Habitat Sampling and Habitat Selection by Female Wild Turkeys: Ecological Correlates and Reproductive Consequences

Habitat sampling can allow much more effective habitat selection for longterm activities such as nesting and may be directly linked to fitness. We studied the process of habitat sampling and selection in female Wild Turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo) in the Arkansas Ozarks. In particular, we tested the prediction that movements prior to selecting nesting habitat correlate with the quality of selected habitat. Our results supported the prediction that greater habitat sampling (as reflected by greater area covered prior to nesting) allows acquisition of better nesting habitat; greater movements were correlated with choice of better nesting sites with more cover that allow higher nest survival. Attributes of individual birds and habitat dispersion influenced movement patterns and access to quality habitats. In addition, extent of habitat sampling early in the season correlated with reproductive performance by affecting renesting. Distance between subsequent nest locations was inversely related to the movements early in the season and also depended upon length of incubation before nest predation. Females that sampled larger areas after depredation of their first nest and did so outside of their prenesting range were more successful than other females

Male-Specific Transfer and Fine Scale Spatial Differences of Newly Identified Cuticular Hydrocarbons and Triacylglycerides in a Drosophila Species Pair

We analyzed epicuticular hydrocarbon variation in geographically isolated populations of D. mojavensis cultured on different rearing substrates and a sibling species, D. arizonae, with ultraviolet laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry (UV-LDI MS). Different body parts, i.e. legs, proboscis, and abdomens, of both species showed qualitatively similar hydrocarbon profiles consisting mainly of long-chain monoenes, dienes, trienes, and tetraenes. However, D. arizonae had higher amounts of most hydrocarbons than D. mojavensis and females of both species exhibited greater hydrocarbon amounts than males. Hydrocarbon profiles of D. mojavensis populations were significantly influenced by sex and rearing substrates, and differed between body parts. Lab food–reared flies had lower amounts of most hydrocarbons than flies reared on fermenting cactus substrates. We discovered 48 male- and species-specific hydrocarbons ranging in size from C22 to C50 in the male anogenital region of both species, most not described before. These included several oxygen-containing hydrocarbons in addition to high intensity signals corresponding to putative triacylglycerides, amounts of which were influenced by larval rearing substrates. Some of these compounds were transferred to female cuticles in high amounts during copulation. This is the first study showing that triacylglycerides may be a separate class of courtship-related signaling molecules in drosophilids. This study also extends the kind and number of epicuticular hydrocarbons in these species and emphasizes the role of larval ecology in influencing amounts of these compounds, many of which mediate courtship success within and between species

Investigation of the spread bovine tuberculosis in Southern Brazil by Whole-genome sequencing.

Mycobacterium bovis is the causal agent of bovine tuberculosis, one of the most important diseases currently facing the cattle industry worldwide. Tracing the source of M. bovis infections that result from movement of livestock is an important tool to understand the epidemiology of bovine tuberculosis (bTB) and defining control/eradication strategies. Whole genome sequencing (WGS) provides a higher resolution than other established typing methods and greatly improves the definition of the regional localization of M. bovis types. Cultures of M. bovis were isolated from 58 bovine granulomatous tissue using conventional methods (Stonebrink medium) from eight dairy farms of the State of Rio Grande do Sul, Southern Brazil. The isolates were sequenced using both llumina technologies NextSeq 500 System and HiSeqX System

Variation in the Male Pheromones and Mating Success of Wild Caught Drosophila melanogaster

Drosophila melanogaster males express two primary cuticular hydrocarbons (male-predominant hydrocarbons). These act as sex pheromones by influencing female receptivity to mating. The relative quantities of these hydrocarbons vary widely among natural populations and can contribute to variation in mating success. We tested four isofemale lines collected from a wild population to assess the effect of intrapopulation variation in male-predominant hydrocarbons on mating success. The receptivity of laboratory females to males of the four wild-caught lines varied significantly, but not consistently in the direction predicted by variation in male-predominant hydrocarbons. Receptivity of the wild-caught females to laboratory males also varied significantly, but females from lines with male-predominant hydrocarbon profiles closer to a more cosmopolitan one did not show a correspondingly strong mating bias toward a cosmopolitan male. Among wild-caught lines, the male-specific ejaculatory bulb lipid, cis-vaccenyl acetate, varied more than two-fold, but was not associated with variation in male mating success. We observed a strong inverse relationship between the receptivity of wild-caught females and the mating success of males from their own lines, when tested with laboratory flies of the opposite sex

Tuberculose bovina em cervídeos.

A tuberculose bovina (bTB) é uma enfermidade infectocontagiosa, causada por Mycobacterium bovis, que acomete animais domésticos, silvestres e o homem. Em animais silvestres mantidos em cativeiro, a bTB representa risco aos tratadores de animais e aos visitantes de zoológicos, e há também a possibilidade de disseminação da infecção para animais domésticos e pela venda de animais silvestres infectados. Cervídeos das espécies sambar (Cervus unicolor), nobre (Cervus elaphus) e dama (Dama dama) de um parque safári, do Rio Grande do Sul, apresentaram quadro clínico de bTB (dispneia e perda de peso). Alguns animais foram a óbito, sendo detectadas lesões sugestivas de tuberculose (LST), confirmadas por histopatológica. Com o impedimento de comercialização de animais, realizou-se eutanásia de 281 cervídeos com autorização do IBAMA. Foram coletados linfonodos retrofaríngeos, submandibulares e vísceras de 21 animais, que foram cultivados em meio Stonebrink por até 90 dias. Após extração de DNA das colônias, realizou-se PCR para alvos flanqueando a região de diferenciação 4 (RD4). Das 21 amostras, 14 (61,9%) apresentaram LST, com aspecto granulomatoso, coloração esbranquiçada, e consistência caseosa ou calcificada e sete (38,1%), não apresentaram lesões. No cultivo das 14 amostras com LST, 13 (92,8%) apresentaram crescimento bacteriano compatível com M. bovis. No cultivo das sete amostras sem LST, seis (92,8%) apresentaram colônias compatíveis com M. bovis. A PCR convencional detectou como positivos 19 cultivos bacteriológicos sugestivos de M. bovis, confirmando o surto de bTB nos cervídeos. Lesões também foram detectadas em seis lhamas, um camelo, uma anta e um antílope, as quais foram confirmadas por histopatologia. Este fato sugere que houve transmissão entre espécies, muito embora não tenha sido possível realizar isolamento nestes casos. Estudos de genotipagem por sequenciamento genômico total estão sendo realizados com os isolados de M. bovis dos cervídeos, o que permitirá comparações filogenéticas com outros isolados já sequenciados no estado.bitstream/item/213635/1/Tuberculose-bovina-em-cervideos.pd

Variations on a theme: diversification of cuticular hydrocarbons in a clade of cactophilic Drosophila

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>We characterized variation and chemical composition of epicuticular hydrocarbons (CHCs) in the seven species of the <it>Drosophila buzzatii </it>cluster with gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. Despite the critical role of CHCs in providing resistance to desiccation and involvement in communication, such as courtship behavior, mating, and aggregation, few studies have investigated how CHC profiles evolve within and between species in a phylogenetic context. We analyzed quantitative differences in CHC profiles in populations of the <it>D. buzzatii </it>species cluster in order to assess the concordance of CHC differentiation with species divergence.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Thirty-six CHC components were scored in single fly extracts with carbon chain lengths ranging from C₂₉to C₃₉, including methyl-branched alkanes, <it>n</it>-alkenes, and alkadienes. Multivariate analysis of variance revealed that CHC amounts were significantly different among all species and canonical discriminant function (CDF) analysis resolved all species into distinct, non-overlapping groups. Significant intraspecific variation was found in different populations of <it>D. serido </it>suggesting that this taxon is comprised of at least two species. We summarized CHC variation using CDF analysis and mapped the first five CHC canonical variates (CVs) onto an independently derived <it>period </it>(<it>per</it>) gene + chromosome inversion + mtDNA COI gene for each sex. We found that the COI sequences were not phylogenetically informative due to introgression between some species, so only <it>per </it>+ inversion data were used. Positive phylogenetic signal was observed mainly for CV1 when parsimony methods and the test for serial independence (TFSI) were used. These results changed when no outgroup species were included in the analysis and phylogenetic signal was then observed for female CV3 and/or CV4 and male CV4 and CV5. Finally, removal of divergent populations of <it>D. serido </it>significantly increased the amount of phylogenetic signal as up to four out of five CVs then displayed positive phylogenetic signal.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>CHCs were conserved among species while quantitative differences in CHC profiles between populations and species were statistically significant. Most CHCs were species-, population-, and sex-specific. Mapping CHCs onto an independently derived phylogeny revealed that a significant portion of CHC variation was explained by species' systematic affinities indicating phylogenetic conservatism in the evolution of these hydrocarbon arrays, presumptive waterproofing compounds and courtship signals as in many other drosophilid species.</p