Examples Of Taxa Research Articles

Feeding effects on liver mitochondrial bioenergetics of Boa constrictor (Serpentes: Boidae)

Snakes are interesting examples of taxa that can overcome energy metabolism challenges, as many species can endure long periods without feeding, and their eventual meals are of reasonably large sizes, thus exhibiting dual extreme adaptations. Consequently, metabolic rate increases considerably to attend to the energetic demand of digestion, absorption and protein synthesis. These animals should be adapted to transition from these two opposite states of energy fairly quickly, and therefore we investigated mitochondrial function plasticity in these states. Herein, we compared liver mitochondrial bioenergetics of the boid snake Boa constrictor during fasting and after meal intake. We fasted the snakes for 60 days, and then we fed a subgroup with 30% of their body size and evaluated their maximum postprandial response. We measured liver respiration rates from permeabilized tissue and isolated mitochondria. From isolated mitochondria, we also measured Ca2+ retention capacity and redox status. Mitochondrial respiration rates were maximized after feeding, reaching an approximately 60% increase from fasting levels when energized with complex I-linked substrates. Interestingly, fasting and fed snakes exhibited similar respiratory control ratios and citrate synthase activity. Furthermore, we found no differences in Ca2+ retention capacity, indicating no increase in susceptibility to mitochondrial permeability transition, and no changes in mitochondrial redox state, although fed animals exhibited increases in the release of H2O2. Thus, we conclude that liver mitochondria from B. constrictor snakes increase respiration rates during the postprandial period and quickly improve the bioenergetic capacity without compromising redox balance.

A Research on Toxicological Properties of Bursa City Parks’s Design Plants

The aim of this study is to reveal the toxicity of design (landscape) plants in Bursa city parks. Landscape plants used in design works are especially evaluated in terms of aesthetics and functionality. However, design (landscape) plants can pose a risk to human and animal health due to the toxic organic compounds they contain. Within this scope, the design (landscape) plants in Hudavendigar City Park, Soganli Botanical Park, Resat Oyal Culture Park and Merinos City Park, which are used extensively by the city's people and which are described as city parks, were examined in terms of their toxic properties. The results showed that the taxa included in the major toxicity group were found at the highest rate in Resat Oyal Culture Park, followed by Merinos City Park, Soganli Botanical Park and Hudavendigar City Park, respectively. Nerium oleander, Taxus baccata, Eriobotrya japonica, Sophora japonica, Pittosporum tobira can be given as examples of taxa included in the major toxicity group. It was determined that design (landscape) plants with major toxicity are used less in city parks, which have been designed and opened to service recently. In landscape design works, it is significant for designers know the negative effects that plants can have on humans and animals due to toxic components other than their esthetic and functional properties. In this way, designs will be made to account for the toxic compounds, toxin conditions of plants, the degree of toxin and the toxic organs of the plants, and the present toxicity will be the least dangerous.

From species to cultivar and backwards

When one describes some plants, there are cases when natural selection produces cultivars, and the products of selective breeding appear to be species. The majority of specialists in fundamental and applied botany do not pay respective attention to this problem. Meanwhile, despite the formal following of the rules of respective Codes, there is a disregard to fundamental tenets of philosophy and mixing of natural and cultural objects. There is need to develop mechanisms that would prevent the conversion of species into cultivars and vice versa. The issue is considered on nomenclatural examples of taxa and culta of the genus Hedera.

Mitochondrial introgression by ancient admixture between two distant lacustrine fishes in Sulawesi Island.

Sulawesi, an island located in a biogeographical transition zone between Indomalaya and Australasia, is famous for its high levels of endemism. Ricefishes (family Adrianichthyidae) are an example of taxa that have uniquely diversified on this island. It was demonstrated that habitat fragmentation due to the Pliocene juxtaposition among tectonic subdivisions of this island was the primary factor that promoted their divergence; however, it is also equally probable that habitat fusions and resultant admixtures between phylogenetically distant species may have frequently occurred. Previous studies revealed that some individuals of Oryzias sarasinorum endemic to a tectonic lake in central Sulawesi have mitochondrial haplotypes that are similar to the haplotypes of O. eversi, which is a phylogenetically related but geologically distant (ca. 190 km apart) adrianichthyid endemic to a small fountain. In this study, we tested if this reflects ancient admixture of O. eversi and O. sarasinorum. Population genomic analyses of genome-wide single-nucleotide polymorphisms revealed that O. eversi and O. sarasinorum are substantially reproductively isolated from each other. Comparison of demographic models revealed that the models assuming ancient admixture from O. eversi to O. sarasinorum was more supported than the models assuming no admixture; this supported the idea that the O. eversi-like mitochondrial haplotype in O. sarasinorum was introgressed from O. eversi. This study is the first to demonstrate ancient admixture of lacustrine or pond organisms in Sulawesi beyond 100 km. The complex geological history of this island enabled such island-wide admixture of lacustrine organisms, which usually experience limited migration.

Vasopressin deletion is associated with sex-specific shifts in the gut microbiome

ABSTRACTBrattleboro rats harbor a spontaneous deletion of the arginine-vasopressin (Avp) gene. In addition to diabetes insipidus, these rats exhibit low levels of anxiety and depressive behaviors. Recent work on the gut-brain axis has revealed that gut microbiota can influence anxiety behaviors. Therefore, we studied the effects of Avp gene deletion on gut microbiota. Since Avp gene expression is sexually different, we also examined how Avp deletion affects sex differences in gut microbiota. Males and females show modest but differentiated shifts in taxa abundance across 3 separate Avp deletion genotypes: wildtype (WT), heterozygous (Het) and AVP-deficient Brattleboro (KO) rats. For each sex, we found examples of taxa that have been shown to modulate anxiety behavior, in a manner that correlates with anxiety behavior observed in homozygous knockout Brattleboro rats. One prominent example is Lactobacillus, which has been reported to be anxiolytic: Lactobacillus was found to increase in abundance in inverse proportion to increasing gene dosage (most abundant in KO rats). This genotype effect of Lactobacillus abundance was not found when females were analyzed independently. Therefore, Avp deletion appears to affect microbiota composition in a sexually differentiated manner.

The benthic marine algae of the tropical and subtropical Western Atlantic: changes in our understanding in the last half century

Taylor`s (1960) floristic treatment of the benthic marine algae of the tropical and subtropical western Atlantic and Wynne`s (2011) checklist: third revision serve as benchmarks in a review of changes made in the past half-century period. There has been a great increase in the number of recognized taxa of red, brown and green algae at all taxonomic ranks: from 758 to 1,393 species, an increase of 84%; from 231 to 406 genera, an increase of 75%; and from 63 to 106 families, an increase of 68%. In regard to recognized infraspecific taxa, the increase was less dramatic, from 140 to 185, thus a 32% change in the 50-year period. This review addresses the question: What factors were responsible for this proliferation of taxa that are now recognized in this domain of the tropical and subtropical western Atlantic? The answer is that many reasons contributed to these changes. Foremost among these causes have been the advances in gene-sequencing technologies. Revised phylogenetic relationships have led to many genera being divided into more than one genus, as well as new families and orders being delineated. Numerous examples of cryptic species have been discovered by gene-sequence and DNA-bar coding studies. This trend is depicted by case studies. Examples of genera being divided are Galaxaura, Liagora and Laurencia. Tricleocarpa and Dichotomaria have been segregated from Galaxaura. Trichogloeopsis, Ganonema, Izziella, Yamadaella, and Titanophycus have been segregated from Liagora. Chondrophycus, Osmundea, Palisada, and Yuzurura have been segregated from Laurencia. Examples are given of other genera present in this region of the western Atlantic that have been split up. Many genera have increased in terms of the number of species now assigned to them. Taylor`s (1960) treatment recognized only two species in Hypoglossum, whereas Wynne`s (2011) checklist contained a total of 9 species of Hypoglossum. Taylor`s account included only two species of Botryocladia, but this number had grown to 15 in Wynne`s checklist. Examples of new genera and species occurring in the region of the western Atlantic are given, and examples of taxa being newly reported for this domain are provided. An increase in the number of phycologists in Latin and South America, exploration of previously unexplored regions, and the increasing use of SCUBA for collecting and at greater depths have all contributed to the increase in the number of algal taxa that are now recognized as occurring in the tropical and subtropical western Atlantic.

Reclassification of Lactobacillus catenaformis (Eggerth 1935) Moore and Holdeman 1970 and Lactobacillus vitulinus Sharpe et al. 1973 as Eggerthia catenaformis gen. nov., comb. nov. and Kandleria vitulina gen. nov., comb. nov., respectively

The development of molecular tools and in particular the use of 16S rRNA gene sequencing has had a profound effect on the taxonomy of many bacterial groups. Gram-positive organisms that encompass the genera Lactobacillus and Clostridium within the Firmicutes are examples of taxa that have undergone major revisions based on phylogenetic information. A consequence of these reorganizations is that a number of organisms are now recognized as being misclassified. Previous studies have demonstrated that Lactobacillus catenaformis and Lactobacillus vitulinus are phylogenetically unrelated to Lactobacillus sensu stricto, being placed within the Clostridia rRNA cluster XVII. Based on the phenotypic, chemotaxonomic and phylogenetic data presented, it is proposed that L. catenaformis and L. vitulinus be reclassified in two new genera, named respectively Eggerthia gen. nov., with the type species Eggerthia catenaformis gen. nov., comb. nov. (type strain DSM 20559(T) = ATCC 25536(T) = CCUG 48174(T) = CIP 104817(T) = JCM 1121(T)) and Kandleria gen. nov., with the type species Kandleria vitulina gen. nov., comb. nov. (type strain LMG 18931(T) = ATCC 27783(T) = CCUG 32236(T) = DSM 20405(T) = JCM 1143(T)).

Epitypification: should we epitypify?

Epitypification can solve many taxonomic problems and stabilize the understanding of species, genera, families or orders. The aim of this paper is to illustrate how to epitypify. A few examples where taxa have been epitypified are considered and the benefits and disadvantages of epitypification are discussed. We also outline some examples of taxa which need to be epitypified with reasons.

Wing dimorphism in aphids

Many species of insects display dispersing and nondispersing morphs. Among these, aphids are one of the best examples of taxa that have evolved specialized morphs for dispersal versus reproduction. The dispersing morphs typically possess a full set of wings as well as a sensory and reproductive physiology that is adapted to flight and reproducing in a new location. In contrast, the nondispersing morphs are wingless and show adaptations to maximize fecundity. In this review, we provide an overview of the major features of the aphid wing dimorphism. We first provide a description of the dimorphism and an overview of its phylogenetic distribution. We then review what is known about the mechanisms underlying the dimorphism and end by discussing its evolutionary aspects.

Revised distribution of the African freshwater crab genus Deckenia Hilgendorf, 1868 (Brachyura, Potamoidea, Deckeniidae)

African freshwater crabs are a typical example of taxa for which the archival aspect of museum collections has played a vital role in obtaining insight in species diversity and distribution patterns. For instance, initiatives that aim to assess and safeguard biodiversity of freshwater habitats in eastern Africa have relied heavily on existing information from museum collections to obtain baseline information on the distribution and possible vulnerability of crab species (IUCN, 2004). The validity of this method is only as good as the locality data available, which often consist of the original collection label only. These data are sometimes difficult to interpret, especially in the light of presentday naming systems. A recent literature review that we carried out in an attempt to locate and evaluate populations of crabs in the family Deckeniidae Ortmann, 1897, revealed a number of inconsistencies and uncertainties concerning the recorded locality data of museum specimens. The Deckeniidae form one of the three families of freshwater crabs found in East Africa. The two species that this family comprises, Deckenia imitatrix Hilgendorf, 1868 and Deckenia mitis Hilgendorf, 1898 are characterized by a radical modification of their mouthparts that sets the deckeniids apart from the other species of East African crabs that belong to the Potamonautidae and the Platythelphusidae (cf. Ng et al., 1995). The Deckeniidae are also phylogenetically distinct from all other African freshwater crabs, making them extremely important in evolutionary and biogeographic studies of freshwater crab relationships (S.R. Daniels et al., unpubl. data). The fact that one of the two deckeniid species is currently listed as vulnerable (VU B1ab(i); C2a(i), ver3.1, 2001) on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (Cumberlidge, 2004), and that

Behaviour is not Reliably Inferred from End‐Product Structure in Caddisflies

AbstractMany animals engage in elaborate behavioural sequences in order to build structures. The ‘end‐products’ (e.g., nests of birds, cases of caddisflies) of these behaviours have occasionally been used either to infer details of building behaviour or to infer that structures similar in appearance are constructed by similar behavioural sequences. However, behavioural information can be extrapolated from end‐products only if there is congruence between the end‐product structure and the animal's movements. Case building behaviour was studied in caddisflies (Trichoptera) to examine the relationship between end‐products and behaviour. We found examples of taxa that built similar structures using different behavioural patterns, and taxa that built different structures using similar behaviours, regardless of whether these taxa were closely or distantly related. These findings question the reliability of behavioural inferences based solely on details of their associated end‐products and suggest that end‐product structure should be removed from the definition of animal behaviour.

Cyanogenesis in glucosinolate-producing plants: Carica papaya and Carica quercifolia

( R)-2-(β- d-Glucopyranosyloxy)-2-phenylacetonitrile (prunasin) was isolated from Carica papaya L. and C. quercifolia (A. St.-Hil.) Hieron. (syn. C. hastata Brign.). Earlier reported presence of cyclopentanoid cyanohydrin glycosides in C. papaya could not be confirmed, and no cyclopentanoid amino acids could be detected in extracts of C. papaya and C. quercifolia. Conversion of [2,3,4,5,6- 3H]phenylalanine into tritiated prunasin was demonstrated in both species. On the other hand, when the plants were administered [2- 14C]-2-(2′cyclopentenyl)glycine, extracted, and the extracts hydrolyzed with β-glucosidase ( Helix pomatia), formation of labelled cyanide was not observed. The absence of cyclopentanoids, which are typical for the Passifloraceae, and the inability of Carica species to utilize 2-(2′-cyclopentenyl)glycine as a precursor of cyanogenic glycosides are in agreement with the relative phylogenetic position of the Caricaceae and the Passifloraceae. Carica species are thus rare examples of taxa in which glucosinolates and cyanogenic glycosides co-occur, both types of natural products being derived from the same amino acid, phenylalanine.

MAMMALS OF THE RIO JURUÁ AND THE EVOLUTIONARY AND ECOLOGICAL DIVERSIFICATION OF AMAZONIA

We describe the nonvolant mammal fauna of the Rio Juruá of the western Amazon of Brazil, based on collections made during a year-long survey of the river. We, along with our colleagues Drs. Claude Gascon and Carlos Peres, designed the field project to examine the effects of the river on the differentiation among terrestrial vertebrates (mammals, birds, and amphibians and reptiles) at both the community and population levels. This monograph examines only the patterns of geographic variation and community structure of the small-bodied mammals. Species inventories were made at 16 primary trapping localities divided into eight pairs of cross-river sites, with two pairs in each of four regions from near the mouth to the headwaters of the Rio Juruá. A total of 81 species of nonvolant mammals were obtained, including nine new to science. Four of these are described herein; the others have been described elsewhere. We used a standardized trapping protocol to assess community structure at each of the 16 localities that included terrestrial and canopy trap stations in floodplain (várzea) and upland (terra firme) forest formations. Supplemental trapping was done in secondary habitats at all sites. We describe these sites, the trap effort expended, and the placement of trap stations relative to local habitats. We also describe each species of marsupial, sciurid rodent, murid rodent, and echimyid rodent encountered; comment on their systematics; and summarize aspects of habitat use, life history, geographic distribution, and geographic differentiation based on morphological and molecular traits. We examine patterns of differentiation in the mitochondrial cytochrome-b gene for samples of 41 of the 45 species of marsupials and rodents obtained within the Rio Juruá Basin, and discuss these patterns from the perspective of the entire Amazon and, in some cases, the Mata Atlântica of coastal Brazil. We also examine patterns of community organization within the Rio Juruá basin and throughout Amazonia, drawing attention to the geographic distribution of what appear to be major faunal units that are independent of habitat differences. Finally, we use principles of phylogeography to analyze patterns of geographic differentiation among the nonvolant mammals with regard to the Riverine Barrier Hypothesis. We show that, while there are few examples of taxa for which the Rio Juruá is apparently a barrier, most taxa either are largely undifferentiated throughout the basin or are sharply divided into reciprocally monophyletic mtDNA haplotype clades separable into upriver and downriver units. We argue that the concordance in the geographic placement of clade boundaries suggests a common history; moreover, both the age of these clades and their geographic position in relation to underlying geological features suggest that landform evolution has been an important, but underappreciated component of diversification within western Amazonia.

Balancing the Books on Biodiversity

Humanity has induced pervasive negative impacts on the world's biodiversity (Smith et al. 1993; Morris 1995). Earth is accumulating an ecological deficit that, when the accounting is complete, will be written off by massive global extinctions (Tilman et al. 1994). But the evolutionary ledger has another side. Adversity for one group of species often represents opportunities for others. Despite repeated mass extinctions, the history of life reveals an impressive and consistent increase in biodiversity (Rosenzweig 1995). Each mass extinction is associated with adaptive radiation of the survivors. We believe that human activities have placed us in the midst of one such major reorganization of life. We have, accordingly, searched a variety of sources in an attempt to identify the kinds and numbers of species flourishing under the current onslaught of human impacts. Table 1 summarizes examples of taxa capitalizing on human-induced ecological opportunity and reveals several important lessons regarding the future of Earth's biodiversity: (1) human activities have provided new habitats and food sources to numerous species; (2) many of these species appear to be adapting to humanaltered conditions; (3) adaptation to human-altered environments can occur rapidly; (4) most of the species are pests or pathogens of humans or their domesticated prey and mutualists. Our list of taxa capitalizing on anthropogenic change represents a minimum estimate gleaned from a subset of taxa and geographical locales. We excluded introduced species so we could concentrate on those taxa that we know are exploiting anthropogenic environments without direct human assistance. Our errors of omission are

Extensive past distributions for major gondwanic floral elements: macrofossil evidence

The past geographical positions and climates of the high latitude Southern Hemisphere land masses (New Zealand and the southern parts of South America and Australia) are crucial to an understanding of plant evolution and migration in the region. A review of the macrofossil record reveals many examples of taxa which are present as fossils on one or two of these land masses but now occur elsewhere in the Southern Hemisphere. The main examples include Austrocedrus, Libocedrus (Cupressaceae), Araucaria sectionColumbea (Araucariaceae) and Nothofagus subgenera Nothofagus and Fuscaspora in Australia, Eucalyptus (Myrtaceae) and mn-Gymnostoma Casuarinaceae in New Zealand and probably South America, Araucaria section Intermedia in New Zealand and Akania (Akaniaceae) and Dacrycarpus (Podocarpaceae) in South America. The local extinction of these taxa is probably dae to a variety of factors, including climatic change, microsite changes due to the northward movement of land masses, and changes in the frequency of catastrophic disturbance.

Distribution Patterns Among Arthropods of the North Temperate Deciduous Forest Biota

Distribution Patterns Among Arthropods of the North Temperate Deciduous Forest Biota

PATTERNS OF GEOGRAPHIC VARIATION IN KARYOTYPE IN THE POCKET GOPHER, THOMOMYS BOTTAE (EYDOUX AND GERVAIS).

Variation in the chromosome complement resulting from both Robertsonian and non-Robertsonian mechanisms has been described for numerous mammalian taxa. In most cases such analyses have been restricted to levels at or above that of the species. Little attention has been paid to detailed variation within and between populations over the geographic range of any particular species even in cases where detailed geographical studies have been made. It is at this level, however, that an understanding of the role chromosomal changes play in evolutionary divergence will best be achieved. The pioneering work of Matthey (1966, and elsewhere) on the African murid genus, Mus (Leggada) indicates both the importance and the potential of the population approach to an understanding of chromosomal divergence. The real challenge to the investigator in this field is the elucidation of the precise selective bases which regulate interand intra-population variation rather than the continued cataloguing of examples of taxa displaying chromosomal variation of one sort or another. Unfortunately mammalian species are not blessed with short generation times nor are most species suitable for controlled laboratory breeding and experimentation. Inferences regarding the adaptive significance of chromosomal changes within such species must come, therefore, from correlations between the observed type and geographical extent of the variants and extrinsic (e.g., environmental and historical) and/or intrinsic (e.g., genetic) parameters determining the habitus of the forms in question. The most karyotypically diverse group of mammals so far discovered are the pocket gophers of the genus Thomomys. Within this genus, one species, T. bottae (Eydoux and Gervais), is known to display a greater degree of chromosomal variability than any other mammal. This animal ranges in distribution from coastal California to the front range of the Rocky Mountains, and from southern Oregon to northern Sinaloa in Mexico (Hall and Kelson, 1959; Anderson, 1966). Populations from approximately one-half of the total range have been karyotyped and more than 40 separate karyotypes have been recognized (Patton and Dingman, 1970; Patton, 1970; Berry and Baker, 1971). Moreover, and of fundamental importance to an understanding of the patterns and mechanisms of chromosomal evolution in the species, detailed information is available on specific biological attributes of gophers, including life history, habitat preferences, distribution patterns, physiology, functional morphology, and limited information on paleontological history. The present paper is thus an attempt to interrelate these aspects of the biology of gophers with the causative agents and resulting patterns of geographic variation in karyotype in T. bottae.