Shell choice in<Emphasis Type="Italic"> Pagurus longicarpus</Emphasis> hermit crabs: does predation threat influence shell selection behavior?

Pagurus longicarpus hermit crabs depend on empty gastropod shells for protection against predation. Hermit crabs avoid gastropod shells in which holes have been drilled by naticid gastropods, and hermit crabs forced to occupy drilled shells are more vulnerable to predation by green crabs, Carcinus maenas. In this study, we examined the effect of predator cues on P. longicarpus shell investigation behavior and shell choice. In paired laboratory shell choice trials, we examined hermit crab response to green crab chemical cues. We compared hermit crabs from two sites differing in the percentage of Littorina littorea shells with drill holes. The percentage of time hermit crabs spent occupying intact shells increased significantly in the presence of predator cues. The effect of predator cues on the amount of time hermit crabs spent investigating shells differed between individuals from the two sites. Predator effluent had a marginal effect on the proportion of hermit crabs initially choosing intact shells and within 15 min most hermit crabs in both treatments occupied intact shells due to shell switching. These results indicate that predation cues alter P. longicarpus shell choice behavior favoring intact shells, which provide greater protection. In summary, predation appears to be a key factor influencing hermit crab shell selection behavior.Communicated by T. Czeschlik     

Male mating opportunities affect sex allocation in a protrandric-simultaneous hermaphroditic shrimp

Sex allocation theory predicts phenotypic adjustments by individuals in their investments into the male and female reproductive function in response to environmental conditions. I tested for phenotypically plastic shifts in sex allocation in a protandric simultaneous hermaphrodite, in which individuals mature and reproduce as males first, and later in life, as simultaneous hermaphrodites. I predicted that initially maturing males should adjust the timing of maturation as hermaphrodites according to male mating opportunities mediated by population size of hermaphrodites. In a first experiment, males maintained with only one hermaphrodite reduced the time they spent as males in comparison to males maintained with no conspecifics, presumably because total reproductive output is maximized by two individuals being simultaneous hermaphrodites when the mating system is a pair. Conversely, males maintained in groups with two or more hermaphrodites increased the time they spent as males in comparison to single males. This delay in maturation was not an effect of resource depletion with increasing shrimp density because the growth rate of males did not differ among most of the experimental treatments. One hypothesis to explain this social mediation of sex allocation is that the smaller males are more successful in mating as males than are the larger hermaphrodites: it will pay reproductively for males to delay maturation as hermaphrodites in large but not in small groups. In agreement with this notion, a second experiment demonstrated that smaller males were four times more successful than were larger hermaphrodites in inseminating shrimps reproducing as females. The informative cue that males may use to perceive different group sizes deserves further attention.     

The effect of mirrors on African clawed frog (Xenopus laevis) larval growth, development, and behavior

We examined the behavioral and developmental responses of Xenopus laevis larvae to their mirror images in three experiments. The mirrors allowed us to visually simulate increased density, without the tadpoles’ behavior being confounded by chemical cues from additional tadpoles. In the first experiment, we demonstrated that Xenopus tadpoles have a right eye preference for mirrors, contrary to the left eye preference of all other anuran species studied to date. This lateralized eye use disappeared, however, as tadpoles approached metamorphosis. Next, we examined how mirrored aquaria walls affected tadpole growth and development. We found that tadpoles raised in aquaria with partially mirrored walls showed depressed growth compared to tadpoles raised without mirrors, despite the fact that Xenopus larvae normally thrive when raised in visual contact with conspecifics. The tadpoles raised with mirrors had, though not significantly, proportionally larger bodies relative to their tail length (d = 0.51). This suggests that a phenotypically plastic response in body proportions was induced in these tadpoles solely by the sight of other tadpoles. The third experiment established that X. laevis tadpoles are more active in front of a mirror; i.e., they turn more often and spend more time in front of mirrored surfaces. We consider this increased activity to be an aberrant behavior of the tadpoles, which were attempting to school with their own images. We suggest that this extra activity reduced the amount of energy available for growth, accounting for the depressed growth seen in our second experiment.     

Mate-choice copying by female zebra finches, <Emphasis Type="Italic">Taeniopygia guttata</Emphasis>: what happens when model females provide inconsistent information?

For a long time, mate-choice copying was thought to be restricted to lekking and polygynous species. Yet, recent experimental studies revealed that social information can play a role in the evolution of mate preferences in monogamous species with biparental care. However, this phenomenon has been demonstrated only under particular conditions and the prevalence and importance of this phenomenon therefore remains to be evaluated. In particular, previous laboratory experiments have consisted in exposing test females to only one paired male at a time, while under natural conditions monogamous females are likely to observe the choice of several females before making a decision. Thus, in the present study, female zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata) could observe two model females simultaneously, that provided either inconsistent or consistent information, depending on whether they were interacting with different types of males or with males of a same phenotype. We found that the relative importance given to private and social information on females’ preferences varied with the consistency of social information and females significantly changed their preference only when social information was consistent. There was, nevertheless, a large variation in their responses. We suggest that such variations could be due to the fact that the benefits of mate-choice copying are frequency-dependent, and that this constrain would further contribute to limit the use of social information in monogamous species.     

A trade-off between prey- and predator-induced polyphenisms in larvae of the salamander Hynobius retardatus

Organisms in natural habitats participate in complex ecological interactions that include competition, predation, and foraging. Under natural aquatic environmental conditions, amphibian larvae can simultaneously receive multiple signals from conspecifics, predators, and prey, implying that predator-induced morphological defenses can occur in prey and that prey-induced offensive morphological traits may develop in predators. Although multiple adaptive plasticity, such as inducible defenses and inducible offensive traits, can be expected to have not only ecological but also evolutionary implications, few empirical studies report on species having such plasticity. The broad-headed larval morph of Hynobius retardatus, which is induced by crowding with heterospecific anuran (Rana pirica) larvae, is a representative example of prey-induced polyphenism. The morph is one of two distinct morphs that have been identified in this species; the other is the typical morph. In this paper, we report that typical larval morphs of Hynobius can respond rapidly to a predatory environment and show conspicuous predator-induced plasticity of larval tail depth, but that broad-headed morphs cannot respond similarly to a predation threat. Our findings support the hypothesis that induction or maintenance of adaptive plasticity (e.g., predator-induced polyphenism) trades off against other adaptive plastic responses (e.g., prey-induced polyphenism). For a species to retain both an ability to forage for larger prey and an ability to more effectively resist predation makes sense in light of the range of environments that many salamander larvae experience in nature. Our results suggest that the salamander larvae clearly discriminate between cues from prey and those from predators and accurately respond to each cue; that is, they adjust their phenotype to the current environment.     

The Ecological–Genetic Pattern of Variation in the Populations of Narrow-Leaved Hawk's Beard Crepis tectorum L. (Asteraceae)

The effect of long-term exposure to a stress factor on the pattern of variation and intrapopulation differentiation with respect to phenotypic plasticity was studied in Crepis tectorum L. by means of family analysis of various traits in seedlings. Trends in the changes of variation patterns in populations and the possible consequences of the decrease in the proportions of genotypes determining a low sensitivity to environmental changes and in genotypic diversity with respect to phenotypic plasticity are discussed.     

Digit length ratio (2D/4D): comparing measurements from X-rays and photographs in field voles (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Microtus agrestis</Emphasis>)

The ratio of second-to-fourth digit length (2D/4D) has been suggested to be a useful adult age marker of intrauterine exposure to steroids because it should be sexually dimorphic and fixed already in utero. Numerous studies mainly on humans have supported this conclusion, but it is yet unclear how well this applies to other vertebrates. This information would be especially valuable to field biologists to whom measuring steroids in utero is often impossible. The non-human studies conducted so far have yielded inconsistent results, perhaps due to the variety of different methods employed in measuring 2D/4D. We examined the age and sex dependency and lateral asymmetry of 2D/4D in field voles (Microtus agrestis) and compared whether these effects differed between 2D/4D measurements taken from photographs and X-rays. Our results show that 2D/4D measurements from photos had a higher measurement error and gave consistently higher 2D/4D than those from X-rays. According to both measurement methods, the right paw showed higher 2D/4D values than the left paw (lateral asymmetry). Adult voles had a lower 2D/4D than juveniles when measured from X-rays, but not when measured from photographs. We found no evidence for a sex difference in 2D/4D using either of the measurement methods. Our findings thus suggest that X-rays, due to their greater accuracy, should be preferred over photographs for measuring digit ratios in rodents. Our results also indicate that in this species, 2D/4D is laterally asymmetric, but it may not be either fixed in utero or sexually dimorphic. In conclusion, 2D/4D appears to be a rather species- and method-specific measure and researchers should be careful when generalising its applicability to study early hormonal effects in vertebrates.     

Adaptive prey behavior and the dynamics of intraguild predation systems

Intraguild predation constitutes a widespread interaction occurring across different taxa, trophic positions and ecosystems, and its endogenous dynamical properties have been shown to affect the abundance and persistence of the involved populations as well as those connected with them within food webs. Although optimal foraging decisions displayed by predators are known to exert a stabilizing influence on the dynamics of intraguild predation systems, few is known about the corresponding influence of adaptive prey decisions in spite of its commonness in nature. In this study, we analyze the effect that adaptive antipredator behavior exerts on the stability and persistence of the populations involved in intraguild predation systems. Our results indicate that adaptive prey behavior in the form of inducible defenses act as a stabilizing mechanism and show that, in the same direction that adaptive foraging, enhances the parameter space in which species can coexist through promoting persistence of the IG-prey. At high levels of enrichment, the intraguild predation system exhibits unstable dynamics and zones of multiples attractors. In addition, we show that the equilibrium density of the IG-predator could be increased at intermediate values of defense effectiveness. Finally we conclude that adaptive prey behavior is an important mechanism leading to species coexistence in intraguild predation systems and consequently enhancing stability of food webs.     

不同光环境下薇甘菊形态和生理可塑性及其响应研究

研究了华南地区外来入侵种薇甘菊Mikania micrantha H B Kunth不同光环境下形态和生理可塑性及其适应性响应。通过模拟开阔地段、林缘、大林窗、小林窗、林下等不同生境的的光照环境,并设计一个干扰实验,分析了薇甘菊的生长、碳同化以及生物量分配如何对光环境作出适应性响应。研究了当干扰发生时,薇甘菊如何对光环境的变化做出形态和生理可塑性响应。通过对其各项生物量分配及气体交换等指标的观测,在小林窗光照环境下薇甘菊生长缓慢生物量积累较少,但是如果一旦受到干扰,光照环境得到改善,薇甘菊将在很短的时间内通过适应性形态和生理可塑性响应,迅速体现出较强的入侵性。这也可能是入侵植物薇甘菊＂坐待对策（sit and wait strategy）＂的生动体现：如果外界环境不利,暂且先保持繁殖体（种子或者根茎）,一旦条件成熟（发生干扰条件得到改善或者遗传变异或者生态生理的积累）,就会迅速爆发。所以我们一方面,不用担心郁闭的森林会被薇甘菊入侵,但另一方面也要注意干扰会引起光照等环境条件的改变,使得原来潜伏于林下的薇甘菊繁殖体重新变得富有入侵性。     

液化石油气钢瓶长径比研究

分析钢瓶的长度和直径之比(长径比)对容积变形率的影响,在材料相同的条件下,长径比大的气瓶的容积变形率的要求也相应提高。笔者分别从钢瓶的边界效应、冲压工艺、制造经济性3个方面探讨了液化石油气钢瓶的合适长径比,并综合提出了液化石油气钢瓶的长径比的适宜范围为0.8～1.6。