasus. Out of those, trnH-psbA, PGI, MAX4, AXR1, LFY, PHYE, and VRN1 are recommended for a phylogenetic analysis with a larger number of taxa. The use of potentially informative characters (PICS) as a measure of how informative a region will be for phylogenetic analyses has been previously reported beneficial in cpDNA regions and it clearly was important in this research. This will allow selecting the region(s), which can be used in phylogenetic studies with higher number of taxa.

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