Geographical and temporal variation of biochemical and colour-pattern polymorphisms in the European moth, Noctua pronuba (L.).

Many small, numerically abundant animals of low trophic position exhibit polymorphisms for colour and pattern. This variation is assumed to be adaptive and maintained by frequency-dependent selection, the fitness of phenotypes being negatively correlated with their frequency in the population. Noctua pronuba is an abundant moth species of the western Palaearctic and is now established in north eastern America. When the moth is at rest it is apparently cryptically coloured with the visible surfaces polymorphic in colour and pattern. The limitation of this variation to the exposed surfaces of the moth suggests that the variation may be maintained by visual selection by predators. The forewing polymorphism in N.pronuba can be split into three distinct phenotypes: rufous, ochre and silver, with the variation probably controlled by a single locus, with three alleles in a dominance hierarchy. The expression of these alleles is influenced by sex with females lighter in colour than males. The aim of this work was to establish whether natural selection maintains variation in forewing colour and pattern to give a balanced polymorphism, using the null hypothesis that the variation was neutral to selection and non-adaptive. This has been approached by experiment and the analysis of temporal and geographic variation in forewing phenotype frequencies. Background resting experiments failed to show different phenotypes adopting different backgrounds on which to rest but experimental conditions did affect the behaviour of individuals. Selection acting in opposite directions on males and females has been suggested as a mechanism maintaining the forewing polymorphism. Little evidence has been found to substantiate this claim with phenotype frequencies in light trap samples similar in males and females. No systematic changes in phenotype frequencies were observed in an analysis of temporal variation over a twenty-five year period. Only the ochre allele varied significantly but the variation is minimal suggesting that the polymorphism is temporally stable. Geographically there was remarkably little variation in phenotype frequencies with only samples from Finland, Scotland and N.lreland having significantly differentiated phenotype frequencies. A study of polymorphic allozymes suggested that large amounts of gene flow occur in the species. The consequence of this gene flow will be to unite geographically separate populations into one panmictic unit. High levels of gene flow, in conjunction with the local abundance of the species, mean that the effective population size will be large. Previous authors have considered that as crypsis is an adaptive trait, variation in the colour and pattern of a cryptic species must also be adaptive, and maintained by selection. This is not necessarily true, and there may be a number of colour patterns that are equally cryptic in the same habitat. It is hypothesised that the large population size and magnitude of gene flow in N.pronuba gives the forewing polymorphism inherent stability both temporally and geographically, without the need to invoke balancing selection

Improving Conservation Techniques Through Graph Theoretic Models

While concerns for local and global ecological issues increase, there is a growing need for the conservation of functioning ecosystems; as land management evolves in scope and emphasis, land managers are in need of new tools. Graph theory, a relatively efficient mathematical modeling approach, has been used for modeling and analyzing an array of networks and as a result proving itself as a potential framework for landscape modeling with its adaptable measures. Through an in-depth review of two unique examples of graph theoretic habitat modeling, we will see how these models compare to the more complex and biologically accurate spatially explicit population models, and what they can tell us about habitats that have had no previous analysis. It will then be seen that graph theoretic modeling approaches are important to habitat conservation research in various ways

The Poverty Crusher

The Poverty Crusher team built a human-powered rock breaking device for the women in Nepal who make $1.50 -$3 per day crushing rocks. A prototype jaw-type rock crusher was designed and built over a period of several months. However, the device was unable to break rocks due to excessive bending in the connection points of the frame and in the crushing faces. Improvements were suggested for the next prototype, which include increasing the second moment of inertia of the crushing faces, using a welded frame, and generally decreasing the cost and weight of the device

LAP3, a novel plant protein required for pollen development, is essential for proper exine formation

We isolated lap3-1 and lap3-2 mutants in ascreen for pollen that displays abnormal stigma binding.Unlike wild-type pollen, lap3-1 and lap3-2 pollen exine isthinner, weaker, and is missing some connections betweentheir roof-like tectum structures. We describe the mappingand identification of LAP3 as a novel gene that contains arepetitive motif found in b-propeller enzymes. Insertionmutations in LAP3 lead to male sterility. To investigatepossible roles for LAP3 in pollen development, we assayedthe metabolite profile of anther tissues containing developingpollen grains and found that the lap3-2 defect leadsto a broad range of metabolic changes. The largest changeswere seen in levels of a straight-chain hydrocarbon nonacosaneand in naringenin chalcone, an obligate compoundin the flavonoid biosynthesis pathway

Worker policing in the German wasp Vespula germanica

In some ants, bees, and wasps, workers kill or "police” male eggs laid by other workers in order to maintain the reproductive primacy of the queen. Kin selection theory predicts that multiple mating by the queen is one factor that can selectively favor worker policing. This is because when the queen is mated to multiple males, workers are more closely related to the queen's sons than to the sons of other workers. Earlier work has suggested that reproductive patterns in the German wasp Vespula germanica may contradict this theory, because in some colonies a large fraction of the adult males were inferred to be the workers' sons, despite the effective queen mating frequency being greater than 2 (2.4). In the present study, we reexamine the V. germanica case and show that it does support the theory. First, genetic analysis confirms that the effective queen mating frequency is high, 2.9, resulting in workers being more related to the queen's sons than to other workers' sons. Second, behavioral assays show that worker-laid eggs are effectively killed by other workers, despite worker-laid eggs having the same intrinsic viability as queen-laid ones. Finally, we estimate that approximately 58.4% of the male eggs but only 0.44% of the adult males are worker derived in queenright colonies, consistent with worker reproduction being effectively police

Sperm competition risk drives plasticity in seminal fluid composition

Background Ejaculates contain a diverse mixture of sperm and seminal fluid proteins, the combination of which is crucial to male reproductive success under competitive conditions. Males should therefore tailor the production of different ejaculate components according to their social environment, with particular sensitivity to cues of sperm competition risk (i.e. how likely it is that females will mate promiscuously). Here we test this hypothesis using an established vertebrate model system, the house mouse (Mus musculus domesticus), combining experimental data with a quantitative proteomics analysis of seminal fluid composition. Our study tests for the first time how both sperm and seminal fluid components of the ejaculate are tailored to the social environment. Results Our quantitative proteomics analysis reveals that the relative production of different proteins found in seminal fluid – i.e. seminal fluid proteome composition – differs significantly according to cues of sperm competition risk. Using a conservative analytical approach to identify differential expression of individual seminal fluid components, at least seven of 31 secreted seminal fluid proteins examined showed consistent differences in relative abundance under high versus low sperm competition conditions. Notably three important proteins with potential roles in sperm competition – SVS 6, SVS 5 and CEACAM 10 – were more abundant in the high competition treatment groups. Total investment in both sperm and seminal fluid production also increased with cues of heightened sperm competition risk in the social environment. By contrast, relative investment in different ejaculate components was unaffected by cues of mating opportunities. Conclusions Our study reveals significant plasticity in different ejaculate components, with the production of both sperm and non-sperm fractions of the ejaculate strongly influenced by the social environment. Sperm competition risk is thus shown to be a key factor in male ejaculate production decisions, including driving plasticity in seminal fluid composition

VUE: Civic Investment in Public Education Winter 2012, Number 32

The Annenberg Institute for School Reform (AISR) at Brown University partnered with Public Education Network to highlight the findings of PEN's National Commission on Civic Investment in Public Education, which met for 18 months and issued its final report in May, 2011. AISR dedicated its Winter 2012 issue of Voices in Urban Education (VUE) to the topic of civic investment in public education. The fifteen members of the National Commission for Civic Investment in Public Education have performed an extraordinary service for this nation and for America's schoolchildren. The Commission's work was ably led by co-chairs Richard W. Riley, former U.S. Secretary of Education (1993 -- 2001) and Linda Darling-Hammond, world-renowned education scholar and professor of education at Stanford University. Other members included leaders from the corporate, philanthropic, and nonprofit sectors; educators; researchers; and public education support organization leaders from around the country. Together they shared a commitment to expand civic knowledge and support of public education through citizen involvement. Contents:The National Commission for Civic Investment in Public Education by Wendy PuriefoyReaffirming the Dream: The Case for Civic Investment by Richard W. Riley and Linda Darling-HammondA Story of Civic Investment in Public Education by Susan V. BerresfordThe Right Funds for Reinvestment by Erwin de LeonA Failure of Philanthropy: American Charity Shortchanges the Poor, and Public Policy is Partly to Blame by Rob Reic

Biopsy and selective recall compared with immediate large loop excision in management of women with low grade abnormal cervical cytology referred for colposcopy : multicentre randomised controlled trial

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

LAP3, a novel plant protein required for pollen development, is essential for proper exine formation

We isolated lap3-1 and lap3-2 mutants in ascreen for pollen that displays abnormal stigma binding.Unlike wild-type pollen, lap3-1 and lap3-2 pollen exine isthinner, weaker, and is missing some connections betweentheir roof-like tectum structures. We describe the mappingand identification of LAP3 as a novel gene that contains arepetitive motif found in b-propeller enzymes. Insertionmutations in LAP3 lead to male sterility. To investigatepossible roles for LAP3 in pollen development, we assayedthe metabolite profile of anther tissues containing developingpollen grains and found that the lap3-2 defect leadsto a broad range of metabolic changes. The largest changeswere seen in levels of a straight-chain hydrocarbon nonacosaneand in naringenin chalcone, an obligate compoundin the flavonoid biosynthesis pathway