Phylogeographical structure, postglacial recolonization and barriers to gene flow in the distinctive Valais chromosome race of the common shrew (Sorex araneus).

Using one male-inherited and eight biparentally inherited microsatellite markers, we investigate the population genetic structure of the Valais chromosome race of the common shrew (Sorex araneus) in the Central Alps of Europe. Unexpectedly, the Y-chromosome microsatellite suggests nearly complete absence of male gene flow among populations from the St-Bernard and Simplon regions (Switzerland). Autosomal markers also show significant genetic structuring among these two geographical areas. Isolation by distance is significant and possible barriers to gene flow exist in the study area. Two different approaches are used to better understand the geographical patterns and the causes of this structuring. Using a principal component analysis for which testing procedure exists, and partial Mantel tests, we show that the St-Bernard pass does not represent a significant barrier to gene flow although it culminates at 2469 m, close to the highest altitudinal record for this species. Similar results are found for the Simplon pass, indicating that both passes represented potential postglacial recolonization routes into Switzerland from Italian refugia after the last Pleistocene glaciations. In contrast with the weak effect of these mountain passes, the Rhône valley lowlands significantly reduce gene flow in this species. Natural obstacles (the large Rhône river) and unsuitable habitats (dry slopes) are both present in the valley. Moreover, anthropogenic changes to landscape structures are likely to have strongly reduced available habitats for this shrew in the lowlands, thereby promoting genetic differentiation of populations found on opposite sides of the Rhône valley.

A review of evolution of oviposition guilds in the Bruchidae (Coleoptera)

Three guilds of bruchid beetles oviposit on seeds at different times and in different ways, i. e., in these guilds some species only oviposit on fruits while on the plant (Guild A), other species only oviposit on seeds exposed in fruits while still on the plant (Guild B) and some only oviposit on seeds once they are exposed on the substrate (Guild C). It has been established that one plant species may be oviposited upon by all three guilds, some only by two guilds and some by only one guild. Before and after the inception of this concept many papers have been published that seem to establish that early oviposition behavior of bruchids was probably onto fruits where they burrowed through the fruit wall and fed on seeds (Guild A). Then, as evolution of the fruits developed for dispersal of seeds and possible escape from bruchid predation, bruchids developed to feed in seeds in various other ways (Guilds B and C). Our data show that about 78% of extant bruchids oviposit on fruits, and the other 22% with behavior of Guilds B and C. A review of these papers and new data on oviposition guilds and bruchid evolution are presented and discussed here.

Nature, evolution and characterisation of rhizospheric chemical exudates affecting root herbivores

Similar to aboveground herbivores, root-feeding insects must locate and identify suitable resources. In the darkness of soil, they mainly rely on root chemical exudations and, therefore, have evolved specific behaviours. Because of their impact on crop yield, most of our knowledge in belowground chemical ecology is biased towards soil-dwelling insect pests. Yet the increasing literature on volatile-mediated interactions in the ground underpins the great importance of chemical signalling in this ecosystem and its potential in pest control. Here, we explore the ecology and physiology of these chemically based interactions. An evolutionary approach reveals interesting patterns in the response of insects to particular classes of volatile or water-soluble organic compounds commonly emitted by roots. Food web analyses reasonably support that volatiles are used as long-range cues whereas water-soluble molecules serve in host acceptance/rejection by the insect; however, data are still scarce. As a case study, the chemical ecology of Diabrotica virgifera virgifera is discussed and applications of belowground signalling in pest management are examined. Soil chemical ecology is an expanding field of research and will certainly be a hub of our understanding of soil communities and subsequently of the management of belowground ecosystem services.

O Turismo de Cruzeiros na Ilha de São Vicente - Harmonia entre a Procura e Oferta Turística

Este trabalho aborda o sector do Turismo de Cruzeiros Marítimos na ilha de São Vicente, visando aferir em que medida a oferta turística da ilha encontra-se equilibrada com a procura dos navios de cruzeiros. O turismo em Cabo Verde é considerado como o sector central de desenvolvimento da economia do país e o mercado do turismo de cruzeiros marítimos apresenta uma excelente alternativa para a maximização dos impactos socioeconómicos na ilha de São Vicente. Quanto à metodologia, a pesquisa foi caracterizada como exploratória e descritiva, com uma abordagem tanto qualitativa como quantitativa. O uso da técnica da observação directa, como recurso metodológico na colecta dos dados, levou a concluir que a estrutura portuária da cidade é bastante atractiva no que tange à questão de segurança, da paisagem e dos recursos naturais oferecidos na ilha. Também a utilização do programa SPSS no tratamento dos inquéritos recolhidos possibilitou a realização de várias análises o que permitiu chegar a conclusões importantes da investigação. A pesquisa foi desenvolvida com base a pesquisa bibliográfica, consulta em sites de Internet e acesso a documentos que possuem informações sobre a evolução do turismo de cruzeiros em São Vicente. This work intends to study the sector of Cruise Tourism in São Vicente Island, in Cape Verde. Its main objective is to gauge to what extent the touristic offer is balanced with the demand for this specific niche of tourism. Tourism in Cape Verde is being considered as a central sector for economic growth, and this type of tourism surely presents itself as an excellent alternative for the maximization of social and economic impacts, in the island. In terms of methodology used, this research is seen as both exploratory and descriptive; hence, it has a qualitative and a quantitative approach. Direct observation as a methodological resource has allowed us to conclude that the island’s port infrastructure is very attractive in terms of safety, landscape, and natural resources the island has to offer its visitors. The use of SPSS for data treatment, in terms of our survey, allowed the realization of many analyses that lead to very important conclusions to this research. The research also relied on bibliographic review, web surfing for information, and analyses of documentation related to the evolution of cruise tourism in São Vicente.

Ontology Mapping Evolution

Introdução Hoje em dia, o conceito de ontologia (Especificação explícita de uma conceptualização [Gruber, 1993]) é um conceito chave em sistemas baseados em conhecimento em geral e na Web Semântica em particular. Entretanto, os agentes de software nem sempre concordam com a mesma conceptualização, justificando assim a existência de diversas ontologias, mesmo que tratando o mesmo domínio de discurso. Para resolver/minimizar o problema de interoperabilidade entre estes agentes, o mapeamento de ontologias provou ser uma boa solução. O mapeamento de ontologias é o processo onde são especificadas relações semânticas entre entidades da ontologia origem e destino ao nível conceptual, e que por sua vez podem ser utilizados para transformar instâncias baseadas na ontologia origem em instâncias baseadas na ontologia destino. Motivação Num ambiente dinâmico como a Web Semântica, os agentes alteram não só os seus dados mas também a sua estrutura e semântica (ontologias). Este processo, denominado evolução de ontologias, pode ser definido como uma adaptação temporal da ontologia através de alterações que surgem no domínio ou nos objectivos da própria ontologia, e da gestão consistente dessas alterações [Stojanovic, 2004], podendo por vezes deixar o documento de mapeamento inconsistente. Em ambientes heterogéneos onde a interoperabilidade entre sistemas depende do documento de mapeamento, este deve reflectir as alterações efectuadas nas ontologias, existindo neste caso duas soluções: (i) gerar um novo documento de mapeamento (processo exigente em termos de tempo e recursos computacionais) ou (ii) adaptar o documento de mapeamento, corrigindo relações semânticas inválidas e criar novas relações se forem necessárias (processo menos existente em termos de tempo e recursos computacionais, mas muito dependente da informação sobre as alterações efectuadas). O principal objectivo deste trabalho é a análise, especificação e desenvolvimento do processo de evolução do documento de mapeamento de forma a reflectir as alterações efectuadas durante o processo de evolução de ontologias. Contexto Este trabalho foi desenvolvido no contexto do MAFRA Toolkit1. O MAFRA (MApping FRAmework) Toolkit é uma aplicação desenvolvida no GECAD2 que permite a especificação declarativa de relações semânticas entre entidades de uma ontologia origem e outra de destino, utilizando os seguintes componentes principais: Concept Bridge – Representa uma relação semântica entre um conceito de origem e um de destino; Property Bridge – Representa uma relação semântica entre uma ou mais propriedades de origem e uma ou mais propriedades de destino; Service – São aplicados às Semantic Bridges (Property e Concept Bridges) definindo como as instâncias origem devem ser transformadas em instâncias de destino. Estes conceitos estão especificados na ontologia SBO (Semantic Bridge Ontology) [Silva, 2004]. No contexto deste trabalho, um documento de mapeamento é uma instanciação do SBO, contendo relações semânticas entre entidades da ontologia de origem e da ontologia de destino. Processo de evolução do mapeamento O processo de evolução de mapeamento é o processo onde as entidades do documento de mapeamento são adaptadas, reflectindo eventuais alterações nas ontologias mapeadas, tentando o quanto possível preservar a semântica das relações semântica especificadas. Se as ontologias origem e/ou destino sofrerem alterações, algumas relações semânticas podem tornar-se inválidas, ou novas relações serão necessárias, sendo por isso este processo composto por dois sub-processos: (i) correcção de relações semânticas e (ii) processamento de novas entidades das ontologias. O processamento de novas entidades das ontologias requer a descoberta e cálculo de semelhanças entre entidades e a especificação de relações de acordo com a ontologia/linguagem SBO. Estas fases (“similarity measure” e “semantic bridging”) são implementadas no MAFRA Toolkit, sendo o processo (semi-) automático de mapeamento de ontologias descrito em [Silva, 2004]. O processo de correcção de entidades SBO inválidas requer um bom conhecimento da ontologia/linguagem SBO, das suas entidades e relações, e de todas as suas restrições, i.e. da sua estrutura e semântica. Este procedimento consiste em (i) identificar as entidades SBO inválidas, (ii) a causa da sua invalidez e (iii) corrigi-las da melhor forma possível. Nesta fase foi utilizada informação vinda do processo de evolução das ontologias com o objectivo de melhorar a qualidade de todo o processo. Conclusões Para além do processo de evolução do mapeamento desenvolvido, um dos pontos mais importantes deste trabalho foi a aquisição de um conhecimento mais profundo sobre ontologias, processo de evolução de ontologias, mapeamento etc., expansão dos horizontes de conhecimento, adquirindo ainda mais a consciência da complexidade do problema em questão, o que permite antever e perspectivar novos desafios para o futuro.

The magmatic to hydrothermal evolution of the intrusive Mont Saint-Hilaire Complex: Insights into the late-stage evolution of peralkaline rocks

The Cretaceous Mont Saint-Hilaire complex (Quebec, Canada) comprises three major rock units that were emplaced in the following sequence: (I) gabbros; (II) diorites; (III) diverse partly agpaitic foid syenites. The major element compositions of the rock-forming minerals, age-corrected Nd and oxygen isotope data for mineral separates and trace element data of Fe-Mg silicates from the various lithologies imply a common source for all units. The distribution of the rare earth elements in clinopyroxene from the gabbros indicates an ocean island basalt type composition for the parental magma. Gabbros record temperatures of 1200 to 800 degrees C, variable silica activities between 0 center dot 7 and 0 center dot 3, and f(O2) values between -0 center dot 5 and +0 center dot 7 (log delta FMQ, where FMQ is fayalite-magnetite-quartz). The diorites crystallized under uniform a(SiO2) (a(SiO2) = 0 center dot 4-0 center dot 5) and more reduced f(O2) conditions (log delta FMQ similar to-1) between similar to 1100 and similar to 800 degrees C. Phase equilibria in various foid syenites indicate that silica activities decrease from 0 center dot 6-0 center dot 3 at similar to 1000 degrees C to < 0 center dot 3 at similar to 550 degrees C. Release of an aqueous fluid during the transition to the hydrothermal stage caused a(SiO2) to drop to very low values, which results from reduced SiO(2) solubilities in aqueous fluids compared with silicate melts. During the hydrothermal stage, high water activities stabilized zeolite-group minerals. Fluid inclusions record a complex post-magmatic history, which includes trapping of an aqueous fluid that unmixed from the restitic foid syenitic magma. Cogenetic aqueous and carbonic fluid inclusions reflect heterogeneous trapping of coexisting immiscible external fluids in the latest evolutionary stage. The O and C isotope characteristics of fluid-inclusion hosted CO(2) and late-stage carbonates imply that the surrounding limestones were the source of the external fluids. The mineral-rich syenitic rocks at Mont Saint-Hilaire evolved as follows: first, alkalis, high field strength and large ion lithophile elements were pre-enriched in the (late) magmatic and subsequent hydrothermal stages; second, percolation of external fluids in equilibrium with the carbonate host-rocks and mixing processes with internal fluids as well as fluid-rock interaction governed dissolution of pre-existing minerals, element transport and precipitation of mineral assemblages determined by locally variable parameters. It is this hydrothermal interplay between internal and external fluids that is responsible for the mineral wealth found at Mont Saint-Hilaire.

The evolution of personally disadvantageous punishment among cofoundresses of the ant Acromyrmex versicolor

Cofoundresses of the desert fungus garden ant Acromyrmex versicolorexhibit a forager specialist who subsumes all foraging risk priorto first worker eclosion (Rissing et al. 1989). In an experimentdesigned to mimic a "cheater" who refuses foraging assignment whenher lot, cofoundresses delayed/failed to replace their forager,often leading to demise of their garden (Rissing et al. 1996). Thecheater on task assignment is harmed, but so too is the punisher,as all will die without a healthy garden. In this paper we studythrough simulation the cofoundress interaction with haploid, asexualgenotypes which either replace a cheater or not (punishment), underboth foundress viscosity (likely for A. versicolor) and randomassortment. We find replacement superior to punishment only whenthere is no foraging risk and cheating is not costly to groupsurvival. Generally, punishment is evolutionarily superior,especially as forager risk increases, under both forms of dispersal.

Evidence for the evolution of multiple genomes in arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi.

Ancient asexuals directly contradict the evolutionary theories that explain why organisms should evolve a sexual life history. The mutualistic, arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi are thought to have been asexual for approximately 400 million years. In the absence of sex, highly divergent descendants of formerly allelic nucleotide sequences are thought to evolve in a genome. In mycorrhizal fungi, where individual offspring receive hundreds of nuclei from the parent, it has been hypothesized that a population of genetically different nuclei should evolve within one individual. Here we use DNA-DNA fluorescent in situ hybridization to show that genetically different nuclei co-exist in individual arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi. We also show that the population genetics techniques used in other organisms are unsuitable for detecting recombination because the assumptions and underlying processes do not fit the fungal genomic structure shown here. Instead we used a phylogenetic approach to show that the within-individual genetic variation that occurs in arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi probably evolved through accumulation of mutations in an essentially clonal genome, with some infrequent recombination events. We conclude that mycorrhizal fungi have evolved to be multi-genomic.

Comparative genomics of chemosensory protein genes reveals rapid evolution and positive selection in ant-specific duplicates.

Gene duplications can have a major role in adaptation, and gene families underlying chemosensation are particularly interesting due to their essential role in chemical recognition of mates, predators and food resources. Social insects add yet another dimension to the study of chemosensory genomics, as the key components of their social life rely on chemical communication. Still, chemosensory gene families are little studied in social insects. Here we annotated chemosensory protein (CSP) genes from seven ant genomes and studied their evolution. The number of functional CSP genes ranges from 11 to 21 depending on species, and the estimated rates of gene birth and death indicate high turnover of genes. Ant CSP genes include seven conservative orthologous groups present in all the ants, and a group of genes that has expanded independently in different ant lineages. Interestingly, the expanded group of genes has a differing mode of evolution from the orthologous groups. The expanded group shows rapid evolution as indicated by a high dN/dS (nonsynonymous to synonymous changes) ratio, several sites under positive selection and many pseudogenes, whereas the genes in the seven orthologous groups evolve slowly under purifying selection and include only one pseudogene. These results show that adaptive changes have played a role in ant CSP evolution. The expanded group of ant-specific genes is phylogenetically close to a conservative orthologous group CSP7, which includes genes known to be involved in ant nestmate recognition, raising an interesting possibility that the expanded CSPs function in ant chemical communication.

Ecology and evolution of multigenomic arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi.

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) form extremely important mutualistic symbioses with most plants. Their role in nutrient acquisition, plant community structure, plant diversity, and ecosystem productivity and function has been demonstrated in recent years. New findings on the genetics and biology of AMF also give us a new picture of how these fungi exist in ecosystems. In this article, I bring together some recent findings that indicate that AMF have evolved to contain multiple genomes, that they connect plants together by a hyphal network, and that these different genomes may potentially move around in this network. These findings show the need for more intensive studies on AMF population biology and genetics in order to understand how they have evolved with plants, to better understand their ecological role, and for applying AMF in environmental management programs and in agriculture. A number of key features of AMF population biology have been identified for future studies and most of these concern the need to understand drift, selection, and genetic exchange in multigenomic organisms, a task that has not previously presented itself to evolutionary biologists.

The evolution of adult height in Europe: A brief note

This paper presents new evidence on the evolution of adult height in 10 Europeancountries for cohorts born between 1950 and 1980 using the European CommunityHousehold Panel (ECHP), which collects height data from Austria, Belgium, Denmark,Finland, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Portugal, Spain and Sweden. Our findings show agradual increase in adult height across all countries. However, countries from SouthernEurope (Greece, Italy, Portugal, Spain) experienced higher gains in stature than thoselocated in Northern Europe (Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Ireland and Sweden).

Evolution in subdivided plant populations: concepts, recent advances and future directions.

SUMMARY: Research into the evolution of subdivided plant populations has long involved the study of phenotypic variation across plant geographic ranges and the genetic details underlying that variation. Genetic polymorphism at different marker loci has also allowed us to infer the long- and short-term histories of gene flow within and among populations, including range expansions and colonization-extinction dynamics. However, the advent of affordable genome-wide sequences for large numbers of individuals is opening up new possibilities for the study of subdivided populations. In this review, we consider what the new tools and technologies may allow us to do. In particular, we encourage researchers to look beyond the description of variation and to use genomic tools to address new hypotheses, or old ones afresh. Because subdivided plant populations are complex structures, we caution researchers away from adopting simplistic interpretations of their data, and to consider the patterns they observe in terms of the population genetic processes that have given rise to them; here, the genealogical framework of the coalescent will continue to be conceptually and analytically useful.

Audit report on America’s Agricultural Industrial Heritage Landscape, Inc., d/b/a Silos and Smokestacks National Heritage Area, in Waterloo, Iowa for the years ended December 31, 2007 and 2006

Audit report on America’s Agricultural Industrial Heritage Landscape, Inc., d/b/a Silos and Smokestacks National Heritage Area, in Waterloo, Iowa for the years ended December 31, 2007 and 2006

Evolution at Two Levels in Fire Ants: The Relationship between Patterns of Gene Expression and Protein Sequence Evolution.

Variation in protein sequence and gene expression each contribute to phenotypic diversity, and may be subject to similar selective pressures. Eusocial insects are particularly useful for investigating the evolutionary link between protein sequence and condition-dependent patterns of gene expression because gene expression plays a central role in determining differences between eusocial insect sexes and castes. We investigated the relationship between protein coding sequence evolution and gene expression patterns in the fire ants Solenopsis invicta, S. richteri, and their hybrids to gain greater insight into how selection jointly operates on gene expression and coding sequence. We found that genes with high expression variability within castes and sexes were frequently differentially expressed between castes and sexes, as well as between species and hybrids. These results indicate that genes showing high variation in expression in one context also tend to show high variation in expression in other contexts. Our analyses further revealed that variation in both intra- and interspecific gene expression was positively associated with rate of protein sequence evolution in Solenopsis. This suggests that selective constraints on a gene operate both at the level of protein sequence and at the level of gene expression regulation. Overall, our study provides one of the strongest demonstrations that selective constraints mediate both protein sequence evolution and gene expression variability across different biological contexts and timescales.