Stem anatomy of Apioideae (Apiaceae): effects of habit and reproductive strategy

Apioideae is the biggest and the most diverse of four subfamilies recognised within Apiaceae. Except for a few, likely derived, woody clades, most representatives of this subfamily are herbaceous. In the present study, we assessed stem anatomy of 87, mostly therophytic and hemicryptophytic, species from at least 20 distinct lineages of Apioideae, and juxtaposed them with 67 species from our previous anatomical projects also focused on this subfamily. Comparing our data with the literature, we found that wood anatomy does not allow for a distinction between apioids and their close relatives (Azorelloideae, Saniculoideae), but more distantly related Mackinlayoideae differ from Apioideae in their perforation plate type. Vessel element and fibre length, and vessel diameter were positively correlated with plant height: phenomena already reported in literature. Similar pattern was retrieved for vertical intervessel pit diameter. Wood ground tissue in apioids ranges from entirely fibrous to parenchymatous. The shortening of internodes seems to favour the formation of parenchymatic ground tissue, whereas the early shift to flowering promotes the deposition of fibrous wood in monocarpic species. These results support a hypothesis on interdependence among internode length, reproductive strategy, and wood ground tissue type.

Intraovarian Gestation in Viviparous Teleosts: Unique Type of Gestation among Vertebrates

The intraovarian gestation, occurring in teleosts, makes this type of reproduction a such complex and unique condition among vertebrates. This type of gestation of teleosts is expressed in special morphological and physiological characteristic where occurs the viviparity and it is an essential component in the analysis of the evolutionary process of viviparity in vertebrates. In viviparous teleosts, during embryogenesis, there are not development of Müllerian ducts, which form the oviducts in the rest of vertebrates, as a result, exclusively in teleosts, there are not oviducts and the caudal region of the ovary, the gonoduct, connects the ovary to the exterior. The lack of oviducts defines that the embryos develop into the ovary, as intraovarian gestation. The ovary forms the oocytes which may develop different type of oogenesis, according with the storage of diverse amount of yolk, variation observed corresponding to the species. The viviparous gestation is characterized by the possible intimate contact between maternal and embryonic tissues, process that permits their metabolic interchanges. So, the nutrients obtained by the embryos could be deposited in the oocyte before fertilization, contained in the yolk (lecithotrophy), and may be completed during gestation by additional provisioning from maternal tissues to the embryo (matrotrophy). Then, essential requirements for viviparity in poeciliids and goodeids are characterized by: a) the diversification of oogenesis, with the deposition of different amount of yolk in the oocyte; b) the insemination, by the transfer of sperm to the female gonoduct and their transportation from the gonoduct to the germinal region of the ovary where the follicles develop; c) the intrafollicular fertilization; d) the intraovarian gestation with the development of embryos in intrafollicular gestation (as in poeciliids), or intraluminal gestation (as in goodeids); and, e) the origin of embryonic nutrition may be by lecithotrophy and matrotrophy. The focus of this revision compares the general and specific structural characteristics of the viviparity occurring into the intraovarian gestation in teleosts, defining this reproductive strategy, illustrated in this review with histological material in a poeciliid, of the species Poecilia latipinna (Lesueur, 1821) (Poeciliidae), and in a goodeid, of the species Xenotoca eiseni (Rutter, 1896) (Goodeidae).

The ecology and behaviour of pumas (Puma concolor) in northern California, U.S.A.

<p>Large carnivores are important components of many ecosystems and play an integral role in determining the composition and structure of ecological communities. The influences of pumas (Puma concolor) on other species, including prey and competitors, vary across their range and among individuals. I used novel methodologies, including intensive real-time GPS investigations of potential kill sites using ARGOS satellite collars, and motion-triggered video cameras to study the intra- and inter-specific interactions of pumas and understand their influences on ecological communities. Results from my dissertation support previous findings that pumas play an integral role in shaping their respective ecosystem, but that pumas are also influenced substantially by their local environment. Overall, my dissertation highlights the importance of understanding intra- and inter-specific interactions of large carnivores when attempting to understand their influences on ecological communities. I tested whether pumas exhibited sexual variation in their use of communication behaviours at community scrape areas, and what factors influenced their mating strategies. I found that males more frequently exhibited and spent longer durations on ‘producing’ behaviours (scraping and body rubbing), while females more frequently exhibited and spent longer durations on ‘consuming’ behaviours (olfactory investigation and flehmen response behaviours). This suggests that male reproductive strategy is based on advertisement for possible mates, while female reproductive strategy is based on assessment of potential mates. Pumas also exhibited sexual variation in their patterns of visitation. Males were regular visitors, while females were irregular visitors whose visitation cycles were apparently correlated with oestrus. Mate selection by females was complex and based on multiple cues, the two most important of which were the visitation rate and mass of males. The frequency of male visits and the display of some behaviours were influenced most by visits from female pumas, but were also influenced by visits from competing males. I used real-time and fine-scale GPS location data to find prey killed by individual pumas, and analysed seasonal patterns to understand local influences on puma behaviour and feeding ecology. I found that black-tailed deer (Odocoileus hemionus columbianus) were the main prey of pumas, constituting 98.6% of their diet by mass, and that the elevations at which pumas killed black-tailed deer correlated significantly with seasonal elevations used by black-tailed deer. I found pumas had relatively high ungulate kill rates ( ̅ = 1.07 ungulates/week, and ̅ = 5.78 kg/day), and that kill rates in ungulates/week varied among seasons and were highest in summer and autumn. Importantly, the handling times of black-tailed deer >1 year old showed an inverse seasonal relationship with kill rates in ungulates/week, and the lower handling times may have been due to black bear kleptoparasitism. These findings suggest that puma feeding ecology can be strongly influenced by seasonal behaviour of their prey and dominant scavengers. Given the potential for large carnivores to influence scavengers, I studied the influences of both pumas and black bears on the scavenger community. I found that pumas and black bears were a source of limitation for scavengers, both on the species richness and sum feeding times of the scavenger community, as well as the occurrence, total feeding times, and mean feeding bout durations of scavenger species. However, pumas had some positive influences, for example they facilitated the acquisition of carrion by scavengers, and they apparently initiated a cascading pattern that led to an increase in the acquisition of carrion by small carnivores. In contrast, black bears, as dominant scavengers, monopolized carrion resources and substantially limited the acquisition of carrion by other scavengers, and in fact they had larger limitations for scavengers than pumas as top-level predators. The influences on carrion acquisition suggest that large carnivores have important influences on the scavenger community, and their influences could be a mechanism for the effects large carnivores have on community composition.</p>

The ecology and behaviour of pumas (Puma concolor) in northern California, U.S.A.

<p>Large carnivores are important components of many ecosystems and play an integral role in determining the composition and structure of ecological communities. The influences of pumas (Puma concolor) on other species, including prey and competitors, vary across their range and among individuals. I used novel methodologies, including intensive real-time GPS investigations of potential kill sites using ARGOS satellite collars, and motion-triggered video cameras to study the intra- and inter-specific interactions of pumas and understand their influences on ecological communities. Results from my dissertation support previous findings that pumas play an integral role in shaping their respective ecosystem, but that pumas are also influenced substantially by their local environment. Overall, my dissertation highlights the importance of understanding intra- and inter-specific interactions of large carnivores when attempting to understand their influences on ecological communities. I tested whether pumas exhibited sexual variation in their use of communication behaviours at community scrape areas, and what factors influenced their mating strategies. I found that males more frequently exhibited and spent longer durations on ‘producing’ behaviours (scraping and body rubbing), while females more frequently exhibited and spent longer durations on ‘consuming’ behaviours (olfactory investigation and flehmen response behaviours). This suggests that male reproductive strategy is based on advertisement for possible mates, while female reproductive strategy is based on assessment of potential mates. Pumas also exhibited sexual variation in their patterns of visitation. Males were regular visitors, while females were irregular visitors whose visitation cycles were apparently correlated with oestrus. Mate selection by females was complex and based on multiple cues, the two most important of which were the visitation rate and mass of males. The frequency of male visits and the display of some behaviours were influenced most by visits from female pumas, but were also influenced by visits from competing males. I used real-time and fine-scale GPS location data to find prey killed by individual pumas, and analysed seasonal patterns to understand local influences on puma behaviour and feeding ecology. I found that black-tailed deer (Odocoileus hemionus columbianus) were the main prey of pumas, constituting 98.6% of their diet by mass, and that the elevations at which pumas killed black-tailed deer correlated significantly with seasonal elevations used by black-tailed deer. I found pumas had relatively high ungulate kill rates ( ̅ = 1.07 ungulates/week, and ̅ = 5.78 kg/day), and that kill rates in ungulates/week varied among seasons and were highest in summer and autumn. Importantly, the handling times of black-tailed deer >1 year old showed an inverse seasonal relationship with kill rates in ungulates/week, and the lower handling times may have been due to black bear kleptoparasitism. These findings suggest that puma feeding ecology can be strongly influenced by seasonal behaviour of their prey and dominant scavengers. Given the potential for large carnivores to influence scavengers, I studied the influences of both pumas and black bears on the scavenger community. I found that pumas and black bears were a source of limitation for scavengers, both on the species richness and sum feeding times of the scavenger community, as well as the occurrence, total feeding times, and mean feeding bout durations of scavenger species. However, pumas had some positive influences, for example they facilitated the acquisition of carrion by scavengers, and they apparently initiated a cascading pattern that led to an increase in the acquisition of carrion by small carnivores. In contrast, black bears, as dominant scavengers, monopolized carrion resources and substantially limited the acquisition of carrion by other scavengers, and in fact they had larger limitations for scavengers than pumas as top-level predators. The influences on carrion acquisition suggest that large carnivores have important influences on the scavenger community, and their influences could be a mechanism for the effects large carnivores have on community composition.</p>

Studi Morfologi, Ontogeni, Dan Strategi Reproduksi Pada Melanoides Tuberculata (Müller , 1774) Dan Stenomelania Punctata (Lamarck, 1822) (Gastropoda: Cerithioidea: Thiaridae)

The freshwater Melanoides tuberculata (Thiarid) has wide distribution and have many variation in color, size, and scluptured of their shells. Comparing with another Thiarid so called Stenomelania punctata, shell of M. tuberculata similar in having turreted shape, blackish color, number of whorls, and size of the shells. This study aim to compare more detailed between M. tuberculata and S. punctata based on their morphology, ontogeny and type of reproduction. Ontogeny studies of these two species show that M. tuberculata produces juveniles in embryonic shell form during their reproduction. This embryonic shell is nourished and developed in the subhaemocoelic brood-pouch organ as evidenced by being found in the size range 0.12–5.95 mm. One individu M. tuberculata can produce 1–66 embryonic shells. Meanwhile, in subhaemocoelic brood-pouch of S. punctata only the unshell embryo was seen and embryonic shell was not found. The difference of reproduction system determines the reproductive strategy in both species. M. tuberculata conduct euviviparity reproduction whereas S. punctata is ovoviviparous that releases juveniles in free-swimming veliger form.