Meiotic Behavior in Intra- and Interspecific Sexual and Somatic Polyploid Hybrids of Some Tropical Species

AbstractExternal and internal structures of the thorax of the myrmecophile beetle Claviger testaceus (Clavigeritae, Pselaphinae) were examined and documented with state-of-the-art visualization techniques. Following a general trend in the omaliine lineage (Staphylinidae), the skeletal elements of the pro- and pterothorax in Claviger reach a maximum degree of compactness, with largely reduced inter- and intrasegmental sutures and skeletal elements linked with the flight apparatus. The musculature, especially metathoracic direct and indirect flight muscles, also shows a high degree of reduction. Two forms of wings were found among individuals of C. testaceus, both non-functional and representing an advanced stage of reduction. However, that wing vestiges are still present and the metanotum, only slightly reduced, suggests that loss of flight in this species is likely the result of a young evolutionary process. Several structures are linked with myrmecophilous habits: small body size facilitates transportation of beetles by ant workers and makes it easier to move inside nest tunnels; the remarkably compact body and mechanically robust appendages make the beetles less vulnerable to attacks by ant mandibles; the improved elytral interlocking mechanism and unusually expanded epipleura enhance the protection of vulnerable dorsal parts of the pterothorax and anterior abdomen; and glands associated with trichomes on the posterolateral elytral angle produce secretions attractive for ants. Various modifications of the thorax and anterior abdomen lead to an optimization of intimate associations with ants. The morphological syndrome enabling these beetles to cope with life in ant colonies evolved in several steps. This is suggested by an increasing solidification of the thoracic skeleton in related non-myrmecophilous groups and also by less modified related clavigerites;for instance, ant-associated tropical species are still able to fly.

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Fish heating tolerance scales similarly across individual physiology and populations

Communications Biology ◽

10.1038/s42003-021-01773-3 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 4 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Nicholas L. Payne ◽

Simon A. Morley ◽

Lewis G. Halsey ◽

James A. Smith ◽

Rick Stuart-Smith ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Laboratory Experiments ◽

Tropical Species ◽

Acclimation Temperature ◽

Tight Coupling ◽

Abundance Patterns ◽

Biological Responses ◽

In The Wild ◽

Demographic Processes ◽

Climate Vulnerability ◽

Increasing Temperature

AbstractExtrapolating patterns from individuals to populations informs climate vulnerability models, yet biological responses to warming are uncertain at both levels. Here we contrast data on the heating tolerances of fishes from laboratory experiments with abundance patterns of wild populations. We find that heating tolerances in terms of individual physiologies in the lab and abundance in the wild decline with increasing temperature at the same rate. However, at a given acclimation temperature or optimum temperature, tropical individuals and populations have broader heating tolerances than temperate ones. These congruent relationships implicate a tight coupling between physiological and demographic processes underpinning macroecological patterns, and identify vulnerability in both temperate and tropical species.

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Male fertility thermal limits predict vulnerability to climate warming

Nature Communications ◽

10.1038/s41467-021-22546-w ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Belinda van Heerwaarden ◽

Carla M. Sgrò

Keyword(s):

Climate Warming ◽

Experimental Evolution ◽

Male Fertility ◽

Extinction Risk ◽

Conservation Strategies ◽

Tropical Species ◽

Adaptive Responses ◽

Widespread Species ◽

Thermal Limits ◽

Critical Thermal Limits

AbstractForecasting which species/ecosystems are most vulnerable to climate warming is essential to guide conservation strategies to minimize extinction. Tropical/mid-latitude species are predicted to be most at risk as they live close to their upper critical thermal limits (CTLs). However, these assessments assume that upper CTL estimates, such as CTmax, are accurate predictors of vulnerability and ignore the potential for evolution to ameliorate temperature increases. Here, we use experimental evolution to assess extinction risk and adaptation in tropical and widespread Drosophila species. We find tropical species succumb to extinction before widespread species. Male fertility thermal limits, which are much lower than CTmax, are better predictors of species’ current distributions and extinction in the laboratory. We find little evidence of adaptive responses to warming in any species. These results suggest that species are living closer to their upper thermal limits than currently presumed and evolution/plasticity are unlikely to rescue populations from extinction.

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Meiotic behavior and chromosomal association of two diploid mulberry varieties, (Moraceae)

Chromosome Botany ◽

10.3199/iscb.13.68 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 13 (2) ◽

pp. 68-70

Author(s):

K. H. Venkatesh ◽

G. S. Pragathi ◽

M. Shivashankar

Keyword(s):

Meiotic Behavior ◽

Chromosomal Association

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The nature of reaction wood. IV. Variations in cell wall organization of tension wood fibres

Australian Journal of Botany ◽

10.1071/bt9550177 ◽

1955 ◽

Vol 3 (2) ◽

pp. 177 ◽

Cited By ~ 53

Author(s):

AB Wardrop ◽

HE Dadswell

Keyword(s):

Cell Wall ◽

Tension Wood ◽

Secondary Wall ◽

Degree Of Crystallinity ◽

Tropical Species ◽

Normal Wood ◽

Reaction Wood ◽

Gelatinous Layer ◽

Wood Fibres ◽

Cell Wall Organization

The cell wall organization, the cell wall texture, and the degree of lignification of tension wood fibres have been investigated in a wide variety of temperate and tropical species. Following earlier work describing the cell wall structure of tension wood fibres, two additional types of cell wall organization have been observed. In one of these, the inner thick "gelatinous" layer which is typical of tension wood fibres exists in addition to the normal three-layered structure of the secondary wall; in the other only the outer layer of the secondary wall and the thick gelatinous layer are present. In all the tension wood examined the micellar orientation in the inner gelatinous layer has been shown to be nearly axial and the cellulose of this layer found to be in a highly crystalline state. A general argument is presented as to the meaning of differences in the degree, of crystallinity of cellulose. The high degree of crystallinity of cellulose in tension wood as compared with normal wood is attributed to a greater degree of lateral order in the crystalline regions of tension wood, whereas the paracrystalline phase is similar in both cases. The degree of lignification in tension wood fibres has been shown to be extremely variable. However, where the degree of tension wood development is marked as revealed by the thickness of the gelatinous layer the lack of lignification is also most marked. Severity of tension wood formation and lack of lignification have also been correlated with the incidence of irreversible collapse in tension wood. Such collapse can occur even when no whole fibres are present, e.g. in thin cross sections. Microscopic examination of collapsed samples of tension wood has led to the conclusion that the appearance of collapse in specimens containing tendon wood can often be attributed in part to excessive shrinkage associated with the development of fissures between cells, although true collapse does also occur. Possible explanations of the irreversible shrinkage and collapse of tension wood fibres are advanced.

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