N. Papadopoulos, J. Carey, B. Katsoyannos, N. Kouloussis, H. Müller, Xueli Liu
Over 97% of the 203 male medflies monitored in a lifetime study of their behaviour exhibited what we term supine behaviour (temporary upside–down orientation) starting an average of 16.1 days prior to their death (mean lifespan of 61.7 days). Supine onset increased the mortality risk by 39.5–fold and a unit increase in supine level increased mortality by 26.3%. The discovery that behavioural traits in insects can be used as biomarkers of their health and to predict their time to death has important implications regarding research on morbidity dynamics, behavioural neuroethology and gerontology, and the interpretation of longevity extension in model organisms.
{"title":"Supine behaviour predicts the time to death in male Mediterranean fruitflies (Ceratitis capitata)","authors":"N. Papadopoulos, J. Carey, B. Katsoyannos, N. Kouloussis, H. Müller, Xueli Liu","doi":"10.1098/rspb.2002.2078","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2002.2078","url":null,"abstract":"Over 97% of the 203 male medflies monitored in a lifetime study of their behaviour exhibited what we term supine behaviour (temporary upside–down orientation) starting an average of 16.1 days prior to their death (mean lifespan of 61.7 days). Supine onset increased the mortality risk by 39.5–fold and a unit increase in supine level increased mortality by 26.3%. The discovery that behavioural traits in insects can be used as biomarkers of their health and to predict their time to death has important implications regarding research on morbidity dynamics, behavioural neuroethology and gerontology, and the interpretation of longevity extension in model organisms.","PeriodicalId":20585,"journal":{"name":"Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series B. Biological Sciences","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2002-08-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"83666859","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The azure–winged magpie (AWM), Cyanopica cyanus, is found in Asia and Iberia. This remarkable disjunct distribution has been variously explained by either the sixteenth–century introduction of birds into Iberia from the Far East, or by the loss of individuals from the central part of their range as a result of Pleistocene glaciations. We have used the mitochondrial control region to undertake a molecular phylogenetic analysis of the AWM, with sequences examined from individuals collected from across the current distribution range and incorporating representatives of all currently defined subspecies. The Western birds are genetically distinct from their Asian congeners and their divergence is basal in the phylogenetic tree. This indicates that the AWM is native to Iberia and not the result of a recent introduction from Asia. In Asia, two major mitochondrial DNA lineages were identified. These correspond to an Inland Asia group and a Pacific Seaboard group, and are separated topographically by the Da Hingan Ling mountains and the Yellow Sea. Molecular clock estimates suggest that these divergences are associated with Pleistocene glaciations. Furthermore, our data do not support the current classification of the AWM into 10 subspecies, as defined based on morphology and geographical distribution.
{"title":"Inferring the phylogeny of disjunct populations of the azure–winged magpie Cyanopica cyanus from mitochondrial control region sequences","authors":"Koon Wah Fok, C. Wade, D. Parkin","doi":"10.1098/rspb.2002.2057","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2002.2057","url":null,"abstract":"The azure–winged magpie (AWM), Cyanopica cyanus, is found in Asia and Iberia. This remarkable disjunct distribution has been variously explained by either the sixteenth–century introduction of birds into Iberia from the Far East, or by the loss of individuals from the central part of their range as a result of Pleistocene glaciations. We have used the mitochondrial control region to undertake a molecular phylogenetic analysis of the AWM, with sequences examined from individuals collected from across the current distribution range and incorporating representatives of all currently defined subspecies. The Western birds are genetically distinct from their Asian congeners and their divergence is basal in the phylogenetic tree. This indicates that the AWM is native to Iberia and not the result of a recent introduction from Asia. In Asia, two major mitochondrial DNA lineages were identified. These correspond to an Inland Asia group and a Pacific Seaboard group, and are separated topographically by the Da Hingan Ling mountains and the Yellow Sea. Molecular clock estimates suggest that these divergences are associated with Pleistocene glaciations. Furthermore, our data do not support the current classification of the AWM into 10 subspecies, as defined based on morphology and geographical distribution.","PeriodicalId":20585,"journal":{"name":"Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series B. Biological Sciences","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2002-08-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"89069135","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
David J. Hosken, W. Blanckenhorn, Trenton W. J. Garner
Sexual conflict occurs whenever there is not strict genetic monogamy. The sexually antagonistic coevolution that potentially occurs because of this conflict involves adaptation by one sex followed by the counter–adaptation by the other, and may be thought of as an evolutionary arms–race. As a result of these cycles of antagonistic coevolution, females from one population may be less resistant to heteropopulation males, at least after short periods of allopatry, as they will not have evolved any resistance to them. We tested this prediction in yellow dung fly (Scathophaga stercoraria) populations from the UK and Switzerland. Males from each population mated as first and second males to females from each population, and the mean numbers of offspring sired by the last male to mate in each situation were compared. We also compared the fertility and fecundity of single females mated to males from both populations, as well as the fertility and fecundity of the F1 crosses. Both crosses produced viable and fertile offspring and the offspring sex ratios were not skewed. However, the fecundity of F1–cross females was greater than that of the parentals. In the sperm–competition experiment, there was a significant interaction between male and female origin influencing the proportion of offspring sired by the second male to mate, with heteropopulation males always outcompeting conpopulation males. This effect was independent of copula duration and the delay between copulations. In a separate experiment, we tested to see whether this was due to female preference for genetically dissimilar males but found no evidence for paternity biasing based on genetic similarity. Our results therefore seem to be best explained by sexually antagonistic coevolution as females appear less resistant to males with which they have not coevolved.
{"title":"Heteropopulation males have a fertilization advantage during sperm competition in the yellow dung fly (Scathophaga stercoraria)","authors":"David J. Hosken, W. Blanckenhorn, Trenton W. J. Garner","doi":"10.1098/rspb.2002.2094","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2002.2094","url":null,"abstract":"Sexual conflict occurs whenever there is not strict genetic monogamy. The sexually antagonistic coevolution that potentially occurs because of this conflict involves adaptation by one sex followed by the counter–adaptation by the other, and may be thought of as an evolutionary arms–race. As a result of these cycles of antagonistic coevolution, females from one population may be less resistant to heteropopulation males, at least after short periods of allopatry, as they will not have evolved any resistance to them. We tested this prediction in yellow dung fly (Scathophaga stercoraria) populations from the UK and Switzerland. Males from each population mated as first and second males to females from each population, and the mean numbers of offspring sired by the last male to mate in each situation were compared. We also compared the fertility and fecundity of single females mated to males from both populations, as well as the fertility and fecundity of the F1 crosses. Both crosses produced viable and fertile offspring and the offspring sex ratios were not skewed. However, the fecundity of F1–cross females was greater than that of the parentals. In the sperm–competition experiment, there was a significant interaction between male and female origin influencing the proportion of offspring sired by the second male to mate, with heteropopulation males always outcompeting conpopulation males. This effect was independent of copula duration and the delay between copulations. In a separate experiment, we tested to see whether this was due to female preference for genetically dissimilar males but found no evidence for paternity biasing based on genetic similarity. Our results therefore seem to be best explained by sexually antagonistic coevolution as females appear less resistant to males with which they have not coevolved.","PeriodicalId":20585,"journal":{"name":"Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series B. Biological Sciences","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2002-08-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"73287903","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Approximately 3% of all bird species live in families based on a prolonged parent–offspring association. Formation of family groups often appears to be associated with various constraints on the possibilities of independent reproduction for the offspring. However, delayed dispersal is not the only alternative for offspring that defer reproduction. To account for the formation of a family group it is also necessary to explain why non–dispersing offspring forego the alternative options to join other groups as‘extra bird’ or to become‘floater’ and roam between territories. We removed fathers from Siberian jay Perisoreus infaustus family groups to test the proposal that nepotistic parental tolerance gives the natal territory a special value for the offspring, which they cannot find elsewhere and that makes them stay. In this species, parents are more tolerant of their retained offspring than towards immigrant extra birds. In response to the removal of fathers, retained offspring dispersed, whereas there was no similar response among the unrelated extra birds. Retained offspring, however, left only after despotic immigrant α–males replaced removed fathers, indicating that the presence of fathers is an essential motive for offspring to delay their dispersal. By blocking immigrant and unrelated males from becoming α–males and by being tolerant themselves, fathers provide a‘safe have’ in the natal territory where retained offspring can avail themselves of available resources without any, or only mild, competitive interference.
{"title":"Why offspring delay dispersal: experimental evidence for a role of parental tolerance","authors":"J. Ekman, M. Griesser","doi":"10.1098/rspb.2002.2082","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2002.2082","url":null,"abstract":"Approximately 3% of all bird species live in families based on a prolonged parent–offspring association. Formation of family groups often appears to be associated with various constraints on the possibilities of independent reproduction for the offspring. However, delayed dispersal is not the only alternative for offspring that defer reproduction. To account for the formation of a family group it is also necessary to explain why non–dispersing offspring forego the alternative options to join other groups as‘extra bird’ or to become‘floater’ and roam between territories. We removed fathers from Siberian jay Perisoreus infaustus family groups to test the proposal that nepotistic parental tolerance gives the natal territory a special value for the offspring, which they cannot find elsewhere and that makes them stay. In this species, parents are more tolerant of their retained offspring than towards immigrant extra birds. In response to the removal of fathers, retained offspring dispersed, whereas there was no similar response among the unrelated extra birds. Retained offspring, however, left only after despotic immigrant α–males replaced removed fathers, indicating that the presence of fathers is an essential motive for offspring to delay their dispersal. By blocking immigrant and unrelated males from becoming α–males and by being tolerant themselves, fathers provide a‘safe have’ in the natal territory where retained offspring can avail themselves of available resources without any, or only mild, competitive interference.","PeriodicalId":20585,"journal":{"name":"Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series B. Biological Sciences","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2002-08-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"83233449","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
N. Saino, V. Bertacche, R. Ferrari, R. Martinelli, A. Møller, R. Stradi
Carotenoids are critical to embryonic development, immunity and protection from oxidative stress. Transmission of carotenoids to the eggs may affect development and maturation of immunity in offspring, but carotenoids may be available to females in limiting amounts. Females may thus transfer carotenoids to the eggs differentially in relation to the reproductive value of the offspring as affected by sexual ornamentation of their father. In this study of maternal allocation of carotenoids to the eggs in the barn swallow (Hirundo rustica), females whose immune system had been experimentally challenged with an antigen had smaller lutein concentrations in their eggs than controls. We manipulated the size of a secondary sexual character (tail length) of males, and analysed the effect of manipulation on allocation of lutein to eggs by their vaccinated mates. Contrary to our prediction based on parental allocation theory, mates of tail–shortened males had a larger lutein concentration in their eggs compared with those of control and tail–elongated males. According to previous studies, offspring of short–tailed males have larger exposure and/or susceptibility to parasites. A larger lutein concentration in the eggs of females mated to males with experimentally reduced ornaments may thus reflect adaptive maternal strategies to enhance offspring viability.
{"title":"Carotenoid concentration in barn swallow eggs is influenced by laying order, maternal infection and paternal ornamentation","authors":"N. Saino, V. Bertacche, R. Ferrari, R. Martinelli, A. Møller, R. Stradi","doi":"10.1098/rspb.2002.2088","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2002.2088","url":null,"abstract":"Carotenoids are critical to embryonic development, immunity and protection from oxidative stress. Transmission of carotenoids to the eggs may affect development and maturation of immunity in offspring, but carotenoids may be available to females in limiting amounts. Females may thus transfer carotenoids to the eggs differentially in relation to the reproductive value of the offspring as affected by sexual ornamentation of their father. In this study of maternal allocation of carotenoids to the eggs in the barn swallow (Hirundo rustica), females whose immune system had been experimentally challenged with an antigen had smaller lutein concentrations in their eggs than controls. We manipulated the size of a secondary sexual character (tail length) of males, and analysed the effect of manipulation on allocation of lutein to eggs by their vaccinated mates. Contrary to our prediction based on parental allocation theory, mates of tail–shortened males had a larger lutein concentration in their eggs compared with those of control and tail–elongated males. According to previous studies, offspring of short–tailed males have larger exposure and/or susceptibility to parasites. A larger lutein concentration in the eggs of females mated to males with experimentally reduced ornaments may thus reflect adaptive maternal strategies to enhance offspring viability.","PeriodicalId":20585,"journal":{"name":"Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series B. Biological Sciences","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2002-08-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"89789882","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The evolution of warning coloration (aposematism) has been difficult to explain because rare conspicuous mutants should suffer a higher cost of discovery by predators relative to the cryptic majority, while at frequencies too low to facilitate predator aversion learning. Traditional models for the evolution of aposematism have assumed conspicuous prey phenotypes to be genetically determined and constitutive. By contrast, we have recently come to understand that warning coloration can be environmentally determined and mediated by local prey density, thereby reducing the initial costs of conspicuousness. The expression of density–dependent colour polyphenism is widespread among the insects and may provide an alternative pathway for the evolution of constitutive aposematic phenotypes in unpalatable prey by providing a protected intermediate stage. If density–dependent aposematism can function as an adaptive intermediate stage for the evolution of constitutive aposematic phenotypes, differential reaction norm evolution is predicted among related palatable and unpalatable prey populations. Here, I present empirical evidence that indicates that (i) the expression of density–dependent colour polyphenism has differentially evolved between palatable and unpalatable populations of the grasshopper Schistocerca emarginata (= lineata) (Orthoptera: Acrididae), and (ii) variation in plasticity between these populations is commensurate with the expected costs of conspicuousness.
{"title":"A role for phenotypic plasticity in the evolution of aposematism","authors":"G. Sword","doi":"10.1098/rspb.2002.2060","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2002.2060","url":null,"abstract":"The evolution of warning coloration (aposematism) has been difficult to explain because rare conspicuous mutants should suffer a higher cost of discovery by predators relative to the cryptic majority, while at frequencies too low to facilitate predator aversion learning. Traditional models for the evolution of aposematism have assumed conspicuous prey phenotypes to be genetically determined and constitutive. By contrast, we have recently come to understand that warning coloration can be environmentally determined and mediated by local prey density, thereby reducing the initial costs of conspicuousness. The expression of density–dependent colour polyphenism is widespread among the insects and may provide an alternative pathway for the evolution of constitutive aposematic phenotypes in unpalatable prey by providing a protected intermediate stage. If density–dependent aposematism can function as an adaptive intermediate stage for the evolution of constitutive aposematic phenotypes, differential reaction norm evolution is predicted among related palatable and unpalatable prey populations. Here, I present empirical evidence that indicates that (i) the expression of density–dependent colour polyphenism has differentially evolved between palatable and unpalatable populations of the grasshopper Schistocerca emarginata (= lineata) (Orthoptera: Acrididae), and (ii) variation in plasticity between these populations is commensurate with the expected costs of conspicuousness.","PeriodicalId":20585,"journal":{"name":"Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series B. Biological Sciences","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2002-08-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"75852603","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
S. Lewis, S. Benvenuti, L. Dall’Antonia, R. Griffiths, L. Money, T. Sherratt, S. Wanless, K. Hamer
Sexual differences in the foraging behaviour of parents have been observed in a number of sexually sizedimorphic birds, particularly seabirds, and the usual inference has been that these sex–specific differences are mediated primarily by differences in body size. To test this explanation, we compared the foraging behaviour of parents in a monomorphic seabird species, the northern gannet Morus bassanus. Using specially designed instruments and radio telemetry we found that individuals of both sexes were consistent in the directions and durations of their foraging trips. However, there were significant differences in the foraging behaviour of males and females. Female gannets were not only more selective than males in the areas where they foraged, but they also made longer, deeper dives and spent more time on the sea surface than males. As the sexes are morphologically similar in this species, then these differences are unlikely to have been mediated by body size. Our work highlights the need to investigate sexual differences in the foraging behaviour of seabirds and other species more closely, in order to test alternative theories that do not rely on differences in body size.
{"title":"Sex-specific foraging behaviour in a monomorphic seabird","authors":"S. Lewis, S. Benvenuti, L. Dall’Antonia, R. Griffiths, L. Money, T. Sherratt, S. Wanless, K. Hamer","doi":"10.1098/rspb.2002.2083","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2002.2083","url":null,"abstract":"Sexual differences in the foraging behaviour of parents have been observed in a number of sexually sizedimorphic birds, particularly seabirds, and the usual inference has been that these sex–specific differences are mediated primarily by differences in body size. To test this explanation, we compared the foraging behaviour of parents in a monomorphic seabird species, the northern gannet Morus bassanus. Using specially designed instruments and radio telemetry we found that individuals of both sexes were consistent in the directions and durations of their foraging trips. However, there were significant differences in the foraging behaviour of males and females. Female gannets were not only more selective than males in the areas where they foraged, but they also made longer, deeper dives and spent more time on the sea surface than males. As the sexes are morphologically similar in this species, then these differences are unlikely to have been mediated by body size. Our work highlights the need to investigate sexual differences in the foraging behaviour of seabirds and other species more closely, in order to test alternative theories that do not rely on differences in body size.","PeriodicalId":20585,"journal":{"name":"Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series B. Biological Sciences","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2002-08-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"78140472","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Surprisingly little is known about the reproductive behaviour and breeding biology of most shark species, especially in natural populations. Here, we characterize reproductive patterns and use of a natal nursery at Bimini, Bahamas by lemon sharks, Negaprion brevirostris. We systematically and exhaustively sampled young lemon sharks at Bimini annually from 1995 to 2000 and opportunistically sampled adults over the same period. Out of the 897 young sharks sampled, 119 could be assigned to five sampled mothers using microsatellite genotyping. Reproductive females showed strong philopatry to the nursery, returning to Bimini every two years to give birth. Each of these females may rely entirely on the Bimini nursery for recruitment. The protection of known nursery grounds should therefore figure prominently in conservation efforts for large coastal shark species. The reconstruction of paternal genotypes indicates that litters are sired by multiple males, and females mate with different males nearly every breeding cycle. The ubiquitous polyandry reported here raises the possibility that genetic incompatibility and post–copulatory paternity–biasing mechanisms may operate in viviparous sharks.
{"title":"The breeding biology of lemon sharks at a tropical nursery lagoon","authors":"K. Feldheim, S. Gruber, M. Ashley","doi":"10.1098/rspb.2002.2051","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2002.2051","url":null,"abstract":"Surprisingly little is known about the reproductive behaviour and breeding biology of most shark species, especially in natural populations. Here, we characterize reproductive patterns and use of a natal nursery at Bimini, Bahamas by lemon sharks, Negaprion brevirostris. We systematically and exhaustively sampled young lemon sharks at Bimini annually from 1995 to 2000 and opportunistically sampled adults over the same period. Out of the 897 young sharks sampled, 119 could be assigned to five sampled mothers using microsatellite genotyping. Reproductive females showed strong philopatry to the nursery, returning to Bimini every two years to give birth. Each of these females may rely entirely on the Bimini nursery for recruitment. The protection of known nursery grounds should therefore figure prominently in conservation efforts for large coastal shark species. The reconstruction of paternal genotypes indicates that litters are sired by multiple males, and females mate with different males nearly every breeding cycle. The ubiquitous polyandry reported here raises the possibility that genetic incompatibility and post–copulatory paternity–biasing mechanisms may operate in viviparous sharks.","PeriodicalId":20585,"journal":{"name":"Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series B. Biological Sciences","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2002-08-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"85707517","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Joslin L. Moore, L. Manne, T. Brooks, N. Burgess, R. Davies, C. Rahbek, Paul H. Williams, A. Balmford
Anthropologists, biologists and linguists have all noted an apparent coincidence in species diversity and human cultural or linguistic diversity. We present, to our knowledge, one of the first quantitative descriptions of this coincidence and show that, for 2° × 2° grid cells across sub–Saharan Africa, cultural diversity and vertebrate species diversity exhibit marked similarities in their overall distribution. In addition, we show that 71% of the observed variation in species richness and 36% in language richness can be explained on the basis of environmental factors, suggesting that similar factors, especially those associated with rainfall and productivity, affect the distributions of both species and languages. Nevertheless, the form of the relationships between species richness and language richness and environmental factors differs, and it is unlikely that comparable mechanisms underpin the similar patterns of species and language richness. Moreover, the fact that the environmental factors considered here explain less than half of the variation in language richness indicates that other factors, many of which are likely to be historical or social, also influence the distribution of languages.
{"title":"The distribution of cultural and biological diversity in Africa","authors":"Joslin L. Moore, L. Manne, T. Brooks, N. Burgess, R. Davies, C. Rahbek, Paul H. Williams, A. Balmford","doi":"10.1098/rspb.2002.2075","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2002.2075","url":null,"abstract":"Anthropologists, biologists and linguists have all noted an apparent coincidence in species diversity and human cultural or linguistic diversity. We present, to our knowledge, one of the first quantitative descriptions of this coincidence and show that, for 2° × 2° grid cells across sub–Saharan Africa, cultural diversity and vertebrate species diversity exhibit marked similarities in their overall distribution. In addition, we show that 71% of the observed variation in species richness and 36% in language richness can be explained on the basis of environmental factors, suggesting that similar factors, especially those associated with rainfall and productivity, affect the distributions of both species and languages. Nevertheless, the form of the relationships between species richness and language richness and environmental factors differs, and it is unlikely that comparable mechanisms underpin the similar patterns of species and language richness. Moreover, the fact that the environmental factors considered here explain less than half of the variation in language richness indicates that other factors, many of which are likely to be historical or social, also influence the distribution of languages.","PeriodicalId":20585,"journal":{"name":"Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series B. Biological Sciences","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2002-08-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"83213228","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The red imported fire ant is becoming a global ecological problem, having invaded the United States, Puerto Rico, New Zealand and, most recently, Australia. In its established areas, this pest is devastating natural biodiversity. Early attempts to halt fire ant expansion with pesticides actually enhanced its spread. Phorid fly parasitoids from South America have now been introduced into the United States as potential biological control agents of the red imported fire ant, but the impact of these flies on fire ant populations is currently unknown. In the laboratory, we show that an average phorid density of as little as one attacking fly per 200 foraging ants decreased colony protein consumption nearly twofold and significantly reduced numbers of large–sized workers 50 days later. The high impact of a single phorid occurred mainly because ants decreased foraging rates in the presence of the flies. Our experiments, the first (to our knowledge) to link indirect and direct effects of phorids on fire ants, demonstrate that colonies can be stressed with surprisingly low parasitoid densities. We interpret our findings with regard to the more complex fire ant–phorid interactions in the field.
{"title":"Colony–level impacts of parasitoid flies on fire ants","authors":"N. J. Mehdiabadi, L. Gilbert","doi":"10.1098/rspb.2002.2087","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2002.2087","url":null,"abstract":"The red imported fire ant is becoming a global ecological problem, having invaded the United States, Puerto Rico, New Zealand and, most recently, Australia. In its established areas, this pest is devastating natural biodiversity. Early attempts to halt fire ant expansion with pesticides actually enhanced its spread. Phorid fly parasitoids from South America have now been introduced into the United States as potential biological control agents of the red imported fire ant, but the impact of these flies on fire ant populations is currently unknown. In the laboratory, we show that an average phorid density of as little as one attacking fly per 200 foraging ants decreased colony protein consumption nearly twofold and significantly reduced numbers of large–sized workers 50 days later. The high impact of a single phorid occurred mainly because ants decreased foraging rates in the presence of the flies. Our experiments, the first (to our knowledge) to link indirect and direct effects of phorids on fire ants, demonstrate that colonies can be stressed with surprisingly low parasitoid densities. We interpret our findings with regard to the more complex fire ant–phorid interactions in the field.","PeriodicalId":20585,"journal":{"name":"Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series B. Biological Sciences","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2002-08-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"84444311","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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