A genetically explicit model of speciation by sensory drive within a continuous population in aquatic environments

BACKGROUND: The sensory drive hypothesis predicts that divergent sensory adaptation in different habitats may lead to premating isolation upon secondary contact of populations. Speciation by sensory drive has traditionally been treated as a special case of speciation as a byproduct of adaptation to divergent environments in geographically isolated populations. However, if habitats are heterogeneous, local adaptation in the sensory systems may cause the emergence of reproductively isolated species from a single unstructured population. In polychromatic fishes, visual sensitivity might become adapted to local ambient light regimes and the sensitivity might influence female preferences for male nuptial color. In this paper, we investigate the possibility of speciation by sensory drive as a byproduct of divergent visual adaptation within a single initially unstructured population. We use models based on explicit genetic mechanisms for color vision and nuptial coloration. RESULTS: We show that in simulations in which the adaptive evolution of visual pigments and color perception are explicitly modeled, sensory drive can promote speciation along a short selection gradient within a continuous habitat and population. We assumed that color perception evolves to adapt to the modal light environment that individuals experience and that females prefer to mate with males whose nuptial color they are most sensitive to. In our simulations color perception depends on the absorption spectra of an individual's visual pigments. Speciation occurred most frequently when the steepness of the environmental light gradient was intermediate and dispersal distance of offspring was relatively small. In addition, our results predict that mutations that cause large shifts in the wavelength of peak absorption promote speciation, whereas we did not observe speciation when peak absorption evolved by stepwise mutations with small effect. CONCLUSION: The results suggest that speciation can occur where environmental gradients create divergent selection on sensory modalities that are used in mate choice. Evidence for such gradients exists from several animal groups, and from freshwater and marine fishes in particular. The probability of speciation in a continuous population under such conditions may then critically depend on the genetic architecture of perceptual adaptation and female mate choice.

Aquatic therapies in patients with compromised left ventricular function and heart failure

With water immersion, gravity is partly eliminated, and the water exerts a pressure on the body surface. Consequently there is a blood volume shift from the periphery to the central circulation, resulting in marked volume loading of the thorax and heart. This paper presents a selection of published literature on water immersion, balneotherapy, aqua exercises, and swimming, in patients with left ventricular dysfunction (LVD) and/or stable chronic heart failure (CHF). Based on exploratory studies, central hemodynamic and neurohumoral responses of aquatic therapies will be illustrated. Major findings are: 1. In LVD and CHF, a positive effect of therapeutic warm-water tub bathing has been observed, which is assumed to be from afterload reduction due to peripheral vasodilatation caused by the warm water. 2. In coronary patients with LVD, at low-level water cycling the heart is working more efficiently than at lowlevel cycling outside of water. 3. In patients with previous extensive myocardial infarction, upright immersion to the neck resulted in temporary pathological increases in mean pulmonary artery pressure (mPAP) and mean pulmonary capillary pressures (mPCP). 4. Additionally, during slow swimming (20-25m/min) the mPAP and/or PCP were higher than during supine cycling outside water at a 100W load. 5. In CHF patients, neck- deep immersion resulted in a decrease or no change in stroke volume. 6. Although patients are hemodynamically compromised, they usually maintain a feeling of well-being during aquatic therapy. Based on these findings, clinical indications for aquatic therapies are proposed and ideas are presented to provoke further research.

Impact of copper mine tailings (stamp sand) on survival and development of aquatic organisms near Gay, Michigan

Heavy metal-rich copper mine tailings, called stamp sands, were dumped by mining companies directly into streams and along the Lake Superior shoreline, degrading Keweenaw Peninsula waterways. One of the largest disposal sites is near Gay, Michigan, where tailings have been moved along the shoreline by currents since mining ceased. As a result, the smallest sand particles have been washed into deeper water and are filling the interstitial spaces of Buffalo Reef, a critical lake trout spawning site. This research is the first to investigate if stamp sand is detrimental to survival and early development of eggs and larvae of lake sturgeon, lake trout, and Northern leopard frogs, and also examines if the presence of stamp sands influences substrate selection of earthworms. This study found that stamp sand had significantly larger mean particle sizes and irregular shapes compared to natural sand, and earthworms show a strong preference for natural substrate over any combination that included stamp sand. Additionally, copper analysis (Cu2+) of surface water over stamp sand and natural sand showed concentrations were significantly higher in stamp sand surface water (100 μg/L) compared to natural sand surface water (10 μg/L). Frog embryos had similar hatch success over both types of sand, but tadpoles reared over natural sand grew faster and had higher survival rates. Eggs of lake sturgeon showed similar hatch success and development over natural vs. stamp sand over 17 days, while lake trout eggs hatched earlier and developed faster when incubated over stamp sand, yet showed similar development over a 163 day period. Copper from stamp sand appears to impact amphibians more than fish species in this study. These results will help determine what impact stamp sand has on organisms found throughout the Keweenaw Peninsula which encounter the material at some point in their life history.

Cryptic invertebrates on subtidal rocky reefs vary with microhabitat structure and protection from fishing

The deployment of flat concrete blocks on subtidal rocky reefs can replicate natural reef microhabitats and provides a means for standardized sampling of cryptic invertebrates. The shape of the cavity beneath the block is related to reef topography and may influence the invertebrate community by affecting the amount of space for cryptic fauna to colonise and influencing the effectiveness of their predator-defence mechanisms. To determine the effect of sub-block reef structure and different levels of external predators on cryptic molluscs and echinoderms, I deployed concrete blocks at locations inside and outside the Maria Island marine reserve in eastern Tasmania, Australia. Relationships between sub-block reef structure and the cryptic invertebrate assemblage were evident between locations, whereas only a small but significant proportion of variation of assemblages between blocks within location was explained by reef surface area. No clear association with external predation pressure was evident in multivariate analyses of variation in assemblage structure. Juvenile abalone Haliotis rubra were not influenced by micro-habitat structure but were significantly less abundant at protected locations, the only species to exhibit such a response. This result follows a decline of emergent adult abalone in the marine reserve and raises the possibility of recruitment failure of abalone at some fully protected locations in the longer term.

Locomotor activity of two sympatric slugs: implication for the invasion success of terrestrial invertebrates.

A central focus of invasion biology is to identify the traits that predict which introduced species will become invasive. Behavioral traits related to locomotor activity most likely play a pivotal role in determining a species’invasion success but have rarely been studied, particularly in terrestrial invertebrates. Here, we experimentally investigated the small-scale locomotor activity of two slug species with divergent invasion success in Europe, the highly invasive slug, Arion lusitanicus, and the closely related, non-invasive and native slug, Arion rufus. To do so, we used a multi-state capture-mark-recapture approach, and hypothesized that the invasive slug has a higher moving rate (keeps on moving) and leaving rate (leaves more frequently known places). A total of 221 invasive and 241 non-invasive slugs were individually marked using magnetic transponders and released in three study sites differing in habitat type. The slugs were recaptured using shelter traps, and moving and leaving rates were estimated. Both rates were significantly higher for the invasive slug, demonstrating a higher locomotor activity which might partly explain its invasion success. Our results provide evidence for the recently suggested idea that locomotor activity might be an important trait underlying animal invasions using for the first time terrestrial invertebrates.

Environmental Effects and Aquatic Organisms: Investigations of Molecular Mechanisms of Carcinogenesis

Cancers of the reproductive system are among the leading causes of mortality in women in the United States. While both genetic and environmental factors have been implicated in their etiology, the extent of the contribution of environmental factors to human diseases remains controversial. To better address the role of environmental exposures in cancer etiology, there has been an increasing focus on the development of nontraditional, environmentally relevant models. Our research involves the development of one such model, Gonadal tumors have been described in the softshell clam (Mya arenaria) in Maine and the hardshell clam (Mercenaria spp.) from Florida. Prevalence of these tumors is as high as 40% in some populations in eastern Maine and 60% in Some areas along the Indian River in Florida. The average tumor prevalence in Maine and Florida is approximately 20 and 11%, respectively. An association has been suggested between the use of herbicides and the incidence of gonadal tumors in the softshell clam in Maine. The role of environmental exposures in the development of the tumors in Mercenaria in Florida is unknown, however, there is evidence that genetic factors may contribute to its etiology. Epidemiologic studies of human populations in these same areas show a higher than average mortality rate due to cancers of the reproductive system in women, including both ovarian and breast career. The relationship, if any, among these observations is unknown, Our studies on the molecular basis of this disease in clams may provide additional information on environmental exposures and their possible link to cancer in clams and other organisms, including humans.

Taxon-specific δ13C analysis of chitinous invertebrate remains in sediments from Strandsjön, Sweden

Taxon-specific stable carbon isotope (δ13C) analysis of chitinous remains of invertebrates can provide valuable information about the carbon sources used by invertebrates living in specific habitats of lake ecosystems (for example, sediments, water column, or aquatic vegetation). This is complementary to δ13C of sedimentary organic matter (SOM), which provides an integrated signal of organic matter produced in a lake and its catchment, and of diagenetic processes within sediments. In a sediment record from Strandsjön (Sweden) covering the past circa 140 years, we analyzed SOM geochemistry (δ13C, C:Natomic, organic carbon content) and δ13C of chitinous invertebrate remains in order to examine whether taxon-specific δ13C records could be developed for different invertebrate groups and whether these analyses provide insights into past changes of organic carbon sources for lacustrine invertebrates available in benthic and planktonic compartments of the lake. Invertebrate taxa included benthic chironomids (Chironomus, Chironomini excluding Chironomus, Tanytarsini, and Tanypodinae), filter-feeders on suspended particulate organic matter (Daphnia, Plumatella and Cristatella mucedo), and Rhabdocoela. δ13C of chironomid remains indicated periodic availability of 13C-depleted carbon sources in the benthic environment of the lake as δ13C values of the different chironomid taxa fluctuated simultaneously between -34.7 and -30.5‰ (VPDB). Daphnia and Bryozoa showed parallel changes in their δ13C values which did not coincide with variations in δ13C of chironomids, though, and a 2-3‰ decrease since circa AD 1960. The decrease in δ13C of Daphnia and Bryozoa could indicate a decrease in phytoplankton δ13C as a result of lower lake productivity, which is in accordance with historical information about the lake that suggests a shift to less eutrophic conditions after AD 1960. In contrast, Rhabdocoela cocoons were characterized by relatively high δ13C values (-30.4 to -28.2‰) that did not show a strong temporal trend, which could be related to the predatory feeding mode and wide prey spectrum of this organism group. The taxon-specific δ13C analyses of invertebrate remains indicated that different carbon sources were available for the benthic chironomid larvae than for the filter-feeding Daphnia and bryozoans. Our results therefore demonstrate that taxon-specific analysis of δ13C of organic invertebrate remains can provide complementary information to measurements on bulk SOM and that δ13C of invertebrate remains may allow the reconstruction of past changes in carbon sources and their δ13C in different habitats of lake ecosystems.