Increased opposite sex association is linked with fitness benefits, otherwise sociality is subject to stabilising selection in a wild passerine

Animal sociality, an individuals propensity to association with others, has consequences for fitness, and particularly mate choice. For example, directly, by increasing the pool of prospective partners, and indirectly through increased survival. Individuals benefit from both over the short-term as these benefits are associated with mating status and subsequent fecundity, but whether animal sociality also translates into fitness is unknown. Here, we quantified social associations and their link with annual and lifetime fitness, measured as the number of recruits and in de-lifed fitness. We measured this in birds visiting a feeding station over two non-breeding periods, using social network analysis and a multi-generational genetic pedigree. We find high individual repeatability in sociality. We found that individuals with an average sociality had the highest fitness, and that birds with more opposite-sex associates had higher fitness, but this did not translate to improved lifetime fitness. For lifetime fitness, we found evidence for stabilizing selection on between sex sociality measures, suggesting that such benefits are only short-lived in a wild population.

Two divergent haplotypes from a highly heterozygous lychee genome suggest independent domestication events for early and late-maturing cultivars

Lychee is an exotic tropical fruit with a distinct flavor. The genome of cultivar ‘Feizixiao’ was assembled into 15 pseudochromosomes, totaling ~470 Mb. High heterozygosity (2.27%) resulted in two complete haplotypic assemblies. A total of 13,517 allelic genes (42.4%) were differentially expressed in diverse tissues. Analyses of 72 resequenced lychee accessions revealed two independent domestication events. The extremely early maturing cultivars preferentially aligned to one haplotype were domesticated from a wild population in Yunnan, whereas the late-maturing cultivars that mapped mostly to the second haplotype were domesticated independently from a wild population in Hainan. Early maturing cultivars were probably developed in Guangdong via hybridization between extremely early maturing cultivar and late-maturing cultivar individuals. Variable deletions of a 3.7 kb region encompassed by a pair of CONSTANS-like genes probably regulate fruit maturation differences among lychee cultivars. These genomic resources provide insights into the natural history of lychee domestication and will accelerate the improvement of lychee and related crops.

Comparative analysis of brain in relation to the body length and weight of common carp (Cyprinus carpio) in captive (hatchery) and wild (river system) populations

Cyprinus carpio is the member of family cyprinidae commonly called common carp. This study was aimed to find out the comparison of brain of wild (river system) and captive (hatchery reared) population of common carp. A total of thirty samples (15 from hatchery and 15 from river Swat) were collected. All the specimens were examined in Laboratory of Parasitoloy, Zoology Department, University of Malakand. Findings indicated that wild population were greater in brain size and weight as compared to hatchery reared population. The fish samples collected from captive environment (hatchery) were showing more weight and length as compared to wild population of common carps. The mean value of total weight of hatchery fishes 345±48.68 and the mean value of brain weight of hatchery reared fishes 0.28±0.047. The mean value of wild fish’s total body weight 195.16±52.58 and the mean value of brain weight of wild fishes are 0.45±0.14. Present research calls for the fact that fish in dependent environmental conditions possess brain larger in size as compared to its captive population, it is due to use and disuse of brain in their environmental requirements.

Breeding of a Wild Population of South Pacific Bonito Sarda chiliensis chiliensis (Cuvier 1832) Broodstock under Laboratory Conditions in Pisagua, Northern Chile

The wild population of South Pacific bonito Sarda chiliensis chiliensis, which has a wide distribution in northern Chile, is considered of importance in Chilean aquaculture. The biological feasibility of cultivation of any marine species begins with the establishment of an initial broodstock population to obtain eggs, larvae, and juveniles. In this work, 22 South Pacific bonito fishing campaigns were carried out in Pisagua, Chile, between spring in November 2011 and the summer in January 2012. At least 74 specimens were obtained of which 24 survived the capture and transport processes. Fish were stocked in a recirculating land-based aquaculture system, and at 14 months under captivity, fish began spawning. Eggs were collected, to describe some stages of development, and were placed in incubators at 20 °C and on the third-day eggs hatched. Larvae reached a total length between 1.435 and 1.7 mm, which were accurately characterized during their first morphological changes. This is the first work that describes the capture, transport, and acclimatization in captivity of a breeding population of wild Pacific bonito in Chile.

The Effects of Boric Acid Sugar Bait on Wolbachia Trans-Infected Male Aedes albopictus (ZAP Males®) in Laboratory Conditions

The field release of Wolbachia trans-infected male mosquitoes, as well as the use of toxic sugar baits, is a novel and promising candidate technique for integrated mosquito management programs. However, the methods of action of the two techniques may not be complementary, because the Wolbachia method releases mosquitoes into the environment expecting a wild population reduction in subsequent generations while the toxic baits are intended to reduce the wild population by killing mosquitoes. This laboratory study was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of boric acid toxic sugar baits on Wolbachia trans-infected male Aedes albopictus, relative to wild-type Ae. albopictus males. Wolbachia trans-infected (ZAP male®) and the wild-type Ae. albopictus males were exposed separately to 1% boric acid in a 10% sucrose solution in BugDorms. In the control test, the two groups were exposed to 10% sucrose solution without boric acid. Percent mortalities were counted for 24 h, 48 h and 72 h post exposure periods. The results show that 1% boric acid toxic sugar bait can effectively kill ZAP males under laboratory conditions, and the effectiveness was significantly higher after 24 h and 48 h, compared to wild-type male Ae. albopictus. This finding will help in planning and coordinating integrated mosquito management programs, including both Wolbachia trans-infected mosquito releases and the use of toxic sugar baits against Ae. albopictus.

Marsilea mutica (Marsileaceae) newly reported in Texas, U.S.A.

This paper documents the first occurrence in Texas of a wild population of Marsilea mutica Mett., (Marsileaceae), an exotic species of water-clover fern. The colony's life history and potential for invasive behavior are discussed.

OCORRÊNCIA DO VÍRUS DA RAIVA NA POPULAÇÃO SELVAGEM DE SAGUIS CALLITHRIX GEOFFROYI (HUMBOLDT, 1812) NO SUDESTE DO BRASIL

Background: Zoonosis, which causes acute and lethal encephalitis, is transmitted through the inoculation of the virus present in the saliva of mammals of several species. In Brazil, wild rabies is a challenge for epidemiological surveillance and a significant increase has already been observed in human cases. Some of the main wild reservoirs are: wild dog (Cerdocyon thous), marmosets (Callithrix sp) and hematophagous bats (Desmodus rotundus). Considering cases of positivity in marmosets in the Northeast of Brazil, together with the increasing number of cases in wild animals, this work aimed to survey the occurrence of the virus in a wild population. The animals were necropsied from the tramway ES-060, all of the Callithrix geoffroyi. The material collected for analysis of the rabies virus consisted of brain, which was conditioned and identified for later analysis at the Institute of Agricultural and Forest Defense of Espírito Santo (IDAF). The 44 samples gave negative results. The study suggests that the occurrence of the virus should be investigated in other localities, especially in regions closer to sites that have already been reported cases of rabies, and that the use of trampled animals is feasible for a better understanding of wildlife health.