EB Ford revisited: assessing the long-term stability of wing-spot patterns and population genetic structure of the meadow brown butterfly on the Isles of Scilly

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from the publisher via the DOI in this record.Data files of wing spot sizes and AFLP genotypes available from the Dryad Digital Repository: http://dx.doi.org/10.5061/dryad.j7v42.Understanding selection in the wild remains a major aim of evolutionary ecology and work by Ford and colleagues on the meadow brown butterfly Maniola jurtina did much to ignite this agenda. A great deal of their work was conducted during the 1950s on the Isles of Scilly. They documented island-specific wing-spot patterns that remained consistent over about a decade, but patterns on some islands changed after environmental perturbation. It was suggested that these wing-spot patterns reflected island-specific selection and that there was little migration between islands. However, genetic studies to test the underlying assumption of restricted migration are lacking and it is also unknown whether the originally described wing-spot patterns have persisted over time. We therefore collected female butterflies from five of Ford's original study locations, including three large islands (St Mary's, St Martin's and Tresco) and two small islands (Tean and St Helen's). Wing-spot patterns had not changed appreciably over time on three of the islands (two large and one small), but were significantly different on the other two. Furthermore, analysis of 176 amplified fragment length polymorphisms revealed significant genome-wide differentiation among the five islands. Our findings are consistent with Ford's conclusions that despite the close proximity of these islands, there is restricted gene flow among them.Heredity advance online publication, 2 November 2016; doi:10.1038/hdy.2016.94.We thank the Genetics Society for a fieldwork grant (to DJH) that funded the collection trip and DJH thanks Mike Johnson for sparking interest in this area. SWB is supported by the Australian Research Council and a Ramsay Fellowship, NW by a Royal Society Wolfson Fellowship and NERC and DJH by the Leverhulme Trust

New live screening of plant-nematode interactions in the rhizosphere

Abstract Free living nematodes (FLN) are microscopic worms found in all soils. While many FLN species are beneficial to crops, some species cause significant damage by feeding on roots and vectoring viruses. With the planned legislative removal of traditionally used chemical treatments, identification of new ways to manage FLN populations has become a high priority. For this, more powerful screening systems are required to rapidly assess threats to crops and identify treatments efficiently. Here, we have developed new live assays for testing nematode responses to treatment by combining transparent soil microcosms, a new light sheet imaging technique termed Biospeckle Selective Plane Illumination Microscopy (BSPIM) for fast nematode detection, and Confocal Laser Scanning Microscopy for high resolution imaging. We show that BSPIM increased signal to noise ratios by up to 60 fold and allowed the automatic detection of FLN in transparent soil samples of 1.5 mL. Growing plant root systems were rapidly scanned for nematode abundance and activity, and FLN feeding behaviour and responses to chemical compounds observed in soil-like conditions. This approach could be used for direct monitoring of FLN activity either to develop new compounds that target economically damaging herbivorous nematodes or ensuring that beneficial species are not negatively impacted

Degradation study of a novel polymorphic sorbent under realistic post-combustion conditions

Calcium looping is a Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) technology which has the potential to be applied to both power generation plants and some industrial emission sources. The main problem with the use of calcium oxide-based sorbents is their characteristic decay in carrying capacity. This is caused by sintering and is made worse during multiple cycles of CO2 absorption (carbonation) and release (calcination). This paper provides an investigation into the degradation of a novel type of sorbent that is able to regenerate porosity during the temperature cycling of calcium looping. The porosity regeneration of this sorbent is a result of a dicalcium silicate additive undergoing a reliable phase change (α′ ↔ β), which consequently has a useful volume change associated with it. The sorbent here, has been tested for the first time under reasonably realistic conditions within a TGA for multiple cycles. The results demonstrated that the sorbent displays the characteristic decline in carrying capacity when calcined in the presence of CO2, but not when calcined in the absence of CO2 in the fluidising gas. This paper also presents an improved method to conduct TGA carrying capacity measurements of CO2 sorbents which minimises the over carbonation between cycles

Genetic variation in a continuously breeding population of Danaus plexippus L. (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae)

Variation at 4 genetic loci (Pgm; Me; Idh; Hbdh) was studied in a population of monarchs (Danaus plexippus L.) not subject to migration to overwintering sites. Adult insects were sampled from 18 milkweed patches in 5 widely spaced locations in south-east Queensland (Australia). Genetic differentiation between sub-populations (patches) was high (F= 0·032). For 2 loci (Me and Idh) both males and females showed significant differentiation between patches. Idh showed a significant cline with latitude in males only and Me showed no apparent geographic pattern in either sex. Both loci showed significant differences in gene frequencies between sexes. Possible mechanisms for maintaining these differences are discussed

Spot-number in Maniola jurtina—variation between generations and selection in marginal populations

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The genetics of spot pattern characters in the meadow brown butterfly Maniola jurtina (Lepidoptera: Satyrinae)

Wetensch. publicatieFaculteit der Wiskunde en Natuurwetenschappe