Genetic evidence for female-biased dispersal and gene flow in a polygynous primate.

Many models of sex-biased dispersal predict that the direction of sex-bias depends upon a species' mating system. In agreement with this, almost all polygynous mammals show male-biased dispersal whereas largely monogamous birds show female-biased dispersal (FBD). The hamadryas baboon (Papio hamadryas hamadryas) is polygynous and so dispersal is predicted to be male biased, as is found in all other baboon subspecies, but there are conflicting field data showing both female and male dispersal. Using 19 autosomal genetic markers genotyped in baboons from four Saudi Arabian populations, we found strong evidence for FBD in post-dispersal adults but not, as expected, in pre-dispersal infants and young juveniles, when we compared male and female: population structure (F(st)), inbreeding (F(is)), relatedness (r), and the mean assignment index (mAIc). Furthermore, we found evidence for female-biased gene flow as population genetic structure (F(st)), was about four times higher for the paternally inherited Y, than for either autosomal markers or for maternally inherited mtDNA. These results contradict the direction of sex-bias predicted by the mating system and show that FBD has evolved recently from an ancestral state of male-biased dispersal. We suggest that the cost-benefit balance of dispersal to males and females is tightly linked to the unique hierarchical social structure of hamadryas baboons and that dispersal and social organization have coevolved.

Mating order-dependent female mate choice in the polygynandrous common lizard Lacerta vivipara.

Recent studies indicate that directional female mate choice and order-dependent female mate choice importantly contribute to non-random mating patterns. In species where females prefer larger sized males, disentangling different hypotheses leading to non-random mating patterns is especially difficult, given that male size usually correlates with behaviours that may lead to non-random mating (e.g. size-dependent emergence from hibernation, male fighting ability). Here we investigate female mate choice and order-dependent female mate choice in the polygynandrous common lizard (Lacerta vivipara). By sequentially presenting males in random order to females, we exclude non-random mating patterns potentially arising due to intra-sexual selection (e.g. male-male competition), trait-dependent encounter probabilities, trait-dependent conspicuousness, or trait-dependent emergence from hibernation. To test for order-dependent female mate choice we investigate whether the previous mating history affects female choice. We show that body size and body condition of the male with which a female mated for the first time were bigger and better, respectively, than the average body size and body condition of the rejected males. There was a negative correlation between body sizes of first and second copulating males. This indicates that female mate choice is dependent on the previous mating history and it shows that the female's choice criteria are non-static, i.e. non-directional. Our study therefore suggests that context-dependent female mate choice may not only arise due to genotype-environment interactions, but also due to other female mating strategies, i.e. order-dependent mate choice. Thus context-dependent female mate choice might be more frequent than previously thought.

Being Female: a handicap for researchers in the competion for NCCR.

The Swiss National Science Foundation made a call for National Centers fo Competence in Research (NCCR) for the first time in 1999 and 2004. Together, these announcements concerned all disciplines and led to 126 preproposals, which were put forward by 2134 men and women researchers. It can be assumed that this operation mobilised Swiss researchers who regarded themselves as particularly well qualified to conduct high-level research in their field. The article uses network analysis and regression analysis methods to examine to what extend women had a lower success rate than men in the two selection rounds because of their sex. On the whole, the findings attest the gender neutrality of the National Science Foundation's selection procedures. However, they also confirm the well-known fact that women scientists are less represented in the higher echelons of academia and concentrated in the social sciences and humanities, as well as showing that this concentration reduces women's chances of success in scientific competition. The article shows that unequal gender-specific success rates prior to the NCCR funding contest play a fairly significant role.

Transobturator surgery for female stress incontinence: a comparative anatomical study of outside-in vs inside-out techniques.

OBJECTIVE To assess the specific risks of injury to neural and vascular structures inherent in two approaches to transobturator surgery for inserting a suburethral sling, i.e. the outside-in (standard technique) and inside-out approaches. MATERIALS AND METHODS The study comprised seven cadavers, providing 14 obturator regions. Five specimens had a tape inserted outside-in on one side, and inside-out on the other; of the remaining two cadavers, one had an inside-out tape and one an outside-in tape, bilaterally. After tape insertion, the cadavers were dissected. Particular attention was paid to the distances between the tape and the deep external pudendal vessels, and between the tape and the posterior branch of the obturator nerve. RESULTS With the inside-out technique, the safety margins were reduced, and the external pudendal vessels and the posterior branch of the obturator nerve were at greater risk of injury. CONCLUSION The two techniques are not equivalent, with a lower risk of injury to vascular and nerve structures with the outside-in technique.

Changes in the foraging strategy of female South American sea lions (Carnivora: Pinnipedia) after parturition.

This study tests the hypothesis that female South American sea lions shift from off-shore, pelagic prey to coastal, benthic prey after parturition in order to reduce the foraging trip duration and hence the time pups remain unattended on the beach during early lactation. The δ13C and δ15N values of the serum and blood cells of 26 South American sea lion suckling pups from northern Patagonia were used to track the dietary changes of their mothers from late pregnancy to early lactation, after correction for differential isotopic fractionation between tissues. Primary producers and potential prey species were also analysed to establish a baseline for interpreting the stable isotope concentration of serum and blood cells. Isotopic ratios revealed a generalized increase in the consumption of coastal-benthic prey after parturition. Such a generalized post-partum shift will allow females to spend more time on land and look after their pups. The effects of this foraging strategy on the nutritional quality of the female"s diet are discussed.

Agreed-upon procedures report on the City of Lambs Grove, Iowa for the period August 1, 2013 through July 31, 2014

Agreed-upon procedures report on the City of Lambs Grove, Iowa for the period August 1, 2013 through July 31, 2014

Extracting female inbred lines from commercial sunflower hybrids

The objective of this study was to obtain female inbred lines from sunflower (Helianthus annuus) hybrids. A methodology based on altering inbred lines carrying the fertility restorer gene (Rf) obtained from self pollinating hybrids into inbred lines with normal cytoplasm without the Rf gene was described. Further, derived male-sterile inbred lines were developed. The methodology was successfully used to obtain female inbreds from sunflower commercial hybrids. Although more time and labor consuming than the conventional female inbred line extraction methods, this methodology is advantageous in exploiting superior germplasms (commercial hybrids), which prompted us to develop practical procedures to allow its routinely use.

Parametrial adipose tissue and metabolic dysfunctions induced by fructose-rich diet in normal and neonatal-androgenized adult female rats.

Hyperandrogenemia predisposes an organism toward developing impaired insulin sensitivity. The aim of our study was to evaluate endocrine and metabolic effects during early allostasis induced by a fructose-rich diet (FRD) in normal (control; CT) and neonatal-androgenized (testosterone propionate; TP) female adult rats. CT and TP rats were fed either a normal diet (ND) or an FRD for 3 weeks immediately before the day of study, which was at age 100 days. Energy intake, body weight (BW), parametrial (PM) fat characteristics, and endocrine/metabolic biomarkers were then evaluated. Daily energy intake was similar in CT and TP rats regardless of the differences in diet. When compared with CT-ND rats, the TP-ND rats were heavier, had larger PM fat, and were characterized by basal hypoadiponectinemia and enhanced plasma levels of non-esterified fatty acid (NEFA), plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1), and leptin. FRD-fed CT rats, when compared with CT-ND rats, had high plasma levels of NEFA, triglyceride (TG), PAI-1, leptin, and adiponectin. The TP-FRD rats, when compared with TP-ND rats, displayed enhanced leptinemia and triglyceridemia, and were hyperinsulinemic, with glucose intolerance. The PM fat taken from TP rats displayed increase in the size of adipocytes, decrease in adiponectin (protein/gene), and a greater abundance of the leptin gene. PM adipocyte response to insulin was impaired in CT-FRD, TP-ND, and TP-FRD rats. A very short duration of isocaloric FRD intake in TP rats induced severe metabolic dysfunction at the reproductive age. Our study supports the hypothesis that the early-androgenized female rat phenotype is highly susceptible to developing endocrine/metabolic dysfunction. In turn, these abnormalities enhance the risk of metabolic syndrome, obesity, type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular disease.

A matter of time: delayed mate encounter postpones mating window initiation and reduces the strength of female choosiness

Reproductive success is determined by the presence and timing of encounter of mates. The latter depends on species-specific reproductive characteristics (e.g. initiation/duration of the mating window), season, and reproductive strategies (e.g. intensity of choosiness) that may potentially mitigate constraints imposed by mating windows. Despite their potentially crucial role for fitness and population dynamics, limited evidence exists about mating window initiation, duration and reproductive strategies. Here, we experimentally tested the mechanisms of initiation and the duration of the common lizard's Zootoca vivipara mating window, by manipulating the timing of mate encounter and analyzing its effect on (re-)mating probability. We furthermore tested treatment effects on female reproductive strategies, by measuring female choosiness. The timing of mate encounter and season did not significantly affect mating probability. However, a longer delay until mate encounter reduced female choosiness. Re-mating probability decreased with re-mating delay and was independent of mating delay. This indicates that mating window initiation depends on mate encounter, that its duration is fixed, and that plastic reproductive strategies exist. These findings contrast with previous beliefs and shows that mating windows per se may not necessarily constrain reproductive success, which is congruent with rapid range expansion and absence of positive density-effects on reproductive success (Allee effects). In summary, our results show that predicting the effect of mating windows on reproduction is complex and that experimental evidence is essential for evaluating their effect on reproduction and reproductive strategies, both being important determinants of population dynamics and the colonization of new habitats.

Costs of female reproduction in a conifer tree: a whole-tree level assessment

1. Costs of reproduction lie at the core of basic ecological and evolutionary theories, and their existence is commonly invoked to explain adaptive processes. Despite their sheer importance, empirical evidence for the existence and quantification of costs of reproduction in tree species comes mostly from correlational studies, while more comprehensive approaches remain missing. Manipulative experiments are a preferred approach to study cost of reproduction, as they allow controlling for otherwise inherent confounding factors like size or genetic background. 2. Here, we conducted a manipulative experiment in a Pinus halepensis common garden, removing developing cones from a group of trees and comparing growth and reproduction after treatment with a control group. We also estimated phenotypic and genetic correlations between reproductive and vegetative traits. 3. Manipulated trees grew slightly more than control trees just after treatment, with just a transient, marginally non-significant difference. By contrast, larger differences were observed for the number of female cones initiated 1 year after treatment, with an increase of 70% more cones in the manipulated group. Phenotypic and genetic correlations showed that smaller trees invested a higher proportion of their resources in reproduction, compared with larger trees, which could be interpreted as an indirect evidence for costs of reproduction. 4. Synthesis. This research showed a high impact of current reproduction on reproductive potential, even when not significant on vegetative growth. This has strong implications for how we understand adaptive strategies in forest trees and should encourage further interest on their still poorly known reproductive life-history traits.

Fructose Rich Diet-Induced High Plasminogen Activator Inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) Production in the Adult Female Rat: Protective Effect of Progesterone.

The effect of progesterone (P4) on fructose rich diet (FRD) intake-induced metabolic, endocrine and parametrial adipose tissue (PMAT) dysfunctions was studied in the adult female rat. Sixty day-old rats were i.m. treated with oil alone (control, CT) or containing P4 (12 mg/kg). Rats ate Purina chow-diet ad libitum throughout the entire experiment and, between 100 and 120 days of age drank ad libitum tap water alone (normal diet; CT-ND and P4-ND) or containing fructose (10% w/v; CT-FRD and P4-FRD). At age 120 days, animals were subjected to a glucose tolerance test or decapitated. Plasma concentrations of various biomarkers and PMAT gene abundance were monitored. P4-ND (vs. CT-ND) rats showed elevated circulating levels of lipids. CT-FRD rats displayed high (vs. CT-ND) plasma concentrations of lipids, leptin, adiponectin and plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1). Lipidemia and adiponectinemia were high (vs. P4-ND) in P4-FRD rats. Although P4 failed to prevent FRD-induced hyperleptinemia, it was fully protective on FRD-enhanced plasma PAI-1 levels. PMAT leptin and adiponectin mRNAs were high in CT-FRD and P4-FRD rats. While FRD enhanced PMAT PAI-1 mRNA abundance in CT rats, this effect was absent in P4 rats. Our study supports that a preceding P4-enriched milieu prevented the enhanced prothrombotic risk induced by FRD-elicited high PAI-1 production.

A female melanin ornament signals offspring fluctuating asymmetry in the barn owl.

Sexual selection theory predicts that males advertise quality by displaying extravagant ornaments. By contrast, whether phenotypic variation in females has a signalling function remains an open question. Here, to our knowledge, we provide the first evidence that a female plumage trait can signal fluctuating asymmetry in the offspring. We experimentally demonstrate in wild barn owls (Tyto alba) that the extent to which females display black spots on their plumage does not only signal offspring parasite resistance as shown in a previous study but also developmental homeostasis in the offspring. A greater number of spotted females produced offspring that had more symmetrical feathers during the period of growth. Males, that pair non-randomly with respect to female plumage spottiness therefore appear to gain substantial benefits by mating with heavily spotted females. Genetic variation in plumage spottiness is nevertheless maintained as the covariation between offspring body mass and mother plumage spottiness varies annually depending on environmental conditions.