Is the alkaloid in 2spot ladybirds (Adalia bipunctata) a defence against ant predation?

Garden black ants,Lasius niger L., in a laboratory colony, attacked three species of live ladybirds found near their nest, killing the smaller two species. A second colony was offered artificial diets containing crushed ladybirds of two species, and the ants' choice of feeding site noted. Both the diets were aversive compared to control, but that containing 7spot,Coccinella septempunctata L., was more aversive than the diet containing 2spot,Adalia bipunctata L. The implications of this lesser protection for 2spots in terms of the chemical defence of the species are discussed.     

Rehabilitation of a lowland river: Reconciling flood defence with habitat diversity and geomorphological sustainability

Geomorphologically appropriate rehabilitation measures were proposed to enhance the in-stream environment of the lowland River Idle, north Nottinghamshire, UK. However, the River Idle has multi-functional management requirements including those of flood defence so environmental enhancement must be pursued without significantly increasing the flood risk. Hydraulic testing of rehabilitation proposals is complicated because of the stringent assumptions about flow and morphology in ‘traditional’ hydraulic models. While new generation two- and three-dimension hydraulic models may overcome some of these problems, they are extremely data intensive, require advanced modelling capabilities and are, therefore, very expensive to apply. Also, they do not yet predict morphology-flow interactions adequately. As an alternative, several simple hydraulic models were applied to test the rehabilitation proposals, based on a fitness-for-purpose criterion.BENDFLOW was applied to fine tune the optimal siting of measures and to estimate the additional near-bank scour generated by proposed bend re-profiling. HMODEL2 and the FCFA method were used to test the impact on local channel conveyance capacities and HECRAS was applied to simulate the impact of the proposals on regional flood defence. Indicative results from the testing suggested a maximum increase in near-bank scour of 0·15 m in re-profiled bends, a loss of approximately 10% in flood conveyance locally due to deflector installation or reed and tree planting, and a 0·12 m increase in flood stage within the reach for a 15 year flood. The modelling results were acceptable to the management authority as an indication of an acceptable compromise between flood defence and conservation interests, and construction of the measures followed in 1996. It is clearly that it will require the results of post-project monitoring to indicate whether compromises made to the rehabilitation initiatives in order to satisfy flood defence requirements have unduly reduced their environmental enhancement potential but, for assessing the proposed methods, the models are recommended for use other lowland river environments.     

Larval chemical defence and evolution of host shifts in Chrysomela leaf beetles

Summary. Larvae of Chrysomela leaf beetles release for defence volatile compounds belonging to various chemical families. This study focuses on the defensive strategy based on the esterification of isobutyric acid and 2-methylbutyric acid with a wide variety of alcohols taken up from the host plant. To date, only two species are known to produce these repellents C. interrupta, which is associated with Betulaceae and C. lapponica which occurs either on Betulaceae or Salicaceae.? In order to know if other species have developed this chemical defence and how the food plant influences the secretion of these toxins, we targeted by mass spectrometry the presence of iso- and 2-methylbutyric acids and esters of them in the defensive secretions of Chrysomela larvae exclusively associated with Betulaceae or Salicaceae. ?Screening analyses reveal that the synthesis of these compounds is a common character restricted to all the members belonging to the C. interrupta group sensu Brown (1956) regardless of the host-plant family. These results suggest that the biochemical mechanism leading to the synthesis of these compounds could be considered as a synapomorphy meaning that the group is probably monophyletic. ?Defensive secretions of the members of the interrupta group are quantitatively assayed for iso- and 2-methylbutyric acids and their (Z)-3-hexenyl esters. Results reveal a chemical plasticity developed by Chrysomela species associated with Salicaceae. The amounts of iso- and 2-methylbutyric acids derivatives and of salicylaldehyde in their larval secretions depend on the food plant and on its content in phenolglucosides. Received 5 October 1998; accepted 25 November 1998.     

Nestmate recognition in three species of stenogastrine wasps (Hymenoptera,Vespidae)

The capacity to recognise a conspecific intruder was investigated in Parischnogaster jacobsoni, Liostenogaster flavolineata and L. vechti, three species of primitively social wasps of the subfamily Stenogastrinae. Results of behavioural experiments carried out in the field showed that females of all three species react pacifically if presented with female nestmates, but aggressively reject an intruder from a conspecific colony. As L. flavolineata and L. vechti both build large clusters of nests, often very close to each other, the recognition capacity among females from different nests, but in the same conspecific cluster, was also investigated. Females of both species were more aggressive towards females from a different colony in the same cluster than towards their female nestmates. Additional experiments on L. flavolineata showed that there was no difference in reaction towards females from colonies nearer or further from the tested colony but within the same cluster, nor towards females from a different cluster. The capacity to recognise an alien conspecific nest containing immature brood was investigated in P. jacobsoni. Adult females of this species, invited to land on an alien nest which had experimentally been exchanged for their own, accepted the new nest and partially destroyed the immature brood. The behaviour of the females when they land on an alien nest, however, suggests that they do recognise the nest as foreign. Acceptance of foreign nests coupled with low immature brood destruction is probably due to the high energetic costs of egg-deposition and larval rearing in stenogastrine wasps. These results suggest that nestmate recognition in these wasps is very efficient, even though they belong to the most primitive subfamily of social wasps. Received: 16 April 1996/Accepted after revision: 9 August 1996     

Multiple mate choice criteria and the importance of age for male mating success in the microhylid frog, Cophixalus ornatus

We examined multiple mate choice criteria in Cophixalus ornatus, a terrestrial breeding, microhylid frog. Mate choice consisted of three stages: mate attraction (male calling), courtship (male behavior between the call site and the nest), and nest site selection by the female. For male C. ornatus, the possession of a call with low dominant frequency relative to calling neighbors increased the probability that they would attract females. Dominant frequency was negatively correlated with age independent of male mass and snout vent length. When escorting the female from the call site to their nest, males traveled along more convoluted paths than when returning to the nest alone. The convolution of the path was, therefore, considered an aspect of courtship. Females released eggs into nests with structural characteristics typical of nests constructed by older males. Thus, females increased their chances of locating an acceptable nest by preferentially approaching males with lower dominant frequencies. This study is the first to demonstrate that age, independent of mass or snout-vent length, can influence call characteristics in anurans, and it is also the first to demonstrate the importance of male age to female mate choice in an amphibian.     

The habitat saturation hypothesis and sociality in an allodapine bee: cooperative nesting is not “making the best of a bad situation”

Several factors thought to be important for the evolution of cooperative breeding in vertebrates have received little attention in facultatively social insects. One of these, the “habitat saturation hypothesis” of Selander (1964), predicts that colony sizes will be greater in breeding units where dispersal opportunities are limited, suggesting that group living is a secondary option to independent reproduction. The Australian allodapine bee Exoneura bicolor exhibits a number of traits that occur in cooperatively breeding bird species, including long life-span, repeated opportunities for reproduction, and vulnerability to brood predation and parasitism. We experimentally examined the effect of a potentially limiting environmental factor, nesting substrate availability, as an agent influencing sociality in E. bicolor. We manipulated nesting substrate availability in two separate locations during a time when foundress dispersal is common. No significant difference was found between colony sizes in cases where dispersal options were abundant and cases where dispersal options were limited. An increase in opportunities for dispersal did not lead to higher rates of independent nesting, suggesting that cooperative nesting is a preferred strategy regardless of distance-related costs of dispersal. Reproductivity per female and brood survival were examined as factors selecting for group living. Low survival of brood in single-female nests has the potential to select for cooperative nesting in this bee. Received: 29 September 1995/Accepted after revision: 24 June 1996     

Integrating phenological, chemical and biotic defences in ant-plant protection mutualisms: a case study of two myrmecophyte lineages

Summary. We examined the role of plant phenology in the evolution of anti-herbivore defence in symbiotic ant-plant protection mutualisms. Phenology of the host-plant affects traits of its herbivores, including size, growth rate, development time, and gregariousness. Traits of herbivores in turn determine what traits ants must have to protect their host. Diversity in plant phenological traits could thus help explain the great ecological diversity of coevolved ant-plant mutualisms. We explored the postulated causal chain linking phenology of the plant, herbivore adaptations to phenology, and ant adaptations for protection, by comparing two myrmecophytes presenting strong contrasts in phenology. In Leonardoxa africana, a slow-growing understory tree, growth at each twig terminal is intermittent, the rapid flushing of a single leaf-bearing internode being followed by a pause of several months. In contrast, axes of Barteria nigritana, a tree of open areas, grow continuously. Analysis of the phenology (kinetics of expansion) and chemistry of leaf development (contents of chlorophylls, lignin, and nitrogen during leaf growth) showed that these two species exhibit strongly contrasting strategies. Leonardoxa exhibited a delayed greening strategy, with rapid expansion of leaves during a short period, followed by synthesis of chlorophylls and lignins only after final leaf size has been reached. In contrast, leaves of Barteria expanded more slowly, with chlorophylls and lignin gradually synthesised throughout development. Differences in the phenology of leaf development are reflected in differences in the duration of larval development, and thereby in size, of the principal lepidopteran herbivores observed on these two plants. This difference may in turn have led to different requirements for effective defence by ants. The strategy of phenological defence may thus affect the evolution of biotic defence.     

Ladybird defence alkaloids: Structural,chemotaxonomic and biosynthetic aspects (Col.: Coccinellidae)

Summary The defensive mechanisms which protect ladybird beetles (Coccinellidae) against predators are reviewed. Besides behavioural mechanisms, such as thanatosis and reflex bleeding, chemical defence mechanisms are playing a prevalent role. Indeed, ladybirds are protected not only by their smell, but also by repulsive alkaloids, most of which are considered to be of autogenous origin. In a few cases, dietarily-acquired substances are also involved. Particular emphasis is laid on the repellent alkaloids which are contained in the haemolymph of many species. The structures of 34 nitrogen-containing compounds isolated so far are presented, and their distribution within the family is discussed in the light of the most widely accepted classification of these beetles. To conclude, the mode of release of the alkaloids, their variation through the life cycle and their repellent and toxic properties are discussed, as well as the few biosynthetic data yet available.     

The geographical distribution of plant latex

Summary Latex is a widespread defence in plants against natural enemies and a literature-based summary of latex-producing angiosperms shows records in 40 families, and more than 20,000 species are estimated to bear laticiferous structures of some kind. This is considerably higher than the usually quoted figure of 12,500 species. There are more tropical than temperate latex-bearing families, both in absolute numbers and proportionally. Proportions of latex-bearing families are similar both in tropical and in more widespread or cosmopolitan families. Significantly more latex-bearing species belong to tropical than either to temperate or to widespread taxa, both in absolute and in relative terms. These differences may be related to the higher diversity of natural enemy species and to higher rates of herbivory in the tropics.     

Structure and function of the eversible glands of the aquatic firefly <Emphasis Type="Italic">Luciola leii</Emphasis> (Coleoptera: Lampyridae)

Summary. When attacked or otherwise disturbed, larvae of the aquatic firefly Luciola leii display fork-shaped glands laterally from the meso- and metathorax as well as each abdominal segment. Glandular eversion is accompanied by a strong pine oil-like odour, thanatosis and glowing from paired larval light organs. Observations by SEM and TEM revealed that there are numerous, almost spherical protuberances, measuring 9 μm in diameter on the surface of each gland. Each protuberance is connected to a well developed secretory cell via a 0.1 μm thick and 0.2 μm long stalk and bears three to six 7 μm long spines on its apex. The convoluted glandular walls measure 0.2 μm. The cytoplasm of the secretory cells is characterized by the presence of numerous mitochondria and an extensive system of cisternae and tubular endoplasmic reticulum. Preliminary GC-MS analysis of the glandular secretion revealed two volatile terpenoids: terpinolene and γ-terpinene. Choice and no-choice bioassays involving fish and ants as well as other predators demonstrate that the secretions serve as an effective deterrent against a range of ecologically relevant enemies. The larval postural adjustments, light emission, everted glands, and glandular release of distasteful or repellent compounds, appear to function as a multi-modal, aposematic larval defence. The tandem evolution of glandular secretions and conspicuousness in larval fireflies could partially explain their successful radiation into both aquatic and terrestrial habitats.