Variation of foraging rate and wing loading, but not resting metabolic rate scaling, of insect pollinators

Morphological, physiological and behavioural variation with body size (i.e. scaling) may affect costs of living in a particular environment for insects and, ultimately, pollination or foraging success. However, few studies have directly assessed the scaling of these traits at the species level. Using two similar-sized pollinator species (the hawkmoth Macroglossum trochilus and the fly Moegistorhynchus longirostrus), we compare intraspecific scaling relationships of resting metabolic rate (RMR), foraging rate (FR) and wing loading (WL) to address this paucity of data. Scaling of RMR was similar for both taxa although the intercepts for the relationships differed. However, these two species showed variation in WL scaling relationships and fundamentally different FR scaling. For M. longirostrus, FR scaling was positive but non-significantly related to body mass while for M. trochilus FR scaling was negative. This suggests that variation in FR and WL, but not RMR scaling, among these flies and hawkmoths may impose significant energetic costs which could affect animal–plant interactions in the wild.     

Multilevel selection and social evolution of insect societies

How sterile, altruistic worker castes have evolved in social insects and how they are maintained have long been central topics in evolutionary biology. With the advance of kin selection theory, insect societies, in particular those of haplodiploid bees, ants, and wasps, have become highly suitable model systems for investigating the details of social evolution and recently also how within-group conflicts are resolved. Because insect societies typically do not consist of clones, conflicts among nestmates arise, for example about the partitioning of reproduction and the allocation of resources towards male and female sexuals. Variation in relatedness among group members therefore appears to have a profound influence on the social structure of groups. However, insect societies appear to be remarkably robust against such variation: division of labor and task allocation are often organized in more or less the same way in societies with high as in those with very low nestmate relatedness. To explain the discrepancy between predictions from kin structure and empirical data, it was suggested that constraints—such as the lack of power or information—prevent individuals from pursuing their own selfish interests. Applying a multilevel selection approach shows that these constraints are in fact group-level adaptation preventing or resolving intracolonial conflict. The mechanisms of conflict resolution in insect societies are similar to those at other levels in the biological hierarchy (e.g., in the genome or multicellular organisms): alignment of interests, fair lottery, and social control. Insect societies can thus be regarded as a level of selection with novelties that provide benefits beyond the scope of a solitary life. Therefore, relatedness is less important for the maintenance of insect societies, although it played a fundamental role in their evolution.Dedicated to Prof. Ernst Mayr     

Characterization of maspardin, responsible for human Mast syndrome, in an insect species and analysis of its evolution in metazoans

Mast syndrome is a complicated form of human hereditary spastic paraplegias, caused by a mutation in the gene acid cluster protein 33, which encodes a protein designated as “maspardin.” Maspardin presents similarity to the α/β-hydrolase superfamily, but might lack enzymatic activity and rather be involved in protein–protein interactions. Association with the vesicles of the endosomal network also suggested that maspardin may be involved in the sorting and/or trafficking of molecules in the endosomal pathway, a crucial process for maintenance of neuron health. Despite a high conservation in living organisms, studies of maspardin in other animal species than mammals were lacking. In the cotton armyworm Spodoptera littoralis, an insect pest model, analysis of an expressed sequence tag collection from antenna, the olfactory organ, has allowed identifying a maspardin homolog (SlMasp). We have investigated SlMasp tissue distribution and temporal expression by PCR and in situ hybridization techniques. Noteworthy, we found that maspardin was highly expressed in antennae and associated with the structures specialized in odorant detection. We have, in addition, identified maspardin sequences in numerous “nonmammalian” species and described here their phylogenetic analysis in the context of metazoan diversity. We observed a strong conservation of maspardin in metazoans, with surprisingly two independent losses of this gene in two relatively distant ecdysozoan taxa that include major model organisms, i.e., dipterans and nematodes.     

More than euglossines: the diverse pollinators and floral scents of Zygopetalinae orchids

Floral volatile organic compounds (VOCs) play important roles in plant-pollinator interactions. We investigated the reproductive ecology and floral VOCs of Zygopetalinae orchids to understand the relationship between floral scents and pollinators. We performed focal observations, phenological censuses and breeding system experiments in eight species in southeast Brazil. Floral scents were collected and analysed using SPME/GC-MS. We performed multivariate analyses to group species according to affinities of their VOCs and define compounds associated to each plant. Dichaea cogniauxiana was pollinated by weevils which use their developing ovules, while D. pendula was pollinated by the same weevils and perfume-collecting male euglossine bees. The other species were deceit-pollinated by bees. Zygopetalum crinitum was pollinated by carpenter bees, while W. warreana, Z. mackayi and Z. maxillare were bumblebee-pollinated. The latter was also pollinated by Centris confusa. Breeding system varied widely with no association to any pollinator group. Most VOCs are common to other floral scents. Zygopetalum crinitum presented an exclusive blend of VOCs, mainly composed of benzenoids. The scents of Pabstia jugosa, Promenaea xanthina and the Zygopetalum spp. were similar. The bumblebee-pollinated species have flowering periods partially overlapped, thus neither phenology nor pollinators constitute hybridization barriers among these species. Euglossines are not the only pollinators of Zygopetalinae. Different VOCs, size and lifespan of flowers are associated with distinct pollinators. A distinctive VOC bouquet may determine specialisation in carpenter bees or male euglossines within bee-pollinated flowers. Finally, visitation of deceit-pollinated flowers by perfume-collecting euglossines allows us to hypothesise how pollination by this group of bees had evolved.     

When xenarthrans had enamel: insights on the evolution of their hypsodonty and paleontological support for independent evolution in armadillos

All xenarthrans known to date are characterized by having permanent teeth that are both high crowned and open rooted, i.e., euhypsodont, and with a type of hypsodonty different from that of the rest of Placentalia: dentine hypsodonty. Also, most xenarthrans lack enamel; however, its presence has been reported in the fossil armadillo Utaetus buccatus and in living Dasypus. Considering the divergence of Xenarthra from other eutherians that possessed enameled teeth, the absence of enamel is a derived character. Diverse specializations are known in the dentition of xenarthrans, but the primitive pattern of their teeth and dentitions is still unknown. Here, we describe the mandible and teeth of a fossil armadillo, Astegotherium dichotomus (Astegotheriini, Dasypodidae), from the early Middle Eocene of Argentine Patagonia, with teeth showing both true enamel and closed roots. It is the oldest xenarthran with mandibular remains exhibiting protohypsodonty and is therefore likely representative of ancestral cingulates and xenarthrans generally. Astegotherium supports a recent hypothesis based on molecular data that enamel loss occurred independently not only within xenarthrans but also within dasypodid armadillos.     

Life history evolution: successes, limitations, and prospects

Life history theory tries to explain how evolution designs organisms to achieve reproductive success. The design is a solution to an ecological problem posed by the environment and subject to constraints intrinsic to the organism. Work on life histories has expanded the role of phenotypes in evolutionary theory, extending the range of predictions from genetic patterns to whole-organism traits directly connected to fitness. Among the questions answered are the following: Why are organisms small or large? Why do they mature early or late? Why do they have few or many offspring? Why do they have a short or a long life? Why must they grow old and die? The classical approach to life histories was optimization; it has had some convincing empirical success. Recently non-equilibrium approaches involving frequency-dependence, density-dependence, evolutionary game theory, adaptive dynamics, and explicit population dynamics have supplanted optimization as the preferred approach. They have not yet had as much empirical success, but there are logical reasons to prefer them, and they may soon extend the impact of life history theory into population dynamics and interspecific interactions in coevolving communities.     

藏北东巧地区地幔岩流变学特征及构造演化

本文首次从岩石组合、橄榄石与辉石组构、宏观流变、微观流变及波速和各向异性特征等方面详细阐述了东巧地区地幔岩塑性流变学特征,从微观与宏观角度进一步探讨了班公错—怒江结合带东巧地幔岩形成的地质环境及构造演化过程,认为东巧地幔岩具有超高压成因特点,形成于小洋盆环境,在印度板块向欧亚板块推移过程中就位,最终在喜马拉雅整体隆升阶段完成了近地表的构造调整。     

Avoiding incidental predation by mammalian herbivores: accurate detection and efficient response in aphids

Mammalian herbivores eat plants that may also provide food and shelter for insects. The direct trophic effect of the browsing and grazing of mammalian herbivory on insects, which is probably prevalent in terrestrial ecosystems, has been mostly neglected by ecologists. We examined how the aphid Uroleucon sonchi L. deals with the danger of incidental predation by mammalian herbivores. We found that most (76%) of the aphids in a colony survive the ingestion of the plant by a feeding herbivore. They do so by sensing the combination of heat and humidity in the herbivore’s breath and immediately dropping off the plant in large numbers. Their ability to sense the herbivore’s breath or their tendency to drop off the plant weakens as ambient temperature rises. This could indicate a limitation of the aphids’ sensory system or an adaptation that enables them to avoid the hostile conditions on a hot ground. Once on the ground, U. sonchi is highly mobile and capable of locating a new host plant by advancing in a pattern that differs significantly from random movement. The accurate and efficient defense mechanism of U. sonchi emphasizes the significance of incidental predation as a danger to plant-dwelling invertebrates.     

江苏洋口港地区地下水的环境同位素组成及其形成演化研究

江苏洋口港地区是江苏沿海开发重点建设的深水港区,水质优良的地下水是港区经济社会发展的重要基础.本研究利用近期获得的钻孔剖面地层对比数据资料,沿水文径流剖面分层采集水样,通过识别地表水、各含水层地下水的环境同位素(δD、δ~(18)O、~3H、~(14)C)组成指纹特征,以揭示研究区地下水的形成演化规律.结果表明,研究区浅层地下水主要来源于现代大气降水的入渗补给,大气降水在补给地下水过程中经历了明显的蒸发过程;研究区深层地下水的放射性~(14)C年龄主要为15000~26000 a,其稳定同位素δ~(18)O、δD值比现代降水低,是晚更新世末次冰期(大理冰期)的盛冰期降水入渗补给.地下水含水层的氘、氧、碳同位素分布具有明显的呈层性,随着地下水埋藏深度增加,地下水中的δD、δ~(18)O值呈下降趋势.浅层地下水与地表水水力联系紧密,可更新能力较强;深层地下水径流缓慢,总体上处于封闭-半封闭状态,可更新能力弱.江苏沿海平原天然地下水流动是自晚更新世末期以来,伴随着冰退、海平面上升而调整到目前的模式.末次盛冰期以来的自然地理及地质发展史,决定着研究区第四系地下水流系统的演变格局,现代人类活动加强了浅层与深层地下水之间的水力联系.研究在高强度开发地下水条件下的区域水文循环特征,可为沿海地区地下水演变机理和调控研究提供技术支持.     

Convergent evolution: floral guides, stingless bee nest entrances, and insectivorous pitchers

Several recent hypotheses, including sensory drive and sensory exploitation, suggest that receiver biases may drive selection of biological signals in the context of sexual selection. Here we suggest that a similar mechanism may have led to convergence of patterns in flowers, stingless bee nest entrances, and pitchers of insectivorous plants. A survey of these non-related visual stimuli shows that they share features such as stripes, dark centre, and peripheral dots. Next, we experimentally show that in stingless bees the close-up approach to a flower is guided by dark centre preference. Moreover, in the approach towards their nest entrance, they have a spontaneous preference for entrance patterns containing a dark centre and disrupted ornamentation. Together with existing empirical evidence on the honeybee's and other insects’ orientation to flowers, this suggests that the signal receivers of the natural patterns we examined, mainly Hymenoptera, have spontaneous preferences for radiating stripes, dark centres, and peripheral dots. These receiver biases may have evolved in other behavioural contexts in the ancestors of Hymenoptera, but our findings suggest that they have triggered the convergent evolution of visual stimuli in floral guides, stingless bee nest entrances, and insectivorous pitchers.     

福建省地体构造划分及构造演化

本文根据对福建省不同地区的地质特征进行详细的研究对比,划分出闽西北、闽西南、闽东和闽东南四个性质不同的地体,并研究了各地体的之间碰撞拼贴的历史,指出它们主要经历了三个阶段:1、晚元古代,闽西南地体和闽西北地体沿南平-宁化一线发生碰撞拼贴作用,同时伴随海底和陆上火山喷发活动;2、三叠纪,闽东地体沿政和-大埔一线和闽西南、闽西北地体发生碰撞拼贴作用,闽东南地体也随之拼贴在闽东地体之上;3、白垩纪,闽东南地体沿平潭-东山断裂带发生左行走滑运动.     

太湖浮游硅藻时空演化与环境因子的关系

利用1992年至2002年每月1次的监测资料,系统分析了太湖北部3个区域(河口、梅梁湾、湖心)浮游硅藻(Planktonic diatoms)生物量周年变化和空间分布情况.同时,水中磷酸盐(PO43--P)、氨氮(NH4+-N)、硝氮(NO3--N)和硅酸盐(SiO23--Si)含量等相关资料也被用于解释太湖浮游硅藻时空分布的原因.结果显示,直链硅藻(Aulacoseira sp.)是太湖浮游硅藻的优势种,其它常见种有小环藻(Cyclotella sp.)、针杆藻(Synedrasp.)等.硅藻总生物量占浮游藻类生物量百分比平均值约为20%.太湖浮游硅藻生物量在河口最大,梅梁湾其次,湖心最小,究其原因可能与河口的特殊生态环境(水流速度)有关,另外,河口丰富的营养盐,特别是磷酸盐和氨氮也是一个重要因素.温度可能是影响太湖浮游硅藻生物量季节变化的关键因素.Pearson相关分析证实,磷酸盐、氨氮和温度均与硅藻生物量显著相关(p<0.01),且蓝藻生物量百分比与硅藻生物量百分比呈显著负相关.研究结果说明,太湖浮游硅藻的生长分布受多种环境因子(磷酸盐、氨氮、温度)的影响限制,太湖浮游硅藻与蓝藻可能存在着竞争演替的趋势.     

The origin and early evolution of birds: discoveries,disputes, and perspectives from fossil evidence

The study of the origin and early evolution of birds has never produced as much excitement and public attention as in the past decade. Well preserved and abundant new fossils of birds and dinosaurs have provided unprecedented new evidence on the dinosaurian origin of birds, the arboreal origin of avian flight, and the origin of feathers prior to flapping flight. The Mesozoic avian assemblage mainly comprises two major lineages: the prevalent extinct group Enantiornithes, and the Ornithurae, which gave rise to all modern birds, as well as several more basal taxa. Cretaceous birds radiated into various paleoecological niches that included fish- and seed-eating. Significant size and morphological differences and variation in flight capabilities, ranging from gliding to powerful flight among early birds, highlight the diversification of birds in the Early Cretaceous. There is little evidence, however, to support a Mesozoic origin of modern avian groups. Controversy and debate, nevertheless, surround many of these findings, and more details are needed to give a better appreciation of the significance of these new discoveries.     

大亚湾大鹏澳海域贝类和浮游植物中脂溶性毒素及软骨藻酸研究

本文采用液相色谱-质谱联用法（LC-MS/MS）研究了2017年4个季节大亚湾大鹏澳水体浮游植物以及葡萄牙牡蛎（Crassostrea angulata）、紫贻贝（Mytilus edulis）和珍珠贝（Pteria margaritifera）3种双壳贝类中脂溶性毒素的含量特征。结果显示,水体浮游植物中存在具尾鳍藻（Dinophysis caudata）和拟菱形藻（Pseudo-nitzschia spp.）两种产毒藻;浮游植物网采浓缩样品中检出了鳍藻毒素（dinophysis toxin, DTX）、扇贝毒素（pectenotoxin, PTX）、环亚胺毒素（gymnodimine, GYM）、软骨藻酸（domoic acid, DA）4种毒素。D. caudata细胞丰度在春季最高（420 cells/L）,在其他季节也有分布（丰度低于50 cells/L）。Pseudo-nitzschia spp.细胞丰度最高值也出现在春季,其次是夏季,秋、冬季细胞丰度较低;与此对应,水体中DA也仅在春、夏季检出,而秋、冬季未检出。在贝类样品中检出4种贝类毒素,分别为大田软海绵酸（okadai...     

Shade tree management affects fruit abortion, insect pests and pathogens of cacao

The mortality of cacao fruits caused by early fruit abortion or insect and pathogen attacks was investigated in differently managed agroforestry systems in Central Sulawesi, Indonesia. Nine agroforestry systems shaded by three different types of tree stands were selected, which represented a decrease in structural heterogeneity: forest remnants, diverse planted trees and one or two species of planted leguminose trees. After standardized manual cross-pollination, the development of 600 fruits on 54 trees (6 trees per agroforest) was followed during 18 weeks of fruit development. In total, 432 of all fruits were lost before maturity, which seriously undermined yields. The proportion of harvested fruits per tree (overall average: 27 ± 4%) was not affected by canopy type. Although shade cover did not have a significant effect, losses due to fruit abortion were most likely under forest shade, where nitrogen-fixing leguminose shade trees were absent. Fruit losses due to pathogenic infections and insect attacks increased with the homogenization of the agroforests, supporting the hypothesis that agricultural homogenization increases risks of pest outbreaks. In conclusion, shade management may be improved to increase yields from cacao using highly diversified natural shade agroforestry systems.     

Floods in southern Portugal: their physical and human causes,impacts and human response

Floods have been the most deadlynatural disasters in Portugal during the lastcentury, followed by earthquakes. The typeof flood known as a `progressive flood'mainly affects the larger basins, such asthat of the Tagus River, and results in alarge inundated area. These floods arecaused by heavy rains associated with awesterly zonal circulation that may persistfor weeks. The system of dams within thebasin reduces the frequency of flooding,but cannot `tame' the river. The dam systemhas even contributed to an increase in thepeak flow, as in the 1979 flood.Nevertheless, these floods are not a dangerfor the human population. In contrast, flashfloods are more dangerous and deadlier thanprogressive floods, as demonstrated in 1967and 1997. They affect the small drainagebasins and are caused by heavy andconcentrated rainfall, created byconvective depressions (active cold poolsor depressions caused by the interactionbetween polar and tropical air masses),active in the south of the country, in theLisbon region, Alentejo and the Algarve.Deforestation, soil impermeability, chaoticurbanization, building on floodplains, theblockage of small creeks or theircanalisation, and the building of walls andtransverse embankments along the smallcreeks all contribute to the aggravation ofthis kind of flood.