Viruses and insects

Living under severe confinement and global state of war imposed by the emergence and worldwide very rapid spreading of the viral epidemic of zoonotic origin—coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, the world is yet again experiencing a weird period. The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is the defining global health crisis of our time and the greatest challenge we have faced since World War II, stressing every one of the countries it touches; it is creating devastating social, economic and political crises that will leave deep scars and will undoubtedly change the way we live and interact with each other. The number of known disease-causing viruses have been increasing in the last few decades and this trend is likely to continue. Therefore, it is legitimate to think about the evolutionary effect of viruses and their influence on the processes of organisms.

Evolutionary essence of innovations

The presented research belongs to the sphere of evolutionary economics. It indicates that it is innovation that is the trigger for the evolution of both the economy as a whole and its individual industries and regions. The maximum evolutionary effect of innovation is the transition of the economy to a new technological order. Equally important is the role of innovation in the social development of society. They change not only the means of transport, communication, education and medicine, but also the way of life habitual for society. The difference between the terms «innovation» and «innovation» is defined. The classification of innovations is considered, proceeding from their evolutionary component. Innovations with qualitative and quantitative evolutionary effect, innovations with the effect of social and spatial evolution are singled out. An analysis of the evolutionary essence of innovations, determined in the works of well-known authors, is carried out. Such as J. Schumpeter, N.D. Kondratiev, R. Nelson, S. Winter, and others. Influence of diffusion of innovations on the process of territorial evolution is determined. The types of diffusion of innovations with characteristics of each of them are described. It is indicated that in the process of changing business-routines there is a dual essence of innovations. It consists in that, on the one hand, innovations are external factors of evolution, and on the other hand – by its internal factors. The role of multiplicative effects as a mechanism that changes the trajectory of the development of the innovation process, making it less predictable and, accordingly, difficult to manage, is defined.

Chemical and kinematic complexity of the very young star-forming region Serpens Main observed with ALMA

The youngest low-mass protostars are known to be chemically rich, accreting matter most vigorously, and producing the most powerful outflows. Molecules are unique tracers of these phenomena. We use ALMA to study several outflow sources in the Serpens Main region. The most luminous source, Ser-SMM1, shows the richest chemical composition, but some complex molecules are also present in S68N. No emission from complex organics is detected toward Ser-emb 8N, which is the least luminous in the sample. We discuss whether these differences reflect an evolutionary effect or whether they are due to different physical structures. We also analyze the outflow structure from these young protostars by comparing emission of CO and SiO. EHV molecular jets originating from SMM1-a,b and Ser-emb 8N contrast with no such activity from S68N, which on the other hand presents a complex outflow structure.

Call synchrony and the evolutionary origins of leader preference in Neoconocephalus ensiger katydids

[ACCESS RESTRICTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI AT AUTHOR'S REQUEST.] Many species of acoustically communicating insects and anurans display a female preference for males producing their calls just ahead of those of their neighbors. The evolutionary origin of these preferences is unclear. We test whether leader preference is adaptive in Neoconocephalus katydids. The ability to produce leading calls was not correlated with male quality in a species with leader preference or two closely related species without the preference. However, in N. ensiger, the species with the preference, females mating with leaders produced higher quality offspring than those mating with followers. This suggested that leader preference is adaptive and selected for in this species. The ability to produce leading calls was not heritable, meaning that the preference cannot have an evolutionary effect on the male trait and they will not become coupled. Male N. ensiger adjust the timing of their chirps relative to their neighbors, which leads to synchrony within a chorus. The mechanism used by N. ensiger males differs from that of all previously described species with acoustic synchrony. Neoconocephalus ensiger males adjust their actual intrinsic chirp rate to match that of other males. The characteristics that determine a male's ability to produce leading calls and the specific source of the female fitness benefit are yet unknown.

Predator confusion is sufficient to evolve swarming behaviour

Swarming behaviours in animals have been extensively studied owing to their implications for the evolution of cooperation, social cognition and predator–prey dynamics. An important goal of these studies is discerning which evolutionary pressures favour the formation of swarms. One hypothesis is that swarms arise because the presence of multiple moving prey in swarms causes confusion for attacking predators, but it remains unclear how important this selective force is. Using an evolutionary model of a predator–prey system, we show that predator confusion provides a sufficient selection pressure to evolve swarming behaviour in prey. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the evolutionary effect of predator confusion on prey could in turn exert pressure on the structure of the predator's visual field, favouring the frontally oriented, high-resolution visual systems commonly observed in predators that feed on swarming animals. Finally, we provide evidence that when prey evolve swarming in response to predator confusion, there is a change in the shape of the functional response curve describing the predator's consumption rate as prey density increases. Thus, we show that a relatively simple perceptual constraint—predator confusion—could have pervasive evolutionary effects on prey behaviour, predator sensory mechanisms and the ecological interactions between predators and prey.

Modelling the evolutionary effects of a coastal marine reserve on different ecological guilds of fish

Marine reserves are used as a management tool to ensure sustainability of fish stocks. Using an individual-based model, we compare the evolutionary effect of a reserve located on a nursery ground, spawning ground, feeding ground, or in a year-round habitat for sedentary species. We model the evolution of life-history traits, specifically size at maturation and site fidelity. Within species, individuals will differ in the time spent within a reserve depending on their patterns of movement and migration. We predict that the evolutionary effect of fishing depends not only on the survival probability but also on the life-history stages primarily affected by high harvest mortality. Protection against evolution to small maturation size is most effective where a reserve protects a sedentary population or protects the feeding grounds of a population. We also find that protection of the feeding ground of an anadromous stock such as Atlantic salmon may lead to local adaptation enhanced by evolution of higher site fidelity, similar to protection of a sedentary species.

The use of optical tweezers to study sperm competition and motility in primates

Optical trapping is a non-invasive biophysical tool which has been widely applied to study physiological and biomechanical properties of cells. Using laser ‘tweezers’ in combination with custom-designed computer tracking algorithms, the swimming speeds and the relative swimming forces of individual sperm can be measured in real time. This combination of physical and engineering tools has been used to examine the evolutionary effect of sperm competition in primates. The results demonstrate a correlation between mating type and sperm motility: sperm from polygamous (multi-partner) primate species swim faster and with greater force than sperm from polygynous (single partner) primate species. In addition, sperm swimming force linearly increases with swimming speed for each species, yet the regression relating the two parameters is species specific. These results demonstrate the feasibility of using these tools to study rapidly moving (μm s −1 ) biological cells.