12 results on '"Facultative"'
Search Results
2. Scavenger Vertebrates of Dörtdivan Vulture Restaurant, Turkey.
- Author
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PER, Esra and AYHAN, Yunus
- Subjects
- *
VERTEBRATES , *VULTURES , *COMPETITION (Biology) , *MAMMAL communities , *RESTAURANTS , *BIRD ecology - Abstract
Fairly recently scavenging was thought to be restricted to a few groups of 'classic' and sometimes facultative scavengers and vultures, but what most of the more recent researches has shown is that a much wider range of groups and species are scavenger. There is a need to investigate this diversity and interactions with different communities of avian and mammalian scavengers in Turkey. The diversity of scavenger vertebrate species, their behaviour, and interactions between individuals are investigated. This study was conducted in Dörtdivan Vulture Restaurant, Bolu, Turkey. Twenty five species are recorded (eighteen birds and seven mammal) while feeding on the carcasses. The diversity of vertebrates feeding on the carcass is varied according to the carcass type. Opportunistic non-obligatory scavengers are more dominant than obligatory scavengers in this study. The intraspecific and interspecific competitions are detected between scavengers. This is the first assessment of scavenger vertebrates in Turkey. It could be the useful reference for new assessments in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2020
- Full Text
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3. Parthenogenesis and developmental constraints
- Author
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Jacques J. M. van Alphen and Frietson Galis
- Subjects
0106 biological sciences ,0301 basic medicine ,Facultative ,Obligate ,Endosymbiosis ,Parthenogenesis ,Aneuploidy ,Biology ,medicine.disease ,Biological Evolution ,Invertebrates ,010603 evolutionary biology ,01 natural sciences ,03 medical and health sciences ,030104 developmental biology ,Meiosis ,Pleiotropy ,Evolutionary biology ,Vertebrates ,medicine ,Haplodiploidy ,Animals ,Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics ,Developmental Biology - Abstract
The absence of a paternal contribution in an unfertilized ovum presents two developmental constraints against the evolution of parthenogenesis. We discuss the constraint caused by the absence of a centrosome and the one caused by the missing set of chromosomes and how they have been broken in specific taxa. They are examples of only a few well-underpinned examples of developmental constraints acting at macro-evolutionary scales in animals. Breaking of the constraint of the missing chromosomes is the best understood and generally involves rare occasions of drastic changes of meiosis. These drastic changes can be best explained by having been induced, or at least facilitated, by sudden cytological events (e.g., repeated rounds of hybridization, endosymbiont infections, and contagious infections). Once the genetic and developmental machinery is in place for regular or obligate parthenogenesis, shifts to other types of parthenogenesis can apparently rather easily evolve, for example, from facultative to obligate parthenogenesis, or from pseudoarrhenotoky to haplodiploidy. We argue that the combination of the two developmental constraints forms a near-absolute barrier against the gradual evolution from sporadic to obligate or regular facultative parthenogenesis, which can probably explain why the occurrence of the highly advantageous mode of regular facultative parthenogenesis is so rare and entirely absent in vertebrates.
- Published
- 2019
4. Functional traits driving species role in the structure of terrestrial vertebrate scavenger networks
- Author
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José D. Anadón, Francisco Botella, Arockianathan Samson, Emma E. Spencer, Marcos Moleón, Ethan Frehner, Nuria Selva, Barbara Zimmermann, Sergio A. Lambertucci, Thomas M. Newsome, Christopher C. Wilmers, Evan R. Buechley, José A. Donázar, David Wilson, Ainara Cortés-Avizanda, Klemen Jerina, Camilla Wikenros, Mehmet Sancı, Aishwarya Bhattacharjee, Akino Inagaki, Pedro P. Olea, Corinne J. Kendall, Travis L. DeVault, Juan M. Pérez-García, Alexis L. Brewer, Kelsey L. Turner, Jomar M. Barbosa, James R.A. Butler, Andrés Ordiz, Marco Heurich, Esra Per, Hannah C. Gerke, Fernando Hiraldo, Shinsuke Koike, Olin E. Rhodes, Petter Wabakken, Lara Naves-Alegre, Heiko U. Wittmer, Eneko Arrondo, Johan T. du Toit, James C. Beasley, Zebensui Morales-Reyes, Esther Sebastián-González, Yunus Ayhan, Ünsal Yılmazer, Erin F. Abernethy, Miha Krofel, Paula L. Perrig, Darcy Ogada, Rich Kostecke, Justine A. Smith, L. Mark Elbroch, Antoni Margalida, Maximilian L. Allen, Cayetano Gutiérrez-Cánovas, Pilar Oliva-Vidal, Patricia Mateo-Tomás, José A. Sánchez-Zapata, Richard Inger, Generalitat Valenciana, Agencia Estatal de Investigación (España), Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades (España), Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (España), Govern de les Illes Balears, National Science Centre (Poland), Fundación 'la Caixa', Department of Agriculture (US), Slovenian Research Agency, Department of Energy (US), University of Georgia Research Foundation, Fukushima University, University of Queensland, Junta de Andalucía, National Science Foundation (US), Universidad de Alicante. Departamento de Ecología, Ecología y Conservación de Poblaciones y Comunidades Animales (ECPCA), Universidad de Sevilla. Departamento de Biología Vegetal y Ecología, Ministerio de Educación y Cultura (MEC). España, National Science Center. Poland, Slovenian Research Agency (ARRS), Department of Energy. United States, National Science Foundation (NSF). United States, and California Department of Fish & Wildlife. United States
- Subjects
Vulture ,Food Chain ,olfactory acuity ,obligatescavenger ,Olfacte ,Biology ,Social foraging ,Scavenger ,Obligate scavenger ,Normalized degree ,biology.animal ,vulture ,Animals ,Assemblage (archaeology) ,udc:630*15 ,iskanje hrane ,Carrion ,carrion ,Falconiformes ,Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics ,Functional ecology ,Facultative ,Ecology ,Obligate ,sociologija živali ,Fishes ,Vertebrate ,VDP::Matematikk og Naturvitenskap: 400 ,obligate scavenger ,Ecología ,interakcije vrst ,Olfactory acuity ,Phenotype ,mrhovinarji ,Vertebrates ,acilitative interaction ,normalized degree ,Facilitative interaction ,Voltors ,vultur ,assemblage nestedness ,social foraging ,Assemblage nestedness - Abstract
Species assemblages often have a non-random nested organization, which in vertebrate scavenger (carrion-consuming) assemblages is thought to be driven by facilitation in competitive environments. However, not all scavenger species play the same role in maintaining assemblage structure, as some species are obligate scavengers (i.e., vultures) and others are facultative, scavenging opportunistically. We used a database with 177 vertebrate scavenger species from 53 assemblages in 22 countries across five continents to identify which functional traits of scavenger species are key to maintaining the scavenging network structure. We used network analyses to relate ten traits hypothesized to affect assemblage structure with the “role” of each species in the scavenging assemblage in which it appeared. We characterized the role of a species in terms of both the proportion of monitored carcasses on which that species scavenged, or scavenging breadth (i.e., the species “normalized degree”), and the role of that species in the nested structure of the assemblage (i.e., the species “paired nested degree”), therefore identifying possible facilitative interactions among species. We found that species with high olfactory acuity, social foragers, and obligate scavengers had the widest scavenging breadth. We also found that social foragers had a large paired nested degree in scavenger assemblages, probably because their presence is easier to detect by other species to signal carcass occurrence. Our study highlights differences in the functional roles of scavenger species and can be used to identify key species for targeted conservation to maintain the ecological function of scavenger assemblages., ESG, ZMR, JMB and LNA were supported by Generalitat Valenciana (SEJI/2018/024, APOSTD/2019/016, CIDEGENT/2020/030 and ACIF/2019/056, respectively), JMB, JMPG and CGC by Juan de la Cierva contracts (MEC; IJCI-2017-32149, FJCI-2015-25632 and IJC2018-036642-I, respectively), ACA by the Govern de les Illes Balears (PD/039/2017) and ESG and MM by Ramón y Cajal contracts (MEC; RYC-2019-027216-I, RYC-2015-19231). EA was supported by La Caixa-Severo Ochoa International PhD Program 2015. NS was partly supported by the National Science Centre in Poland (2013/08/M/NZ9/00469 and 2016/22/Z/NZ8/00). MK and KJ were supported by the Slovenian Research Agency (P4-0059). Contributions of HG, KLT, EFA, OER, TLD, and JCB were partially supported through funding from U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Department of Energy under (DE-EM0004391) to the University of Georgia Research Foundation. HG was also supported by the Institute of Environmental Radioactivity at Fukushima University. ALB and JDA were partially supported by Queens College and the Graduate Center at the City University of New York. JDA is currently supported by a Ramón y Cajal contract (RYC-2017-22783). ERB and EF were supported by the USA National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship (1256065). CK completed study with support from Hawk Mountain Sanctuary, The Peregrine Fund, and via Pompeo M. Maresi Memorial Fund via Princeton University. JAS and CCW were supported by the USA National Science Foundation #1255913, the American Association for University Women, and the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation. HUW acknowledges funding from the California Department of Fish & Wildlife (P0880013). PLP was supported by the Rufford Foundation and University of Wisconsin-Madison. JB and JdT thank the Percy Sladen Memorial Fund and Mr Rodney Fuhr. Several authors were funded by funds from the MEC (CGL2012-40013-C02-01/02, CGL2015-66966-C2-1-R, CGL2015-66966-C2-1-R2, CGL2017-89905-R, RTI2018-099609-B-C21 and RTI2018-099609-B-C22) and from the Junta de Andalucía (RNM-1925). POV was supported by a research contract by the University of Lleida. EES and TMN were funded and supported by Australian Geographic, Bush Heritage Australia, Australian Academy of Sciences, Ecological Society of Australia, NSW Office of Environment and Heritage, NESP Threatened Species Recovery Hub, Emirates Wolgan Valley One and Only Resort. EP, YA, MS and UY completed study under research permit by The Republic of Turkey Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry. SAL thanks PICT (BID) 0725/2014, and IAATE. ALB and JDA would like to thank the Edmund Niles Huyck Preserve, Lyme Adirondack Forest Company, and LandVest Timberland.
- Published
- 2021
5. Exceptional long-term sperm storage by a female vertebrate
- Author
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Warren Booth, Gordon W. Schuett, and Brenna A. Levine
- Subjects
Male ,Litter (animal) ,Sexual Selection ,Heredity ,Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms ,Homozygosity ,Sexual Behavior, Animal ,Animal Cells ,Natural Selection ,Multidisciplinary ,Reproduction ,Eukaryota ,Snakes ,Biological Evolution ,Spermatozoa ,Squamates ,Sexual selection ,Vertebrates ,Medicine ,Female ,Cellular Types ,Research Article ,Evolutionary Processes ,Genotype ,Offspring ,Science ,Zoology ,Biology ,Genetics ,Animals ,Alleles ,Evolutionary Biology ,Facultative ,Reproductive success ,Organisms ,Biology and Life Sciences ,Reptiles ,Cell Biology ,Parthenogenesis ,Mating system ,Sperm ,Germ Cells ,Genetic Loci ,Amniotes ,Rattlesnakes ,Microsatellite Repeats - Abstract
Females of many vertebrate species have the capacity to store sperm within their reproductive tracts for prolonged periods of time. Termed long-term sperm storage, this phenomenon has many important physiological, ecological, and evolutionary implications, particularly to the study of mating systems, including male reproductive success and post-copulatory sexual selection. Reptiles appear particularly predisposed to long-term sperm storage, with records in most major lineages, with a strong emphasis on turtles and squamates (lizards, snakes, but not the amphisbaenians). Because facultative parthenogenesis is a competing hypothesis to explain the production of offspring after prolonged separation from males, the identification of paternal alleles through genetic analysis is essential. However, few studies in snakes have undertaken this. Here, we report on a wild-collected female Western Diamond-backed Rattlesnake, Crotalus atrox, maintained in isolation from the time of capture in September 1999, that produced two healthy litters approximately one and six years post capture. Genetic analysis of the 2005 litter, identified paternal contribution in all offspring, thus rejecting facultative parthenogenesis. We conclude that the duration of long-term sperm storage was approximately 6 years (71 months), making this the longest period over which a female vertebrate has been shown to store sperm that resulted in the production of healthy offspring.
- Published
- 2021
6. Developmental phenotypic plasticity helps bridge stochastic weather events associated with climate change
- Author
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Warren W. Burggren
- Subjects
030110 physiology ,0301 basic medicine ,Environmental change ,Physiology ,Climate Change ,Climate change ,Environment ,Aquatic Science ,Biology ,03 medical and health sciences ,Animals ,Weather ,Molecular Biology ,Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics ,Stochastic Processes ,Facultative ,Phenotypic plasticity ,Ecology ,Global warming ,Ocean acidification ,Global change ,Adaptation, Physiological ,Invertebrates ,Insect Science ,Vertebrates ,Developmental plasticity ,Animal Science and Zoology ,sense organs - Abstract
The slow, inexorable rise in annual average global temperatures and acidification of the oceans are often advanced as consequences of global change. However, many environmental changes, especially those involving weather (as opposed to climate), are often stochastic, variable and extreme, particularly in temperate terrestrial or freshwater habitats. Moreover, few studies of animal and plant phenotypic plasticity employ realistic (i.e. short-term, stochastic) environmental change in their protocols. Here, I posit that the frequently abrupt environmental changes (days, weeks, months) accompanying much longer-term general climate change (e.g. global warming over decades or centuries) require consideration of the true nature of environmental change (as opposed to statistical means) coupled with an expansion of focus to consider developmental phenotypic plasticity. Such plasticity can be in multiple forms – obligatory/facultative, beneficial/deleterious – depending upon the degree and rate of environmental variability at specific points in organismal development. Essentially, adult phenotypic plasticity, as important as it is, will be irrelevant if developing offspring lack sufficient plasticity to create modified phenotypes necessary for survival.
- Published
- 2018
7. Evolutionary responses of solitary and social Hymenoptera to predation by primates and overwhelmingly powerful vertebrate predators
- Author
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Justin O. Schmidt
- Subjects
Primates ,Food Chain ,media_common.quotation_subject ,Pain ,Hymenoptera ,Insect ,Predation ,Mice ,Honey Bees ,biology.animal ,Animals ,Humans ,Arthropod Venoms ,Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics ,media_common ,Mutualism (biology) ,Facultative ,biology ,Ecology ,fungi ,Insect Bites and Stings ,Vertebrate ,Honey bee ,biology.organism_classification ,Biological Evolution ,Predatory Behavior ,Anthropology ,Vertebrates ,behavior and behavior mechanisms - Abstract
Insects provide an important part of the diet of primates, including hominins. Investigations of insectivory in primates has focused primarily on the value of insects in the diet, and on the means of obtaining the insects, with little attention devoted to the predator-prey relationship itself and less to evolutionary aspects of insect defense against predatory vertebrates, including primates. Data indicate that, far from being a passive half of the relationship, insects in general, and stinging Hymenoptera in particular, are active participants that have greatly influenced the relationship. Predators have been a strong component of the selection pressure in the evolution of painful and toxic bee, wasp, and ant stings and these insects, in turn, have influenced hunting behavior and learning in at least higher primates. The special example of honey bees and humans is highlighted. Both humans and the bees have benefitted from a relationship that represents an unprecedented example of a predator-prey interaction evolving recently into facultative mutualism.
- Published
- 2014
8. Energy Reserves, Information Need and a Pinch of Personality Determine Decision-Making on Route in Partially Migratory Blue Tits
- Author
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Claudia Mettke-Hofmann, Anna Nilsson, and Jan-Åke Nilsson
- Subjects
0106 biological sciences ,Aging ,Energy reserves ,Social Sciences ,lcsh:Medicine ,01 natural sciences ,Biochemistry ,010605 ornithology ,Fats ,Wings ,Psychology ,Wings, Animal ,Foraging ,Passeriformes ,Animal Anatomy ,lcsh:Science ,media_common ,education.field_of_study ,Multidisciplinary ,biology ,Animal Behavior ,Ecology ,Cyanistes ,Neophobia ,Lipids ,Vertebrates ,Female ,Seasons ,Research Article ,Personality ,media_common.quotation_subject ,Population ,Zoology ,Information needs ,010603 evolutionary biology ,Birds ,medicine ,Animals ,education ,Personality Traits ,Facultative ,Behavior ,lcsh:R ,Organisms ,Biology and Life Sciences ,biology.organism_classification ,medicine.disease ,Amniotes ,Animal Migration ,lcsh:Q - Abstract
In facultative partial migrants some individuals in a population are migratory and others are resident and individuals decide each year anew which strategy to choose. While the proportion of birds migrating is in part determined by environmental conditions and competitive abilities, the timing of individual departure and behaviours on route are little understood. Individuals encounter different environmental conditions when migrating earlier or later. Based on cost/ benefit considerations we tested whether behaviours on route were affected by time constraints, personality and/or age in a partially migrating population of Blue tits (Cyanistes caeruleus). We captured female Blue tits on migration at the Southern tip of Sweden during early, peak and late migration and measured latency to feed in an unfamiliar environment, exploration of a novel object and hesitation to feed beside a novel object (neophobia). Lean birds and birds with long wings started feeding earlier when released into the cage indicating that foraging decisions were mainly determined by energetic needs (lean and large birds). However, juveniles commenced feeding later with progression of the migratory season in concordance with predictions about personality effects. Furthermore, lean birds started to explore earlier than birds with larger fat reserves again indicating an effect of maintaining threshold energy reserves. Moreover, late migrating juveniles, started to explore earlier than early migrating juveniles possibly due to time constraints to find high-quality foraging patches or a suitable winter home. Finally, neophobia did not change over the migratory season indicating that this behaviour is not compromised by time constraints. The results overall indicate that decisions on route are mainly governed by energetic requirements and current needs to learn about the environment and only to a small extent by differences in personality.
- Published
- 2016
9. Coevolution of Cyanogenic Bamboos and Bamboo Lemurs on Madagascar
- Author
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Fanny Patrika Rakotoarivelo, Stefanie Kautz, and Daniel J. Ballhorn
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0106 biological sciences ,0301 basic medicine ,Lemur ,lcsh:Medicine ,Plant Science ,Toxicology ,Pathology and Laboratory Medicine ,Generalist and specialist species ,01 natural sciences ,Trees ,Medicine and Health Sciences ,Bamboo ,Bamboo lemur ,lcsh:Science ,Phylogeny ,Prolemur simus ,Mammals ,Multidisciplinary ,Ecology ,biology ,Cathariostachys madagascariensis ,Phylogenetic Analysis ,Plants ,Biological Evolution ,Trophic Interactions ,Chemistry ,Community Ecology ,Plant Physiology ,Vertebrates ,Physical Sciences ,Research Article ,Primates ,Lemurs ,Prosimians ,Toxic Agents ,Bambusa ,Research and Analysis Methods ,010603 evolutionary biology ,03 medical and health sciences ,Plant-Animal Interactions ,biology.animal ,Madagascar ,Animals ,Plant Defenses ,Grasses ,Herbivory ,Molecular Biology Techniques ,Molecular Biology ,Molecular Biology Assays and Analysis Techniques ,Facultative ,Cyanides ,Plant Ecology ,Ecology and Environmental Sciences ,lcsh:R ,Organisms ,Chemical Compounds ,Biology and Life Sciences ,Plant-Herbivore Interactions ,Feeding Behavior ,biology.organism_classification ,Diet ,030104 developmental biology ,Amniotes ,Salts ,lcsh:Q ,Sequence Alignment - Abstract
Feeding strategies of specialist herbivores often originate from the coevolutionary arms race of plant defenses and counter-adaptations of herbivores. The interaction between bamboo lemurs and cyanogenic bamboos on Madagascar represents a unique system to study diffuse coevolutionary processes between mammalian herbivores and plant defenses. Bamboo lemurs have different degrees of dietary specialization while bamboos show different levels of chemical defense. In this study, we found variation in cyanogenic potential (HCNp) and nutritive characteristics among five sympatric bamboo species in the Ranomafana area, southeastern Madagascar. The HCNp ranged from 209±72 μmol cyanide*g-1 dwt in Cathariostachys madagascariensis to no cyanide in Bambusa madagascariensis. Among three sympatric bamboo lemur species, the greater bamboo lemur (Prolemur simus) has the narrowest food range as it almost exclusively feeds on the highly cyanogenic C. madagascariensis. Our data suggest that high HCNp is the derived state in bamboos. The ancestral state of lemurs is most likely "generalist" while the ancestral state of bamboo lemurs was determined as equivocal. Nevertheless, as recent bamboo lemurs comprise several "facultative specialists" and only one "obligate specialist" adaptive radiation due to increased flexibility is likely. We propose that escaping a strict food plant specialization enabled facultative specialist bamboo lemurs to inhabit diverse geographical areas.
- Published
- 2016
10. Unisexual reproduction among vertebrates
- Author
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William B. Neaves and Peter Baumann
- Subjects
Genetic diversity ,Facultative ,Ploidies ,Chimera ,media_common.quotation_subject ,Ovary ,Parthenogenesis ,Genetic Variation ,Zoology ,Biology ,Sexual reproduction ,Evolution, Molecular ,Taxon ,Evolutionary biology ,Vertebrates ,Genetics ,Animals ,%22">Fish ,Female ,Reproduction ,media_common - Abstract
The past decade has seen a remarkable revision of perspectives on unisexual reproduction in vertebrates. One can no longer view it as a rare curiosity far outside the mainstream of evolution. More than 80 taxa of fish, amphibians, and reptiles are now known to reproduce by parthenogenesis (Greek for 'virgin birth') or its variants, and they persist in nature as all-female lineages. Other lower vertebrates that ordinarily rely on sexual reproduction can resort to facultative parthenogenesis under extenuating circumstances that isolate females from males. Molecular tools have now been applied to the study of unisexual organisms, and fascinating insights have emerged regarding the molecular mechanisms that preserve heterozygosity and increase genetic diversity in all-female populations. A deeper understanding of the underlying genetics increasingly calls into question the assumption that unisexuality in vertebrates is an evolutionary dead-end.
- Published
- 2011
11. Facultative Parthenogenesis in Vertebrates: Reproductive Error or Chance?
- Author
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Kathrin P. Lampert
- Subjects
Male ,Embryology ,Facultative ,animal structures ,Reproduction ,Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism ,Parthenogenesis ,Embryo ,Biology ,Biological Evolution ,medicine.anatomical_structure ,Evolutionary biology ,Apomixis ,Vertebrates ,embryonic structures ,Clonal reproduction ,medicine ,Animals ,Gamete ,Female ,Thelytoky ,Developmental Biology - Abstract
Parthenogenesis, the development of an embryo from a female gamete without any contribution of a male gamete, is very rare in vertebrates. Parthenogenetically reproducing species have, so far, only been found in the Squamate reptiles (lizards and snakes). Facultative parthenogenesis, switching between sexual and clonal reproduction, although quite common in invertebrates, e.g. Daphnia and aphids, seems to be even rarer in vertebrates. However, isolated cases of parthenogenetic development have been reported in all vertebrate groups. Facultative parthenogenesis in vertebrates has only been found in captive animals but might simply have been overlooked in natural populations. Even though its evolutionary impact is hard to determine and very likely varies depending on the ploidy restoration mechanisms and sex-determining mechanisms involved, facultative parthenogenesis is already discussed in conservation biology and medical research. To raise interest for facultative parthenogenesis especially in evolutionary biology, I summarize the current knowledge about facultative parthenogenesis in the different vertebrate groups, introduce mechanisms of diploid oocyte formation and discuss the genetic consequences and potential evolutionary impact of facultative parthenogenesis in vertebrates.
- Published
- 2008
12. Epibiotic Diatoms Are Universally Present on All Sea Turtle Species
- Author
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Eric A. Lazo-Wasem, Roksana Majewska, John D. Zardus, Ronel Nel, Theodora Pinou, Nathan J. Robinson, Lourdes Rojas, and Frank V. Paladino
- Subjects
0106 biological sciences ,Research Facilities ,lcsh:Medicine ,Marine and Aquatic Sciences ,Museum Collections ,01 natural sciences ,law.invention ,law ,Electron Microscopy ,Scanning Electron Microscopes ,Turtle (robot) ,lcsh:Science ,Microscopy ,Multidisciplinary ,Ecology ,biology ,Marine Ecology ,Plants ,Plankton ,Turtles ,Sea turtle ,Community Ecology ,Vertebrates ,Engineering and Technology ,Scanning Electron Microscopy ,Research Article ,Algae ,Equipment ,Marine Biology ,Chelonia ,Research and Analysis Methods ,010603 evolutionary biology ,Animals ,Carapace ,Epibiont ,Diatoms ,Facultative ,Community ,Imaging Equipment ,010604 marine biology & hydrobiology ,lcsh:R ,Ecology and Environmental Sciences ,Organisms ,Biology and Life Sciences ,Reptiles ,biology.organism_classification ,Commensalism ,Invertebrates ,Diatom ,Testudines ,Amniotes ,Phytoplankton ,Earth Sciences ,Microscopy, Electron, Scanning ,lcsh:Q - Abstract
The macro-epibiotic communities of sea turtles have been subject to growing interest in recent years, yet their micro-epibiotic counterparts are almost entirely unknown. Here, we provide the first evidence that diatoms are epibionts for all seven extant species of sea turtle. Using Scanning Electron Microscopy, we inspected superficial carapace or skin samples from a single representative of each turtle species. We distinguished 18 diatom taxa from these seven individuals, with each sea turtle species hosting at least two diatom taxa. We recommend that future research is undertaken to confirm whether diatom communities vary between sea turtle species and whether these diatom taxa are facultative or obligate commensals.
- Published
- 2016
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