The breeding systems of selected Thysanotus species and the influence of floral display size and interspecific pollen transfer on their reproductive success

An understanding of the reproductive biology of a plant species is fundamental to understanding its viability, interactions and function within an ecosystem. This study explored the influence of pollination type, floral display size, and interspecific pollen transfer on the production of fruit and seeds in three Thysanotus species (T. manglesianus, T. multiflorus and T. triandrus). Thysanotus is a native, buzz-pollinated genus, and currently there is a dearth of knowledge regarding its reproductive biology. The present study aimed to fill this gap in the research by presenting a general overview of these species. The findings may then provide a basis for future research of other native, buzz pollinated species. This study used Thysanotus populations at a nature reserve in Langford, Western Australia to determine breeding systems and the influence of inflorescence size and application of heterospecific pollen on their fruit and seed sets. Breeding systems for each species were determined by hand pollinating flowers with self or outcross pollen, and recording the resulting fruit set. The influence of floral display size (of T. multiflorus and T. triandrus) was determined by looking at differences in the number of fruit and seeds produced by plants with different sized floral displays. To examine the effect of heterospecific pollen on reproduction, T. multiflorus pollen was applied to the stigmas of T. triandrus flowers and, over one hour later, either outcross or self-pollen was applied and the resulting fruit and seed set was recorded. All of the study species have a mixed mating system (i.e. produce seed from self or outcross pollen). Increased floral display size did not significantly increase fruit and seed set, or geitonogamous reproduction in T. multiflorus. In T. triandrus, a greater proportion of flowers set fruit from small floral displays than large, and large size did appear to increase geitonogamy. Interspecific pollen transfer had no effect on the fruit and seed set of T. triandrus, and pollinators did not distinguish between the flowers of the two species, so there was no evidence that pollinators could be instrumental in reproductive isolation

Protein Identification and Analysis of Blood Meal Digestion in Different Chagas Disease Insect Vector Body Parts Over Time

Chagas disease is a potentially life-threatening blood-borne infection that is transmitted to vertebrate hosts by the parasite Trypanosoma cruzi (Kinetoplastea: Tripanosomatida), which is carried by Triatominae (Hemiptera: Reduviidae) insect vector species that deposit infected feces when taking a vertebrate blood meal. There is currently no accepted treatment for the chronic stages of Chagas disease, posing significant challenges since clinical manifestations and diagnosis may not occur until decades after initial infection. With the goal of lowering overall human infection rate, it is important to identify the pool of vertebrate blood meal sources available to insect vectors to design targeted ecohealth disease prevention measures. I used liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry to analyze the blood meal composition of experimentally-fed Triatoma protracta insect vectors immediately after and 8 weeks after a blood meal to evaluate: (1) the passage of the blood meal through progressive body parts at the two time points and (2) the relative efficiency of identifying two blood proteins (albumin and hemoglobin) at the two time points. Hemoglobin and albumin were detected in all body parts immediately after a blood meal. By 8 weeks post-blood meal, we were still able to detect hemoglobin and albumin in several insect parts, but with lower spectral count quantities. I conclude that elucidating timelines for the degradation of blood proteins under controlled conditions could change the future of blood source analysis by allowing more precise dating of previous blood meals, which is important information for developing ecohealth strategies

Fringe festival! How do closely related species stay separate?

Many flowers have both male and female parts, and produce seeds when pollen (male) reaches the ovary (female). Some plants can use their own pollen to make seeds (self-pollination), however many rely on pollen from another plant (cross-pollination) for successful seed production

Piloting a Nationally Disseminated, Interactive Human Subjects Protection Program for Community Partners: Unexpected Lessons Learned from the Field

Funders, institutions, and research organizations are increasingly recognizing the need for human subjects protections training programs for those engaged in academic research. Current programs tend to be online and directed toward an audience of academic researchers. Research teams now include many nonacademic members, such as community partners, who are less likely to respond to either the method or the content of current online trainings. A team at the CTSA‐supported Michigan Institute for Clinical and Health Research at the University of Michigan developed a pilot human subjects protection training program for community partners that is both locally implemented and adaptable to local contexts, yet nationally consistent and deliverable from a central administrative source. Here, the developers of the program and the collaborators who participated in the pilot across the United States describe 10 important lessons learned that align with four major themes: The distribution of the program, the implementation of the program, the involvement of community engagement in the program, and finally lessons regarding the content of the program. These lessons are relevant to anyone who anticipates developing or improving a training program that is developed in a central location and intended for local implementation.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/106833/1/cts12155.pd

Flowers and bees in the city: The impact of urbanisation on native plants and their insect pollinators

Urbanisation is one of the most intensive and irreversible ecosystem changes facing the plants, animals, and people that live in the world’s cities. Where native vegetation is cleared, habitat loss and fragmentation have major impacts on the viability of animal and plant populations. Removal of vegetation reduces plant population size, which impacts the resources available to flower visitors. In turn, this can reduce plant pollination and subsequent reproductive success. Understanding how landscape alteration affects ecosystem services such as pollination is fundamental to the conservation of native plants and their pollinating insects. The aim of my research was to contribute knowledge of the interaction between native plants and pollinating insects in an urban environment. The study region included remnant native vegetation and native gardens in Perth, Western Australia that likely provide novel resources for some insects, while degrading resources for others. I aimed to establish the importance of insects to the reproductive success of native plants, to identify the site and landscape characteristics that influenced particular insect groups, and to determine pollen movement within a remnant bushland. After hours (50) of careful observations of insects visiting flowers of five common native plant species, and pollinator exclusion studies, I found that four plants were reliant on insects for pollination to varying extents, but predominantly outcrossing species such as Dianella revoluta and Jacksonia sericea may be more vulnerable to urbanisation. I passively sampled insects and found that remnants and gardens were complementary in providing resources and introduced and native bees were observed, but their richness was generally low. Using detailed genetic data, I found that Patersonia occidentalis showed moderate outcrossing, which was maintained by insects moving pollen up to 116 m between plants within a small remnant. My studies point towards the importance of connectivity between small remnants, gardens and larger remnants for maintaining plant–insect interactions in the world’s urban landscapes

The Deformational Journey of the Nazca Slab From Seismic Anisotropy

The Andean subduction zone is an excellent place to study deformation within a subducting slab as a function of depth, owing to the varying and well-resolved geometry of the subducting Nazca slab beneath South America. Here we combine the results of source-side shear wave splitting with the latest regional tomography model to isolate intraslab raypaths and determine the spatial distribution of anisotropy within the Nazca slab. We observe that in the upper mantle, the intraslab anisotropy appears strongest where the slab is most contorted, suggesting a strong link between anisotropy and subduction-related slab deformation. We identify a second source of anisotropy (t ∼ 1 s) within the subducting slab at lower mantle depths (660-800 km). The surrounding mantle and transition zone appear largely isotropic, with deep anisotropy concentrated within the slab as it deforms while entering the higher-viscosity lower mantle. Plain Language Summary Few observations exist of how a tectonic plate deforms as it descends deep into the Earth's interior at a subduction zone. Carefully selected seismic waves that mostly travel through this subducting plate, or slab, provide some of the most direct measurements of how the slab behaves as it sinks through the upper mantle (0–410 km) and the mantle transition zone (410–660 km). Studying the polarization of seismic waves allows us to detect and infer the pattern of deformation within the Earth's interior. Using this technique, we find that the Nazca slab in the Andean subduction zone in South America has undergone internal deformation during the process of subduction, in particular where the slab's 3-D shape changes. Furthermore, we find that the deeper Nazca slab (≥660 km) appears to undergo further deformation as it interacts with the stiffer uppermost lower mantle.S. A. and C. M. E. are currently supported by Australian Research Council Grant DE190100062

The Deformational Journey of the Nazca Slab From Seismic Anisotropy

The Andean subduction zone is an excellent place to study deformation within a subducting slab as a function of depth, owing to the varying and well-resolved geometry of the subducting Nazca slab beneath South America. Here we combine the results of source-side shear wave splitting with the latest regional tomography model to isolate intraslab raypaths and determine the spatial distribution of anisotropy within the Nazca slab. We observe that in the upper mantle, the intraslab anisotropy appears strongest where the slab is most contorted, suggesting a strong link between anisotropy and subduction-related slab deformation. We identify a second source of anisotropy (delta t similar to 1 s) within the subducting slab at lower mantle depths (660-800 km). The surrounding mantle and transition zone appear largely isotropic, with deep anisotropy concentrated within the slab as it deforms while entering the higher-viscosity lower mantle.Australian Research Council6 month embargo; first published online 7 May 2020This item from the UA Faculty Publications collection is made available by the University of Arizona with support from the University of Arizona Libraries. If you have questions, please contact us at [email protected]

Assessing Prenatal Care Providers’ Promotion of Immunization in Pregnancy

Accurate information regarding prenatal immunization is critical for first-time mothers. Many vaccine-hesitant mothers decide whether to vaccinate their children during pregnancy. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines urge providers to recommend the Tdap and influenza vaccines to pregnant patients to reduce the risk of complications from pertussis and influenza, respectively, in both expectant mothers and infants. In 2018, about half of pregnant women in the US received an influenza vaccine and Tdap vaccine; however, uptake varies state to state. This study demonstrates the first survey of providers regarding prenatal immunization practices in Vermont.https://scholarworks.uvm.edu/comphp_gallery/1300/thumbnail.jp