Sperm limitation and the evolution of extreme polyandry in honeybees (Apis mellifera L.)

Honeybee queens (Apis mellifera) show extreme levels of polyandry, but the evolutionary mechanisms underlying this behaviour are still unclear. The sperm-limitation hypothesis, which assumes that high levels of polyandry are essential to get a lifetime sperm supply for large and long-lived colonies, has been widely disregarded for honeybees because the semen of a single male is, in principle, sufficient to fill the spermatheca of a queen. However, the inefficient post-mating sperm transfer from the queens lateral oviducts into the spermatheca requires multiple matings to ensure an adequate spermatheca filling. Males of the African honeybee subspecies A. m. capensis have fewer sperm than males of the European subspecies A. m. carnica. Thus, given that sperm limitation is a cause for the evolution of multiple mating in A. mellifera, we would expect A. m. capensis queens to have higher mating frequencies than A. m. carnica. Here we show that A. m. capensis queens indeed exhibit significantly higher mating frequencies than queens of A. m. carnica, both in their native ranges and in an experiment on a North Sea island under the same environmental conditions. We conclude that honeybee queens try to achieve a minimum number of matings on their mating flights to ensure a sufficient lifetime sperm supply. It thus seems premature to reject the sperm-limitation hypothesis as a concept explaining the evolution of extreme polyandry in honeybees.Communicated by R.E. Page     

Fossil evidence for the early ant evolution

Ants are one of the most studied insects in the world; and the literature devoted to their origin and evolution, systematics, ecology, or interactions with plants, fungi and other organisms is prolific. However, no consensus yet exists on the age estimate of the first Formicidae or on the origin of their eusociality. We review the fossil and biogeographical record of all known Cretaceous ants. We discuss the possible origin of the Formicidae with emphasis on the most primitive subfamily Sphecomyrminae according to its distribution and the Early Cretaceous palaeogeography. And we review the evidence of true castes and eusociality of the early ants regarding their morphological features and their manner of preservation in amber. The mid-Cretaceous amber forest from south-western France where some of the oldest known ants lived, corresponded to a moist tropical forest close to the shore with a dominance of gymnosperm trees but where angiosperms (flowering plants) were already diversified. This palaeoenvironmental reconstruction supports an initial radiation of ants in forest ground litter coincident with the rise of angiosperms, as recently proposed as an ecological explanation for their origin and successful evolution.     

Biosemiotics: a new understanding of life

Biosemiotics is the idea that life is based on semiosis, i.e., on signs and codes. This idea has been strongly suggested by the discovery of the genetic code, but so far it has made little impact in the scientific world and is largely regarded as a philosophy rather than a science. The main reason for this is that modern biology assumes that signs and meanings do not exist at the molecular level, and that the genetic code was not followed by any other organic code for almost four billion years, which implies that it was an utterly isolated exception in the history of life. These ideas have effectively ruled out the existence of semiosis in the organic world, and yet there are experimental facts against all of them. If we look at the evidence of life without the preconditions of the present paradigm, we discover that semiosis is there, in every single cell, and that it has been there since the very beginning. This is what biosemiotics is really about. It is not a philosophy. It is a new scientific paradigm that is rigorously based on experimental facts. Biosemiotics claims that the genetic code (1) is a real code and (2) has been the first of a long series of organic codes that have shaped the history of life on our planet. The reality of the genetic code and the existence of other organic codes imply that life is based on two fundamental processes--copying and coding--and this in turn implies that evolution took place by two distinct mechanisms, i.e., by natural selection (based on copying) and by natural conventions (based on coding). It also implies that the copying of genes works on individual molecules, whereas the coding of proteins operates on collections of molecules, which means that different mechanisms of evolution exist at different levels of organization. This review intends to underline the scientific nature of biosemiotics, and to this purpose, it aims to prove (1) that the cell is a real semiotic system, (2) that the genetic code is a real code, (3) that evolution took place by natural selection and by natural conventions, and (4) that it was natural conventions, i.e., organic codes, that gave origin to the great novelties of macroevolution. Biological semiosis, in other words, is a scientific reality because the codes of life are experimental realities. The time has come, therefore, to acknowledge this fact of life, even if that means abandoning the present theoretical framework in favor of a more general one where biology and semiotics finally come together and become biosemiotics.     

The evolution of CSR life-history strategies in a plant model with explicit physiology and architecture

This paper introduces a functional-structural plant model based on artificial life concepts and L-systems. This model takes into account realistic physiological rules, the architecture of the plants and their demography. An original benefit of this approach is that it allows the simulation of plant evolution at both functional and life-history levels implementing mutations to the L-systems and a set of genetic parameter values. The conducted experiments focus on the evolutionary emergence of different life history strategies in an environment with heterogeneous resource availability and disturbance frequency. It is found that, depending on the encountered conditions, the plants develop three major strategies classified as competitors, stress-tolerators and ruderals according to Grime's CSR theory. Most of the evolved characteristics comply with theoretical biology or field observations on natural plants. Besides these results, our modelling framework is highly flexible and many refinements can be readily implemented depending on the issues one intends to address. Moreover, the model can readily be used to address many questions at the interface between evolutionary ecology, plant functional and community ecologies and ecosystem ecology.     

长江中游尺八湖现代沉积物营养元素富集的环境意义

通过基于~(210)Pb与环境事件分析相结合的定年方法,在建立沉积年代序列的基础上,对长江中游尺八湖CB-1孔现代沉积物营养元素(TOC、TN、TP)及C/N值进行分析,并结合尺八湖所在的监利县志有关记载,对沉积物营养元素富集与人口数据进行相关分析。结果表明:1尺八湖近70a来沉积物营养元素富集可分为2个主要阶段:上世纪80年代以前TOC、TN、TP值变化平稳,富集系数EF值反映营养元素富集尚在自然水平范围内;上世纪80年代以来TOC、TN、TP值呈显著上升,EF值反映营养元素的富集超越了自然水平。2尺八湖现代沉积物营养元素的变化与湖泊流域所在地区(监利县)人口数量呈显著相关关系,TP值与人口数量在突变点上相一致。3上世纪70年代末、80年代初以来,是尺八湖营养元素快速富集阶段,这当与该时间段人口增长、人类生产活动旺盛、农业种植中化肥使用量增加等因素具有密切关系。     

Echolocation and foraging behavior of the lesser bulldog bat, Noctilio albiventris : preadaptations for piscivory?

We studied variability in foraging behavior of Noctilio albiventris (Chiroptera: Noctilionidae) in Costa Rica and Panamá and related it to properties of its echolocation behavior. N. albiventris searches for prey in high (>20 cm) or low (<20 cm) search flight, mostly over water. It captures insects in mid-air (aerial captures) and from the water surface (pointed dip). We once observed an individual dragging its feet through the water (directed random rake). In search flight, N. albiventris emits groups of echolocation signals (duration 10–11 ms) containing mixed signals with constant-frequency (CF) and frequency-modulated (FM) components, or pure CF signals. Sometimes, mostly over land, it produces long FM signals (duration 15–21 ms). When N. albiventris approaches prey in a pointed dip or in aerial captures, pulse duration and pulse interval are reduced, the CF component is eliminated, and a terminal phase with short FM signals (duration 2 ms) at high repetition rates (150–170 Hz) is emitted. Except for the last pulses in the terminal phase N. albiventris avoids overlap between emitted signals and echoes returning from prey. During rakes, echolocation behavior is similar to that in high search flight. We compare N. albiventris with its larger congener, N. leporinus, and discuss behavioral and morphological specializations that can be interpreted as preadaptations favoring the evolution of piscivory as seen in N. leporinus. Prominent among these specializations are the CF components of the echolocation signals which allow detection and evaluation of fluttering prey amidst clutter-echoes, high variability in foraging strategy and the associated echolocation behavior, as well as morphological specializations such as enlarged feet for capturing prey from the water surface. Received: 21 April 1997 / Accepted after revision: 12 January 1998     

Biased primary sex ratio in the bushcricket Poecilimon veluchianus,an insect with sex chromosomes

Offspring sex ratio at hatching was examined in the bushcricket Poecilimon veluchianus. Offspring sex ratios varied significantly between females (Fig. 1). Low mortality prior to sex determination established that this heterogeneity was already present in the primary offspring sex ratio. Sperm age and female age had no influence on offspring sex ratio (Fig. 2). Male age at copulation, however, correlated significantly with offspring sex ratio (Fig. 3). There were two types of males: one type produced predominantly daughters when young and an increasing proportion of sons with age. The other type produced, independent of age, 1:1 offspring sex ratios (Fig. 4). The two types of males seem to occur in approximately equal numbers. Sex ratio variation (1) may adaptively compensate for local sex ratio biases caused by sex-specific motility, or (2) it may be adaptive if there is a sex-differential effect of laying date on offspring fitness. Received: 14 March 1996/Accepted after revision: 24 June 1996     

Characteristics, evolution, and regional differences of biomass burning particles in the Sichuan Basin, China

The Sichuan Basin has experienced serious air pollution from fine particulate matter (PM_2.5) in the past few years with biomass burning has been identified as a major source of PM_2.5 in this region. We used single particle aerosol mass spectrometer to investigate the characteristics of biomass burning particles in three interacting cities representing different types of urban environment in the Sichuan Basin. A total of 739,794, 279,610, and 380,636 biomass burning particles were detected at Ya'an, Guang'an, and Chengdu, which represented 42%, 69%, and 61%, respectively, of the total number of particles. We analyzed the chemical composition, transportation, and evolution of biomass burning particles. The contribution of K-elemental carbon and K-secondary inorganic particles was highest in Ya'an (36%) and Guang'an (47%), respectively, reflecting the important role of fresh biomass burning particles and long-distance transport in these two cities. Air masses originating from different directions corresponded to different levels of PM_2.5 and the contributions of polluted clusters increased significantly on polluted days. Fresh and secondary inorganic biomass burning particles increased pollution at Ya'an and Guang'an, respectively, but dominated different stages of pollution in Chengdu. K-nitrate particles were formed by photochemical reactions, whereas K-sulfate particles were formed by both photochemical and liquid-phase reactions. Investigation of the degree of particle aging showed that there were more fresh particles at Ya'an and more aged particles at Guang'an. These results are useful in helping our understanding of the characteristics of biomass burning particles and evaluating their role in PM_2.5 pollution in the Sichuan Basin.     

Towards a new physical theory of biotic evolution and development

Motivated by the postulates:

(a)

Matter has complementary properties: matter waves at high mass density and information oscillations at high information density.

(b)

Biological systems are information generating systems, i.e., genome capacity to generate developmental functional complexity (phenotype).

(c)

Biological information sustains the living state.

We discuss a definite model in which the life state of an organism, for successive generations, is a generalized Schrödinger's type of system which is non-conservative, nonlinear and irreversible. Vitality, the state variable, is the genome capacity to generate developmental functional complexity (phenotype). It is a function of the phenotypic variables of biological information, i.e., matter-energy growth function, life expectancy and natality.We also discuss evolution within this model. We find that the evolution of a unicellular organism, being a process through which the life function undertakes negative damping, leads to the increase of total vitality. Total vitality is a function of the system's lifespan, bio-complexity and total matter-energy metabolized or body mass. Total vitality is quantized. The derived quantization relationship provides plausible theoretical basis for punctuated equilibrium. Total bio-information (total vitality + total natality density) is conserved. The conserved quantity describes evolution and generates ecosystem, population and organism growth dynamics. Vitality has the dimension of flow-bits. Finally, a thought experiment is proposed to falsify the hypothesis.