Life Sciences Commons^™

A Macrophysiological Analysis Of Energetic Constraints On Geographic Range Size In Mammals, Salvatore J. Agosta, Joseph Bernado, Gerardo Ceballos, Michael A. Steele

Biology Publications

Physiological processes are essential for understanding the distribution and abundance of organisms, and recently, with widespread attention to climate change, physiology has been ushered back to the forefront of ecological thinking. We present a macrophysiological analysis of the energetics of geographic range size using combined data on body size, basal metabolic rate (BMR), phylogeny and range properties for 574 species of mammals. We propose three mechanisms by which interspecific variation in BMR should relate positively to geographic range size: (i) Thermal Plasticity Hypothesis, (ii) Activity Levels/Dispersal Hypothesis, and (iii) Energy Constraint Hypothesis. Although each mechanism predicts a positive correlation between …

Characterization And Generation Of Male Courtship Song In Cotesia Congregata (Hymenoptera: Braconidae), Justin P. Bredlau, Yasha J. Mohajer, Timothy M. Cameron, Karen M. Hester, Michael L. Fine

Biology Publications

Background

Male parasitic wasps attract females with a courtship song produced by rapid wing fanning. Songs have been described for several parasitic wasp species; however, beyond association with wing fanning, the mechanism of sound generation has not been examined. We characterized the male courtship song of Cotesia congregata (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) and investigated the biomechanics of sound production.

Methods and Principal Findings

Courtship songs were recorded using high-speed videography (2,000 fps) and audio recordings. The song consists of a long duration amplitude-modulated “buzz” followed by a series of pulsatile higher amplitude “boings,” each decaying into a terminal buzz followed by a …