Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

A Function Of The Subelytral Chamber Of Tenebrionid Beetles, Con Slobodchikoff, Kim Wisman

Con Slobodchikoff, PhD

1. The subelytral chamber is an air space between the elytra and the dorsum of the abdomen of some Tenebrionid beetles. Postulated functions for the subelytral chamber have been a reduction of transpiratory water loss and a thermal buffer for heat flow from the elytra to the abdomen.

2. We show that there is a significant correlation between water loss and the depth of the subelytral chamber.

3. This implies that the chamber may be a structure that permits the rapid expansion of the abdomen, providing the beetles with a mechanism by which they can quickly drink large quantities of …

Systematic And Evolutionary Implications Of Parthenogenesis In The Hymenoptera, C. N. Slobodchikoff, Howell V. Daly

Con Slobodchikoff, PhD

Two types of parthenogenesis, arrhenotoky and thelytoky, exist in the Hymenoptera. Arrhenotoky, the development of males from unfertilized eggs, is present in all wasps and bees. Thelytoky, the development of diploid females from unfertilized eggs, is present in a few species. Two types of thelytoky, apomixis and automixis, are known. Most thelytokous Hymenoptera are automictic. No meiosis, only mitosis, occurs in apomixis. Meiosis does occur in automixis, allowing crossing-over and segregation of genes. Advantages of thelytoky are that heterotic combinations become fixed, gene loss is reduced, and reproduction requires only a single individual. One advantage of arrhenotoky is that genetic …

Geographic Variation In Alarm Calls Of Gunnison's Prairie Dogs, C. N. Slobodchikoff, S. H. Ackers, M. Van Ert

Con Slobodchikoff, PhD

Geographic variation in alarm calls of Gunnison's prairie dogs (Cynomys gunnisoni) was analyzed at regional and local scales. Alarm calls in response to a common stimulus (the same human) were recorded at four colonies near Flagstaff, Arizona, and at six sites throughout the southwestern United States. The acoustic structure of calls was analyzed for seven call variables. Regional differences fit the prediction of greater differences with increased geographical separation. Differences between colonies at a local scale were not related to geographical distance, suggesting that local dialects exist within a region. Differences in the level of predation by humans …

Dna Fingerprinting Reveals Low Genetic Diversity In Gunnison's Prairie Dog (Cynomys Gunnisoni), Steven E. Travis, C. N. Slobodchikoff, Paul Keim

Con Slobodchikoff, PhD

The use of molecular techniques for the assessment of familial relationships among social species of mammals has become relatively commonplace. However, some species represent poor candidates for such studies due to naturally low levels of genetic diversity, leading to unacceptably large standard errors associated with estimates of relatedness. Here, we report on a preliminary study of genetic diversity within two populations of a social species of ground squirrel, Gunnison's prairie dog (Cynomys gunnisoni) using DNA fingerprinting. We observed low levels of diversity in the form of large mean coefficients of genetic similarity among individuals occupying the same population. …