Form and nature of precopulatory sexual selection in both sexes of a moth

Sexual selection is a process that operates through intrasexual competition and intersexual choice for reproduction in both sexes. Here, we report our work on a polygamous moth, Ephestia kuehniella Zeller (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae), aiming to infer the form and nature of precopulatory sexual selection in males and females. We show that, although a number of traits measured in each sex are correlated with mating success, the primary selection trait in females appears to be abdominal thickness and that in males is aedeagus length. As the female’s abdominal thickness is a reliable signal about the number and developmental stage of eggs, males who select females with thicker abdomens for mating will gain reproductive benefit, i.e., fertilizing more mature eggs. For females, earlier maturation of their eggs makes the females more likely to achieve mating earlier in an uncertain world where there is no guarantee that they will find more males in the future. Sexual selection appears to be the important force behind the evolution of fast egg maturation in females. We show that, under a male-biased sex ratio, more than 20% of mating fails within a few minutes after the aedeagus has penetrated into the female’s genitalia, suggesting that females can assess the features of the male aedeagus before allowing insemination to occur. Dissection and examination of both sexes suggest that a longer aedeagus enhances mating and fertilization efficiency in this species, supporting the notion that sexual selection is a primary force in the evolution of genital variance.     

Intersexual plasticity in aspects of the biology of the mudskipper Periophthalmus barbarus (Gobhdae) in the mangrove swamps of IMO Estuary, Nigeria

Between April 1992 and March 1993,intersexual plasticity in aspects of the biology of the mudskipper,Periophthalmus barbarus was studied.Sec was differentiated on the basis of the genital papillae,it was broader in females than males.Sexually active females were slightly heavier than similarly-sized males.Sex ratio was strongly female-biased.Length-weight relationship of the sexes was isometric.There was no significant difference in the feeding intensity of both sexes;uniformity was also apparent in diet breadth.There was no named sex-based difference in hepatosometic index but condition index was higher in males than females.the uniformity in intersexual plasticity of P.barbarus is consequent upon homogeneity of the mangrove ecosystem,which can only be altered anthropogenically.     

Differential autumn migration of the aquatic warbler Acrocephalus paludicola

Relatively little attention has been paid to sex differences in the migration of birds in autumn. We studied the autumn migration strategy of molecularly sexed males and females in the globally threatened aquatic warbler Acrocephalus paludicola. We captured 176 birds at a stopover site in the Loire estuary at Donges, France. The median date for the passage of adults was 8 days earlier in males than females, although the timing of migration in first-year males and females was similar. This indicates that males, who are without parental duties, can start their migration earlier than females and first-year birds. Adults were significantly heavier than immature birds but did not have higher fat scores. In both age categories, more males (two to three times more) were captured. However, various factors (including tape-luring) can affect observed sex ratio.     

Sex-dependent immune response in a semelparous spider

Previous studies on arthropods showed that seasonality and parity in breeding considerably impact the direction of sex differences in immunocompetence, and it has been suggested that life span and the time window available for breeding play key roles in shaping sex-differences in immunity. One proposed mechanism behind this phenomenon is differential investment into life history traits in sexes. Here, we tested whether in a seasonally breeding semelparous arthropod sexes differ in their immunocompetence, predicting that females would show weaker immune response than males. We compared encapsulation efficiency (a well-established and widely used method for assessing immunocompetence) of freshly matured, virgin males and females of the lycosid spider Pardosa agrestis (Westring, 1861). On average, males mounted stronger immune response than females and the extent of encapsulation was positively associated with prosoma length in males, but not in females. Also, time until maturation was positively related to the extent of encapsulation in both sexes, but did not significantly affect adult prosoma length. We propose that sex-difference in encapsulation is likely shaped by combined effects of relatively higher costs of reproduction in females, narrow time window of reproductive activity, and the absence of trade-off between current and future reproduction.     

Sex- and age-related differences in the timing and body condition of migrating Reed Warblers Acrocephalus scirpaceus and Sedge Warblers Acrocephalus schoenobaenus

The migration strategies of birds may vary strongly between species and also between age and/or sex groups. We studied the autumn migration and body condition of molecularly sexed Reed Warblers Acrocephalus scirpaceus and Sedge Warblers Acrocephalus schoenobaenus (211 and 208 ind., respectively) at a stopover site on Lake Druzno, Northern Poland, in 2008. Immature male Reed Warblers were caught significantly later than females (median dates 9 days later), but in the Sedge Warbler, both sexes of immatures migrated at about the same time. Adult males and females of both species did not differ in their time of migration. Adult and immature males of both species were larger (wing length and body mass) than females. In both species, fat reserves were similar in both sexes of both age classes. Adults of both sexes of Reed and Sedge Warbler were generally caught earlier than immatures. In both species, the body mass and fat reserves of immatures were generally less than in adults. The autumn protogyny of immature Reed Warblers may allow smaller females to limit competition with bigger males during migration and at the wintering grounds. In the Sedge Warbler, which tends to match its migration to peak of occurrence of superabundant food at stopover sites, both sexes gain an advantage from migrating at the same time. Since part of the measured wing length variation in both species was explained by sex differences, temporal trends in wing length recorded at stopover sites should be interpreted with caution.     

土壤正构烷烃微生物降解变化实验分析

在石油烃微生物降解的最佳条件下,利用色谱-质谱联用技术分析测定了石油烃中正构烷烃的降解规律.结果表明,正构烷烃的降解最为明显;正构烷烃的降解随着碳数的增加其降解速度逐渐减小;其中C23烷的降解速度与石油烃整体降解速度相当,碳数小于23的正构烷烃降解速度大于石油烃降解速度,碳数大于23的正构烷烃降解速度小于石油烃降解速度;C16～C25的正构烷烃在0～6*!d内降解速度最快,在7～14 d内达到最低值,之后有逐渐上升的趋势;整个正构烷烃的降解符合二级反应动力学规律.      

库车坳陷侏罗系烃源岩热演化研究

根据烃源岩样品Ro、EasyRo值、天然气成熟度分析 ,库车坳陷侏罗系烃源岩热演化程度较高 ,总体上已达成熟 -高成熟阶段。拜城凹陷烃源岩成熟度高 ,该凹陷及其周围是寻找大中型气田的有利地区。拜城凹陷和阳霞凹陷侏罗系烃源岩分别约在老第三纪和晚白垩世开始进入成熟阶段 ,分别在中新世末和渐新世末进入生气高峰 ,气源岩的热演化具有先慢后快的特点。库车坳陷天然气藏主要在喜山期形成。     

A contact sex pheromone component of the emerald ash borer Agrilus planipennis Fairmaire (Coleoptera: Buprestidae)

Analyses of the elytral hydrocarbons from male and female emerald ash borer, Agrilus planipennis Fairmaire, that were freshly emerged vs. sexually mature (>10 days old) revealed a female-specific compound, 9-methyl-pentacosane (9-Me-C₂₅), only present in sexually mature females. This material was synthesized by the Wittig reaction of 2-decanone with (n-hexadecyl)-triphenylphosphonium bromide followed by catalytic reduction to yield racemic 9-Me C₂₅, which matched the natural compound by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (retention time and EI mass spectrum). In field bioassays with freeze-killed sexually mature A. planipennis females, feral males spent significantly more time in contact and attempting copulation with unwashed females than with females that had been washed in n-hexane to remove the cuticular lipids. Hexane-washed females to which 9-Me-C₂₅ had been reapplied elicited similar contact time and percentage of time attempting copulation as unwashed females, indicating that 9-methyl-pentacosane is a contact sex pheromone component of A. planipennis. This is the first contact sex pheromone identified in the Buprestidae.     

Developmental environment,cultural transmission,and mate choice copying

Using female mate choice copying as a rudimentary form of cultural transmission, this study provides evidence that social environment during development has a significant effect on the tendency to use culturally acquired information. Groups of newborn guppies (Poecilia reticulata) were raised for 35 days in 1 of 5 “developmental environments”. Groups of 15 newborns were raised in pools with no adults (treatment 1), both adult male and female guppies (treatments 2 and 3), only adult females (treatment 4) or only adult males (treatment 5). Mature females raised in treatments 1 and 2, but not treatments 3, 4, and 5, copied the mate choice of others. Treatments 1 and 2 correspond to social structures that guppies experience during their development in the wild. Newborn guppies swim together in shoals (analogous to treatment 1). As they mature, juveniles join schools of adult males and females (analogous to treatments 2). At no time during the normal developmental process are juveniles found with males, but only unreceptive females (as was the case for long periods in treatment 3) or in the presence of adults of only one sex (analogous to treatments 4 and 5). As such, normal developmental environments prime guppies for cultural transmission, while unnatural environments fail to do so.     

有机物料影响下土壤溶液中镉形态及其有效性研究

研究了盆载种稻条件下，有机物料对土壤水溶性镉、易解离太镉和可解离态锯的含量变化及其有效性的影响，结果表明，不添加外源镉时，分蘖期猪烘和泥炭均降低了水溶性镉总量，水溶性镉的３４％～７７％可被阳离子交换树脂解离，８７％以上可被螯合树脂解离，到成熟期水生镉的解离度升高，水溶性镉总量与ＤＯＣ和ＰＨ的变化趋势相反，添加外源镉时分蘖期猪烘和泥炭均降低水溶性 量，成熟期水溶性镉总量与ＤＯＣ的变化呈相反趋势，在不     

Diploid males, diploid sperm production, and triploid females in the ant Tapinoma erraticum

Under complementary sex determination (CSD), females of Hymenoptera arise from diploid, fertilized eggs and males from haploid, unfertilized eggs. Incidentally, fertilized eggs that inherit two identical alleles at the CSD locus will develop into diploid males. Diploid males are usually unviable or sterile. In a few species, however, they produce diploid sperm and father a triploid female progeny. Diploid males have been reported in a number of social Hymenoptera, but the occurrence of triploid females has hardly ever been documented. Here, we report the presence of triploid females, diploid males, and diploid sperm (produced by diploid males and stored in queen spermathecae) in the ant Tapinoma erraticum. Moreover, we show variations in the frequency of triploids among female castes: Triploid females are more frequent among workers than virgin queens; they are absent among mated, reproductive queens. The frequency of triploid workers also varies between populations and between nests within populations.     

Sexual harassment and female gregariousness in the South American sea lion, Otaria flavescens

Most colonial pinnipeds form extreme clusters of breeding females that cannot be entirely explained by the distribution of sites for reproduction. Avoidance of male harassment has been postulated as an important determinant of reproductive aggregation in this group of mammals. Female gregariousness can reduce harassment by resident males by two mechanisms; directly by the 'dilution effect' or indirectly because resident males that defend large female groups are less harassing. In order to investigate the relationship between male harassment and female gregariousness in relation to the size of breeding groups, we analysed the behaviour of dominant males and their females in a breeding colony of Otaria flavescens. Females in large breeding groups received less harassment by resident males due to dilution effects and because males that defended a large group interacted less frequently with females than males with small groups.     

Sexual selection on receptor organ traits: younger females attract males with longer antennae

Sexual selection theory predicts that female choice may favour the evolution of elaborate male signals. Darwin also suggested that sexual selection can favour elaborate receiver structures in order to better detect sexual signals, an idea that has been largely ignored. We evaluated this unorthodox perspective by documenting the antennal lengths of male Uraba lugens Walker (Lepidoptera: Nolidae) moths that were attracted to experimentally manipulated emissions of female sex pheromone. Either one or two females were placed in field traps for the duration of their adult lives in order to create differences in the quantity of pheromone emissions from the traps. The mean antennal length of males attracted to field traps baited with a single female was longer than that of males attracted to traps baited with two females, a pattern consistent with Darwin’s prediction assuming the latter emits higher pheromone concentrations. Furthermore, younger females attracted males with longer antennae, which may reflect age-specific changes in pheromone emission. These field experiments provide the first direct evidence of an unappreciated role for sexual selection in the evolution of sexual dimorphism in moth antennae and raise the intriguing possibility that females select males with longer antennae through strategic emission of pheromones.     

碳、氮物质对水稻田土壤甲烷氧化活性影响的研究

研究了碳素和氮素物质对黄松田土壤中甲烷氧化菌种群及其甲烷氧化活性的影响，结果表明，加入不同碳素或氮素物质对黄松田土中甲烷氧化菌种群的数量变化无显著性影响，但对土壤氧化外源甲烷烷尖性却具有显著性影响，且不同浓度的同一物质对黄松田土壤氧化外源甲烷速率的影响也不相同，甲烷氧化代谢途径中的中间产物（甲醇和甲酸）较非甲烷氧化代谢途径中的中间产物和能促进土壤产甲烷菌产甲烷活性的碳源物质（酵母膏，葡萄糖和乙酸）可更强烈地抑制土壤氧化外源甲烷的活性，有机氮素物质对黄松田土的甲烷氧化速率的影响要较无机氮素质质弱，在无机氮素物质中，硝酸盐对土壤氧化外源甲烷活性的抑制强度要强于铵盐类物质，NH3要比NH^ 4对甲烷氧化菌的甲烷氧化活性具有更强的抑制作用，一旦黄松田土的甲烷氧化活性受到碳，氮物质的抑制，恢复其氧化外源甲烷活性就需要较长时间，且受到抑制的过程越,恢复所需时间也越长。     

Female reciprocal calling in the Iberian midwife toad (Alytes cisternasii) varies with male call rate and dominant frequency: implications for sexual selection

Male midwife toads (Alytes cisternasii) responded differently depending on the call frequency and call rate of other males. I tested female Iberian midwife toads with the same set of stimuli used earlier with males. Females responded faster to high call rates, and female vocal activity was greater in response to low-frequency male calls. Thus, in both sexes, the vocal response differs in the same direction according to signal frequency variation, but the magnitude of the response is greater in males than in females. In the light of these results, I discuss the implications for sexual selection of this reciprocal calling.     

有机质成熟史模拟探讨

基于有机质成熟作用方面研究的最新成果和系统动力学的方法原理 ,建立了油气系统中有机质成熟中的模拟模型。将该模型应用于南海珠三坳陷的油气系统研究的结果表明 ,温度与压力是控制有机质成熟作用的两个关键因素 ,在温度促使有机质成熟的同时 ,过高的压力对有机质的成熟有抑制作用。压力的抑制作用使有机质达不到应有的成熟度 ,因而使烃源岩的油气生成量大大减少     

Increased egg estradiol concentration feminizes digit ratios of male pheasants (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Phasianus colchicus</Emphasis>)

The length ratio between individual digits differs between males and females in humans, other mammals, lizards, and one bird species. Sexual dimorphism in digit ratios and variation among individuals of the same sex may depend on differential exposure to androgens and estrogens during embryonic life. Organizational effects of sex hormones could cause the observed correlations between digit ratios and diverse phenotypic traits in humans. However, no study has investigated experimentally the effect of prenatal estrogens on digit ratios. We analyzed the effect of estradiol injection in ring-necked pheasant (Phasianus colchicus) eggs on digit ratios. Males from control eggs had higher ratios between the second or third and the fourth digit of the right foot compared to females. Estradiol-treated eggs produced males with lower (feminized) right foot second to fourth digit ratio. Thus, we provided the first experimental evidence that prenatal exposure to physiologically high estrogen levels affects bird digit ratios.     

The reproductive choices of eavesdropping female black-capped chickadees,<Emphasis Type="Italic"> Poecile atricapillus</Emphasis>

In animals where males engage in signalling interactions, females might evaluate male–male contests to inform their reproductive choices. We used interactive playback to engage territorial male black-capped chickadees (Poecile atricapillus) of known dominance status in countersinging contests with an aggressive or submissive opponent. Previous analysis of these data showed that high-ranking males who received aggressive playback were more likely to be cuckolded. Here we describe the particular reproductive decisions of females whose partners received aggressive versus submissive playback. The proportion of extra-pair young per brood was higher for females paired to high-ranking males that received aggressive playback compared to submissive playback, and similar to levels in broods of females paired to low-ranking males. We found no strong predictors of whether high-ranking subjects lost paternity following aggressive playback. Females usually preferred extra-pair sires with high dominance status. When females had extra-pair fertilizations with low-ranking males, females chose males who had received submissive playback. We conclude that females mated to aggressive-playback, high-ranking males pursued mixed mating strategies similar to those of females mated to low-ranking males. Our results support the idea that male performance in song contests may influence multiple aspects of female reproductive choices.     

Do females pay attention to secondary sexual coloration in vervet monkeys (Chlorocebus aethiops)?

Several primate species show sexual dichromatism with males displaying conspicuous coloration of the pelage or skin. Studies of scrotal coloration in male vervet monkeys (Chlorocebus aethiops) suggest that it is an important intrasexual signal, with relatively dark, colourful males dominating paler males. To date, no studies have examined the influence of male colour on intersexual social interactions in vervet monkeys. The primary goal of the present study was to evaluate whether female vervet monkeys attend to male coloration. We experimentally introduced females, housed with either “pale” or “dark” males, to stimulus males whose scrota were pale, dark, or pale but painted to look dark. Overall, during introductions, females did not differ in time spent directing affiliative behaviour toward pale, dark, and painted males; however, females, permanently housed with dark males, spent significantly more time directing affiliative behaviour toward pale than painted males. When the stimulus male was pale, affiliative exchanges between males and females were longer than when the stimulus male was painted. Home male colour was not related to female-initiated aggression. Home male colour was also not related to male-initiated aggression, although painted stimulus males were more likely to initiate aggression than pale stimulus males. These findings lead us to conclude that females pay attention to male coloration, but do not bias their interactions toward males solely on the basis of natural male coloration.     

Effect of monotoxicity and mixtoxicity of nitroaromatics to the green algae, Scienedesmus obliquus

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