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Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences

Transactional Skew And Assured Fitness Return Models Fail To Predict Patterns Of Cooperation In Wasps, Peter Nonacs, Aviva Liebert, Philip Starks Dec 2012

Transactional Skew And Assured Fitness Return Models Fail To Predict Patterns Of Cooperation In Wasps, Peter Nonacs, Aviva Liebert, Philip Starks

Aviva E Liebert

Cooperative breeders often exhibit reproductive skew, where dominant individuals reproduce more than subordinates. Two approaches derived from Hamilton’s inclusive fitness model predict when subordinate behavior is favored over living solitarily. The assured fitness return (AFR) model predicts that subordinates help when they are highly likely to gain immediate indirect fitness. Transactional skew models predict dominants and subordinates “agree” on a level of reproductive skew that induces subordinates to join groups. We show the AFR model to be a special case of transactional skew models that assumes no direct reproduction by subordinates. We use data from 11 populations of four wasp …


Catalogue Of Type Material In The Entomological Collection Of The University Of La Laguna (Canary Islands). I – Arachnida, Ana Reboleira, Antonio Pérez, Nuria Macías-Hernandez, Heriberto López, S. De La Cruz, Pedro Oromí Oct 2012

Catalogue Of Type Material In The Entomological Collection Of The University Of La Laguna (Canary Islands). I – Arachnida, Ana Reboleira, Antonio Pérez, Nuria Macías-Hernandez, Heriberto López, S. De La Cruz, Pedro Oromí

Ana Sofia P.S. Reboleira

A catalogue of arachnid type specimens of the collection kept at the Department of Animal Biology, University of La Laguna (Spain) is presented. It harbours type material of 104 species belonging to 23 families of arachnids, represented by 21 holotypes and 164 paratypes for 23 species of pseudoscorpions, and 49 holotypes, 218 paratypes and 3 syntypes for 81 species of spiders. This collection is using the criteria and standards of the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) for cataloguing and computerization of the specimens. Type specimens were checked with the original descriptions, and relevant additional information from original labels not included …


Lusoblothrus, A New Syarinid Pseudoscorpion Genus (Arachnida) From Portugal, Occupying An Isolated Position Within The Holarctic Fauna, Ana Reboleira, Juan Zaragoza, Fernando Gonçalves, Pedro Oromí Oct 2012

Lusoblothrus, A New Syarinid Pseudoscorpion Genus (Arachnida) From Portugal, Occupying An Isolated Position Within The Holarctic Fauna, Ana Reboleira, Juan Zaragoza, Fernando Gonçalves, Pedro Oromí

Ana Sofia P.S. Reboleira

The new pseudoscorpion genus Lusoblothrus of the family Syarinidae is described from a cave in the Algarve region, southern Portugal, to accommodate L. aenigmaticus sp. nov., whose morphological affinities within the Holarctic syarinid fauna are not clear and resembles the Gondwanan genera. This discovery emphasizes the relevance of the Algarve region as a hotspot for relictual hypogean fauna within the Iberian Peninsula.


Disease Resistance In The Drywood Termite, Incisitermes Schwarzi: Does Nesting Ecology Affect Immunocompetence?, Daniel Calleri, Rebeca Rosengaus, James Traniello May 2012

Disease Resistance In The Drywood Termite, Incisitermes Schwarzi: Does Nesting Ecology Affect Immunocompetence?, Daniel Calleri, Rebeca Rosengaus, James Traniello

Rebeca Rosengaus

Termites live in nests that can differ in microbial load and thus vary in degree of disease risk. It was hypothesized that termite investment in immune response would differ in species living in nest environments that vary in the richness and abundance of microbes. Using the drywood termite, Incisitermes schwarzi Banks (Isoptera: Kalotermitidae), as a model for species having low nest and cuticular microbial loads, the susceptibility of individuals and groups to conidia of the entomopathogenic fungus, Metarhizium anisopliae Sorokin (Hypocreales: Clavicipitaceae), was examined. The survivorship of I. schwarzi was compared to that of the dampwood termite, Zootermopsis angusticollis Hagen …


Squamatinia Algharbica Gen. N. Sp. N., A Remarkable New Coletiniinae Silverfish (Zygentoma: Nicoletiidae) From Caves In Southern Portugal, Ana Reboleira, Fernando Gonçalves, Pedro Oromí, Luís Mendes Mar 2012

Squamatinia Algharbica Gen. N. Sp. N., A Remarkable New Coletiniinae Silverfish (Zygentoma: Nicoletiidae) From Caves In Southern Portugal, Ana Reboleira, Fernando Gonçalves, Pedro Oromí, Luís Mendes

Ana Sofia P.S. Reboleira

A new genus of Coletiniinae silverfish (Nicoletiidae) similar to Coletinia Wygodzinsky and Lepidospora Escherich is described to accommodate the new species Squamatinia algharbica gen. n. sp. n. Many individuals were collected over all seasons of the year in four caves of the Algarve karst massif in the south of Portugal. An identification key for the known genera of Coletiniinae is provided, as well as some biogeographical and ecological comments.


Identification Of Muscidifurax Spp. By Polymerase Chain Reaction-Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism, David Taylor, Allen Szalanski Feb 2012

Identification Of Muscidifurax Spp. By Polymerase Chain Reaction-Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism, David Taylor, Allen Szalanski

David B. Taylor

Polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) analysis of the nuclear ribosomal ITS1 region was used to differentiate Muscidifurax (Hymenoptera: Pteromalidae) species which are parasitoids of filth fly pupae. Three restriction enzymes, Dpn 11, Mse I, and Taq I, produced restriction patterns which were diagnostic for the four species analyzed, M. raptor, M. raptorellus, M. uniraptor, and M. zaraptor. Seven other restriction enzymes were able to differentiate one or more of the species and can be used alone, or in combination with other enzymes, to verify identifications. No intraspecific variation was observed among the populations examined. The utility of the …


Genetic Similarity Among Pheromone And Voltinism Races Of Ostrinia Nubilalis (Hubner) (Lepidoptera: Crambidae), P. C. R. G. Marcon, David B. Taylor, C. E. Mason, R. L. Hellmich, Blair Siegfried Feb 2012

Genetic Similarity Among Pheromone And Voltinism Races Of Ostrinia Nubilalis (Hubner) (Lepidoptera: Crambidae), P. C. R. G. Marcon, David B. Taylor, C. E. Mason, R. L. Hellmich, Blair Siegfried

David B. Taylor

The genetic variability of seven European corn borer populations, Ostrinia nubilalis, from North America and Europe was assessed by polymerase chain reaction- restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCRRFLP) analysis and DNA sequencing. The nuclear ribosomal internal transcribed spacer 1 (ITS-1) region (≈ 500 base pair [bp]) and four mitochondrial (mtDNA) regions (1550 bp total) were examined. The smartweed borer, Ostrinia obumbratalis, and south-Western corn borer, Diatraea grandiosella, were used for comparisons. Of 106 restriction sites identified (80 in mtDNA and 26 in ITS-1), none differentiated geographical populations, pheromone races, or voltine ecotypes of the European corn borer. The lack of variation …


Population Genetics And Gene Variation In Secondary Screwworm (Diptera: Calliphoridae), David Taylor, Richard Peterson Ii Feb 2012

Population Genetics And Gene Variation In Secondary Screwworm (Diptera: Calliphoridae), David Taylor, Richard Peterson Ii

David B. Taylor

Allozyme variation in 4 populations of secondary screwworm, Cochliomyia macellaria (F.), representing North, Central, and South America was examined . Variability was observed in 12 of 13 enzyme loci, and the frequency of the most common allele was <0.95 for 6 loci . Observed and expected heterozygosities were 0.149 and 0.154, respectively. Nei's genetic distances were ≤ 0.001. Goodness-of-fit statistics for Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium and Wright's FIS statistics indicated random mating within populations . Wright's FST statistics and chi-square contingency analyses indicated homogeneous gene frequencies among the populations. These data suggest that C. macellaria is a panmictic species with high levels …


Sugar Feeding In Adult Stable Flies, David Taylor, Dennis R. Berkebile Feb 2012

Sugar Feeding In Adult Stable Flies, David Taylor, Dennis R. Berkebile

David B. Taylor

Adult stable flies (Stomoxys calcitrans L.) are known to feed readily on sugars in the laboratory. However, little is known concerning the extent of stable fly sugar feeding in wild populations. We examined the frequency of sugar feeding in stable flies collected on Alsynite sticky traps in rural and urban environments. In addition, stable flies were visually examined to determine whether blood was present in the gut. In laboratory studies, sugars were detectable with the anthrone technique in stable flies for ~3 d after being imbibed, and blood could be visually detected in the gut for 24-48 h after feeding. …


Competition For Aphid Prey Between Different Lady Beetle Species In A Laboratory Arena, Christy Leppanen, Andrei Alyokhin, Serena Gross Dec 2011

Competition For Aphid Prey Between Different Lady Beetle Species In A Laboratory Arena, Christy Leppanen, Andrei Alyokhin, Serena Gross

Andrei Alyokhin

Direct competition for aphid prey (Hemiptera: Aphididae) was evaluated between and among several lady beetle species (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae). The behavior of three native (Coccinella trifasciata, Coleomegilla maculata, and Hippodamia convergens) and four nonnative (Coccinella septempunctata, Harmonia axyridis, Hippodamia variegata, and Propylea quatuordecimpunctata) lady beetles was observed in laboratory arenas. The beetles were kept alone, paired with conspecifics or paired with heterospecifics, and presented with potato aphids (Macrosiphum euphorbiae). Harmonia axyridis was the most successful aphid predator in our study, being able to find aphids more quickly and consume more of them compared to most other lady beetle species. It was …