145 results — topic: Weather & Atmospheric Science
Flies and flowers: taxonomic diversity of anthophiles and pollinators
AbstractThe Diptera are the second most important order among flower-visiting (anthophilous) and flower-pollinating insects worldwide. Their taxonomic diversity ranges from Nematocera to Brachycera, including most families within the suborders. Especially important are Syrphidae, Bombyliidae, and Mu
A comparative study of the fine structure of the trophoblast in several hemochorial placentas
AbstractPortions of the labyrinth or villi of placentas from late pregnancy from nine species in four orders of mammals were examined with the electron microscope. Pronounced patterns of layering of the trophoblast were found in these placentas which were all of the hemochorial type. The laboratory
Understanding insect life histories and senescence through a resource allocation lens
An allocation framework is developed, which provides a template for conceptualizing the interactions among resource acquisition, allocation and life- history traits, and fosters a mechanistic understanding of life-history patterns, and the beginning of an understanding of the processes underlying th
Geitonogamy: the neglected side of selfing
Selfing by geitonogamy incurs a fitness cost of reduced pollen export, and recent reports show that seed set can suffer as well, even in self-incompatible species.
Functional trait space and the latitudinal diversity gradient
SignificanceWe present a conceptual framework for testing theories for the latitudinal gradient of species richness in terms of variation in functional diversity at the alpha, beta, and gamma scales. We compared ecological community theory with large-scale observational data of tree species richness
Untangling multiple factors in spatial distributions: Lilies, gophers, and rocks
Despite broad consensus on the power of experiments, correlational studies are still important in ecology, and may become more so as spatial studies proliferate. Conventional correlation analysis, however, (1) fundamentally conflicts with the basic ecological concept of limiting factors, and (2) ign
The ecological and evolutionary significance of frost in the context of climate change
The effects that below‐freezing temperature (frost) can have at times of year when it is unusual are an interesting ecological phenomenon that has received little attention. The physiological consequence of formation of ice crystals in plant tissue is often death of the plants, or at least of sensit
Pollinators, Flowering Plants, and Conservation Biology
M ore than a century ago, Darwin (lg59) observed that number of bumblebees in any district depends in a great measure upon the number of fieldmice, which destroy their combs and nests ... che number of mice is largely Jependent, as everyone knows, on the number of cats .. .it is quite credible that
Interaction rewiring and the rapid turnover of plant-pollinator networks
Paul J. CaraDonna,1,2,3,4* Whether species interactions are static or change over time has wide-reaching ecological and evo- William K. Petry,1,5,6 lutionary consequences. However, species interaction networks are typically constructed from tem- Ross M. Brennan,1,7 porally aggregated interaction dat
Resource and pollen limitations to lifetime seed production in a natural plant population
Using experimental manipulations, we examined pollen and resource limitations to seed production and their interaction in a natural population of a monocarpic plant, Ipomopsis aggregata. Our design cross two factors, pollen level (hand—pollinated or control) and resource level (water added, water an
Resource partitioning in bumblebees: experimental studies of foraging behavior
A system comprising 2 species of bumblebess (Bombus appositus and Bombus flavifrons) and 2 species of flowers (Delphinium barbeyi and Aconitum columbianum) in Gothic, Colorado, USA, was manipulated to determine whether resource utilization by each bumblebee species was influenced by the presence of
Universal DNA methylation age across mammalian tissues
Aging, often considered a result of random cellular damage, can be accurately estimated using DNA methylation profiles, the foundation of pan-tissue epigenetic clocks. Here, we demonstrate the development of universal pan-mammalian clocks, using 11,754 methylation arrays from our Mammalian Methylati
Single pollinator species losses reduce floral fidelity and plant reproductive function
Understanding the functional impacts of pollinator species losses on plant populations is critical given ongoing pollinator declines. Simulation models of pollination networks suggest that plant communities will be resilient to losing many or even most of the pollinator species in an ecosystem. Thes
Senescence rates are determined by ranking on the fast-slow life-history continuum
AbstractComparative analyses of survival senescence by using life tables have identified generalizations including the observation that mammals senesce faster than similar‐sized birds. These generalizations have been challenged because of limitations of life‐table approaches and the growing apprecia
Embryological induction and predation ecology in Daphnia pulex
Results of laboratory experiments suggest that a water‐soluble factor released into the environment by the predacious phantom midge larva Chaoborus americanus (Diptera: Chaoboridae) causes embryos of the waterflea Daphnia pulex Leydig 1860 emend. Richard 1896 (Crustacea: Cladocera) to develop into a
Sociality as a life-history tactic of ground squirrels
Analysis of life-history traits of 18 species of burrowing sciurids indicates that reproductive effort is determined by body-size energetics, and sociality in these species may have evolved through retention of daughters within the maternal home range as a means of continuing reproductive investment
Are nectar robbers cheaters or mutualists?
Nectar robbers are birds, insects, or other flower visitors that remove nectar from flowers through a hole pierced or bitten in the corolla. This paper is a review of the effects of nectar robbers on pollinators, pollination, and fitness of the plants they rob. Charles Darwin assumed that nectar rob
Testing evolutionary and ecological hypotheses using path analysis and structural equation modelling
The use of path analysis has grown rapidly in recent years, yet few studies employ recent advances in the field of structural equation modelling (SEM). Here I illustrate the capabilities of SEM for path analyses, using data from a study of hummingbird pollination. The main drawback to conventional p
Spatial segregation of the sexes of dioecious plants
Several recent studies have shown that males and females in some populations of dioecious plants are spatially segregated with respect to an environmental gradient. The inference is often made that such spatial segregation of the sexes (SSS) is favored by selection because it reduces competition bet
Fluid inclusion studies on the porphyry-type ore deposits at Bingham, Utah, Butte, Montana, and Climax, Colorado
Data are given on the composition, temperature, pressure, and density of the hydrothermal fluids present in the central Cu-Mo core of the deposit at Bingham, Utah, and in its related but not necessarily coeval peripheral Pb-Zn deposits. These data are based on a study of primary and secondary fluid
