Convergence in wing coloration between orange underwing moths (Archiearis spp.) and tortoiseshell butterflies (Aglais spp.)

We analysed the wing coloration of the orange underwing moth Archiearis parthenias (Geometridae, Archiearinae) in comparison with the small tortoiseshell butterfly Aglais urticae (Nymphalidae). Both species fly in early spring and occur sympatrically in the northern Palaearctic. Aglais, the more common species, has a longer flight period and uses a broader range of habitats. Both species show a camouflaged colour pattern on surfaces exposed at rest but a bright orange signal in flight. Although the evolution of its coloration is constrained by its geometrid morphology, Archiearis is functionally similar to Aglais both while resting and in flight. Archiearis has presumably evolved from nocturnal geometrid ancestors. Its shift to diurnality has included a change in the predator defence system from one based on ultrasonic hearing, functional against bats, to one presumably functional against birds. Preliminary palatability tests showed that Aglais is distasteful to birds (chicken), while Archiearis seems to be palatable. The function of the convergent coloration is unknown, but several possibilities are discussed

From the Field to the Lab: Best Practices for Field Preservation of Bat Specimens for Molecular Analyses

Studies in molecular ecology depend on field-collected samples for genetic information, and the tissue sampled and preservation conditions strongly affect the quality of the DNA obtained. DNA yields from different tissue types have seldom been compared, and the relative performance of storage media has never been directly tested, even though these media may influence DNA degradation under field conditions. We analyzed DNA yield from buccal swabs and wing punches harvested from live bats using nucleic acid quantification as well as quantitative PCR for a single-copy nuclear locus. We also compared DNA yields from wing tissue preserved in three media: ethanol, NaCl-saturated dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), and silica desiccant. Wing punches yielded more total DNA than did buccal swabs, and wing tissues preserved in silica beads yielded significantly more total and nuclear DNA than those preserved in DMSO or ethanol. These results show that tissue type and preservation media strongly influence the quantity of DNA obtained from non-lethal genetic samples, and based on these effects we provide recommendations for field collection of tissues for genetic analyses

Reductive Elimination Leading to C-C Bond Formation in Gold(III) Complexes: A Mechanistic and Computational Study

The factors affecting the rates of reductive C-C cross-coupling reactions in gold(III) aryls were studied using complexes that allow easy access to a series of electronically modified aryl ligands, as well as to gold methyl and vinyl complexes, using the pincer compounds (C^N^C)AuR (R = C6F5, CH=CMe2, Me and p-C6H4X, where X = OMe, F, H, But, Cl, CF3, or NO2) as starting materials (C^N^C = 2,6-(4′-ButC6H3)2pyridine dianion). Protodeauration followed by addition of 1 equiv. SMe2 leads to the quantitative generation of the thioether complexes [(C^N-CH)AuR(SMe2)]+. Upon addition of a second SMe2 pyridine is displaced, which triggers reductive aryl-R elimination. The rates for these cross-couplings increase in the sequence k(vinyl) > k(aryl) >> k(C6F5) > k(Me). Vinyl-aryl coupling is particularly fast, 1.15 × 10–3 L mol–1 s–1 at 221 K, while both C6F5 and Me couplings encountered higher barriers for the C-C bond forming step. Using P(p-tol)3 in place of SMe2 greatly accelerates C–C couplings. Computational modelling shows that in the C^N bonded compounds displacement of N by a donor L is required before the aryl ligands can adopt a conformation suitable for C-C bond formation, so that elimination takes place from a four-coordinate intermediate. C-C bond formation is rate limiting. In the non-chelating case, reductive C(sp2)-C(sp2) elimination from three-coordinate cations [(Ar1)(Ar2)AuL]+ is almost barrierless, particularly if L = phosphine

Bodyweight Perceptions among Texas Women: The Effects of Religion, Race/Ethnicity, and Citizenship Status

Despite previous work exploring linkages between religious participation and health, little research has looked at the role of religion in affecting bodyweight perceptions. Using the theoretical model developed by Levin et al. (Sociol Q 36(1):157–173, 1995) on the multidimensionality of religious participation, we develop several hypotheses and test them by using data from the 2004 Survey of Texas Adults. We estimate multinomial logistic regression models to determine the relative risk of women perceiving themselves as overweight. Results indicate that religious attendance lowers risk of women perceiving themselves as very overweight. Citizenship status was an important factor for Latinas, with noncitizens being less likely to see themselves as overweight. We also test interaction effects between religion and race. Religious attendance and prayer have a moderating effect among Latina non-citizens so that among these women, attendance and prayer intensify perceptions of feeling less overweight when compared to their white counterparts. Among African American women, the effect of increased church attendance leads to perceptions of being overweight. Prayer is also a correlate of overweight perceptions but only among African American women. We close with a discussion that highlights key implications from our findings, note study limitations, and several promising avenues for future research

A coalescent-based estimator of genetic drift, and acoustic divergence in the Pteronotus parnellii species complex

Dávalos, Liliana M., Lancaster, Winston C., Núñez-Novas, Miguel S., León, Yolanda M., Lei, Bonnie, Flanders, Jon, Russell, Amy L. (2018): A coalescent-based estimator of genetic drift, and acoustic divergence in the Pteronotus parnellii species complex. Heredity 122 (4): 417-427, DOI: 10.1038/s41437-018-0129-3, URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41437-018-0129-

The noise-lovers: cultures of speech and sound in second-century Rome

This chapter provides an examination of an ideal of the ‘deliberate speaker’, who aims to reflect time, thought, and study in his speech. In the Roman Empire, words became a vital tool for creating and defending in-groups, and orators and authors in both Latin and Greek alleged, by contrast, that their enemies produced babbling noise rather than articulate speech. In this chapter, the ideal of the deliberate speaker is explored through the works of two very different contemporaries: the African-born Roman orator Fronto and the Syrian Christian apologist Tatian. Despite moving in very different circles, Fronto and Tatian both express their identity and authority through an expertise in words, in strikingly similar ways. The chapter ends with a call for scholars of the Roman Empire to create categories of analysis that move across different cultural and linguistic groups. If we do not, we risk merely replicating the parochialism and insularity of our sources.Accepted manuscrip

Genetic Demography of Pteronotus Parnellii Reveals Historic Isolation of Island Populations

Pteronotus parnellii is a widespread Neotropical bat. In its echolocation characteristics, it is unique in the New World, obligately using long-duration constant frequency (CF) calls with Doppler shift compensation (DSC). This highly sophisticated echolocation strategy is only also seen in the Old World horshoe bats yet key aspects of their echolocation, such as oral vs. nasal emission, suggest these are convergent traits in P. parnellii versus horseshoe bats. CF echolocation is arguably an adaptive innovation, in that it allows access to cluttered habitats that are not available to species using frequency-modulated (FM) echolocation. Our analyses of P. parnellii populations from Puerto Rico and Hispaniola reveal a significant shift in both echolocation frequency and body size between islands. As expressed in P. parnellii, CF echolocation requires a hard-wired connection between echolocation frequency and neuroanatomy, suggesting that the evolution of CF echolocation and subsequent shifts in call frequency involves adaptive genetic change at many loci. We present the results of an analysis of the genetic demography of Caribbean populations of P. parnellii. We found that area strongly predicts population size across both space and time; the common ancestor of modern populations in Puerto Rico and Hispaniola was likely located in Hispaniola and was significantly larger than either current population. Divergence of island populations dates to the Pleistocene, and has been followed by extremely low levels of inter-island migration. Having an accurate understanding of the demographic history of these populations is key to assessing potential signals of selection at loci involved in echolocation

Data from: From the field to the lab: best practices for field preservation of bat specimens for molecular analyses

Studies in molecular ecology depend on field-collected samples for genetic information, and the tissue sampled and preservation conditions strongly affect the quality of the DNA obtained. DNA yields from different tissue types have seldom been compared, and the relative performance of storage media has never been directly tested, even though these media may influence DNA degradation under field conditions. We analyzed DNA yield from buccal swabs and wing punches harvested from live bats using nucleic acid quantification as well as quantitative PCR for a single-copy nuclear locus. We also compared DNA yields from wing tissue preserved in three media: ethanol, NaCl-saturated dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), and silica desiccant. Wing punches yielded more total DNA than did buccal swabs, and wing tissues preserved in silica beads yielded significantly more total and nuclear DNA than those preserved in DMSO or ethanol. These results show that tissue type and preservation media strongly influence the quantity of DNA obtained from non-lethal genetic samples, and based on these effects we provide recommendations for field collection of tissues for genetic analyses

Data from: A coalescent-based estimator of genetic drift, and acoustic divergence in the Pteronotus parnellii species complex

Determining the processes responsible for phenotypic variation is one of the central tasks of evolutionary biology. While the importance of acoustic traits for foraging and communication in echolocating mammals suggests adaptation, the seldom-tested null hypothesis to explain trait divergence is genetic drift. Here we derive FST values from multi-locus coalescent isolation-with-migration models, and couple them with estimates of quantitative trait divergence, or PST, to test drift as the evolutionary process responsible for phenotypic divergence in island populations of the Pteronotus parnellii species complex. Compared to traditional comparisons of PST to FST, the migration-based estimates of FST are unidirectional instead of bidirectional, simultaneously integrate variation among loci and individuals, and posterior densities of PST and FST can be compared directly. We found the evolution of higher call frequencies is inconsistent with genetic drift for the Hispaniolan population, despite many generations of isolation from its Puerto Rican counterpart. While the Hispaniolan population displays dimorphism in call frequencies, the higher frequency of the females is incompatible with sexual selection. Instead, cultural drift toward higher frequencies among Hispaniolan females might explain the divergence. By integrating Bayesian coalescent and trait analyses, this study demonstrates a powerful approach to testing genetic drift as the default evolutionary mechanism of trait differentiation between populations