Size Doesn't Matter: Towards a More Inclusive Philosophy of Biology

notes: As the primary author, O’Malley drafted the paper, and gathered and analysed data (scientific papers and talks). Conceptual analysis was conducted by both authors.publication-status: Publishedtypes: ArticlePhilosophers of biology, along with everyone else, generally perceive life to fall into two broad categories, the microbes and macrobes, and then pay most of their attention to the latter. ‘Macrobe’ is the word we propose for larger life forms, and we use it as part of an argument for microbial equality. We suggest that taking more notice of microbes – the dominant life form on the planet, both now and throughout evolutionary history – will transform some of the philosophy of biology’s standard ideas on ontology, evolution, taxonomy and biodiversity. We set out a number of recent developments in microbiology – including biofilm formation, chemotaxis, quorum sensing and gene transfer – that highlight microbial capacities for cooperation and communication and break down conventional thinking that microbes are solely or primarily single-celled organisms. These insights also bring new perspectives to the levels of selection debate, as well as to discussions of the evolution and nature of multicellularity, and to neo-Darwinian understandings of evolutionary mechanisms. We show how these revisions lead to further complications for microbial classification and the philosophies of systematics and biodiversity. Incorporating microbial insights into the philosophy of biology will challenge many of its assumptions, but also give greater scope and depth to its investigations

Factors affecting the response of Ceutorhynchus assimilis Payk. (Col., Curculionidae) males to conspecific odour

The effect of post-emergence feeding on the response of Ceutorhynchus assimilis males to conspecific odour was studied using both laboratory-overwintered and field-collected weevils. The response of males to females at different times in the season was also investigated using field-collected weevils. Males did not respond to the odour of virgin females that were newly emerged from diapause. However, they showed a significant response to the odour of overwintered virgin females that had spent some days on flowering rape. The response of males to females appeared to decline as the season progressed

生徒の自尊感情を育むカリキュラムマネジメントの研究 ―”よさっぴタイム”を中心とした学校教育活動を通して―

International audienceThe capacity to generalise between similar but not identical olfactory stimuli is crucial for honey bees, allowing them to find rewarding food sources with varying volatile emissions. We studied bees' generalisation behaviour with odours having different biological values: typical floral odours or alarm compounds. Bees' behavioural and peripheral electrophysiological responses were investigated using a combined proboscis extension response conditioning-electroantennogram assay. Bees were conditioned to pure linalool (floral) or to pure isoamyl acetate (alarm) and were tested with different concentrations of both compounds. Electrophysiological responses were not influenced by conditioning, suggesting that the learning of individual compounds does not rely on modulations of peripheral sensitivity. Behaviourally, generalisation responses of bees conditioned to the alarm compound were much higher than those of bees conditioned to the floral odour. We further demonstrated such asymmetrical generalisation between alarm and floral odours by using differential conditioning procedures. Conditioning to alarm compounds (isoamyl acetate or 2-heptanone) consistently induced more generalisation than conditioning to floral compounds (linalool or phenylacetaldehyde). Interestingly, generalisation between the two alarm compounds, which are otherwise chemically different, was extremely high. These results are discussed in relation to the neural representation of compounds with different biological significance for bees

Response of the beetle Hylastinus obscurus Marsham (Coleoptera : Scolytidae) to red clover (Trifolium pratense L.) volatiles in a laboratory olfactometer

Ramirez, C.C. Centro de Investigación en Biotecnología Silvoagropecuaria, Instituto de Biología Vegetal y Biotecnología. Universidad de Talca,Talca, Chile.The response of field-collected Hylastinus obscurus Marsham (Coleoptera: Scolytidae) to volatiles from Trifolium pratense L. of different ages was studied in a four-arm olfactometer. Volatiles from 1.5-, 2-, and 2.5-yr-old plants were more attractive than volatiles from 1-, 3-, and 3.5-yr-old plants. Two-year-old plants were preferred during winter, spring, and summer. One-year-old plants were not preferred in their early stages, but preference increased as they aged. Volatiles from 3-yr-old plants were never preferred. The essential oils obtained from 2-yr-old T pratense elicited an attraction response from H. obscurus. Beetle response is discussed in relation to host-locating behavior

Criblage des composes volatils de colza actifs sur le comportement des abeilles. Couplage comportement-chromatographie en phase gazeuse

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Criblage des composes volatils de colza actifs sur le comportement des abeilles. Couplage comportement-chromatographie en phase gazeuse

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Comportement discriminatif de l'abeille Apis mellifera vis-a-vis des composes volatiles du colza

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Influence of visual and olfactory cues on field trapping of the pollen beetle, Astylus atromaculatous (Col.: Melyridae)

http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1439-0418.2007.01259.

Discrimination of oilseed rape volatiles by the honeybee: Combined chemical and biological approaches

1 tables 1 graph.International audienc