Article
Ecology
Alihan Katlav, Duong T. Nguyen, James M. Cook, Markus Riegler
Summary: In haplodiploid animals, females can face constraints in producing female offspring due to factors such as insemination failure or physiological limitations. Research on Pezothrips kellyanus revealed that constrained sex allocation occurs in small females producing smaller eggs, while large females producing larger eggs tend to have a female-biased sex ratio. This bimodal sex allocation pattern is correlated with maternal condition and may be related to an egg size-mediated fertilization mechanism in haplodiploids.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Stanislaw Bury, Bartlomiej Zajac, Henryk Okarma, Aleksandra Kolanek
Summary: The study found that both male and female grass snakes showed similar declines in body size, with the current sex ratio being 1:1 compared to a previous female-biased ratio. The observed changes may be a result of increased road traffic, human presence, and decreased prey availability.
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND POLLUTION RESEARCH
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Bernice Sepers, A. Christa Mateman, Fleur Gawehns, Koen J. F. Verhoeven, Kees van Oers
Summary: The early life environment is crucial for many organisms and can have profound effects on morphology, physiology, and fitness. The molecular mechanisms that mediate these effects are largely unknown, but DNA methylation has been suggested as a potential mechanism. This study investigated the association between DNA methylation changes and experimentally induced early developmental effects in great tit nestlings.
Editorial Material
Genetics & Heredity
Scott William Roy
Summary: Haldane's rule suggests that heterogametic sex performs poorly in interspecific hybrids due to the absence of one of the species' X/Z chromosomes, but this rule is still observed in mouse placentas with paternal X silencing. This could be attributed to the evolution of Y chromosomes promoting growth in the presence of maternal-paternal conflict, resulting in balanced sex investment arising from a complex intra- and intergenomic duel.
TRENDS IN GENETICS
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Lukas Kubicka, Adam Turecek, Tomas Kucera, Lukas Kratochvil
Summary: Unlike mammals and birds, reptiles are considered indeterminate growers, with their growth reflecting differential allocation of resources. This study monitored the growth and bone growth plates activity, hormonal profiles, and reproductive activity in the male-larger gecko Paroedura picta. The findings suggest that some lizards are determinate growers, driven by ovarian hormones, and the major difference in growth between endothermic and ectothermic amniotes is the magnitude of growth before and after the first reproduction.
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Karen L. Wiebe
Summary: The study examined sex allocation in northern flickers over a period of 16 years. The results showed no significant bias towards either sex at the population level or within broods. High-quality parents did not produce more offspring of a specific sex. The study also found that female flickers tended to allocate more of the cheaper sex to last-hatched offspring in asynchronous broods.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Yinfang Pu, Shengjun Wu
Summary: The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of Astragalus membranaceus polysaccharide (AMP) on the growth performance, body composition and non-specific immune index of white shrimps (Litopenaeus vannamei). The results demonstrated that AMP with appropriate dose could promote the growth of shrimps and improve their disease resistance.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF BIOLOGICAL MACROMOLECULES
(2022)
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Katherine Barie, Etya Amsalem
Summary: The social environment during larval development plays a key role in determining body size and caste in social insects. The number of caretakers has an impact on larval mass and caste, while the identity of the caretakers (queen/worker) has a limited effect. This study also suggests that the presence of a queen does not manipulate female development and caste.
Article
Fisheries
Yingming Mao, Kiali Wang
Summary: This study investigated the effects of replacing fishmeal with Clanis bilineata larvae (CBL) on the growth performance and immune index of white shrimps. The results showed that moderate levels of CBL improved the growth performance and immune response of shrimps, while high levels of CBL had a negative effect.
AQUACULTURE REPORTS
(2022)
Article
Biology
Hanna Chole, Miguel de Guinea, S. Hollis Woodard, Guy Bloch
Summary: Research shows that exposure of bumblebee colonies to realistic field concentrations of the neonicotinoid insecticide Imidacloprid can lead to slower growth, reduced food consumption, and decreased production of workers, males, and gynes. However, the workers produced are unexpectedly larger compared to control colonies. This study also found that pesticide-treated colonies had queens spending more time inactive and less time caring for the brood. These findings reveal the intricate effect of insecticides on social interactions and brood development in bumblebee colonies.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2022)
Editorial Material
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Jonathan M. Henshaw, Adam G. Jones, Lukas Scharer
Summary: A new study shows the evolutionary link between gamete size dimorphism and the 'Bateman gradients', explaining why males usually compete more intensely for mating opportunities.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2022)
Review
Biology
Andy Gardner
Summary: The study of sex allocation provides strong evidence for Darwinian adaptation and has been a successful combination of theoretical and empirical research. The fitness outcomes of an individual's sex allocation decisions are influenced by the behavior of others, making it an evolutionary game. This article explores the historical development of understanding the rarer-sex effect in the evolution of sex allocation from Charles Darwin's writing in 1871 to William D. Hamilton's framing in 1972. The step-wise development of theory focused on refining the strategy set, payoff function, and unbeatable strategy. This article is part of the theme issue "Half a century of evolutionary games: a synthesis of theory, application and future directions".
PHILOSOPHICAL TRANSACTIONS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2023)
Article
Ornithology
Dariusz Bukacinski, Monika Bukacinska, Przemyslaw Chylarecki
Summary: The sex allocation theory suggests parents adjust brood sex ratio to maximize fitness returns in relation to parental investment. This adjustment may be driven by differential costs of rearing sons and daughters or differential benefits of investing resources into offspring of different sex. Parental condition influences the sex ratio bias, with poorer condition females tending to overproduce daughters to minimize reproductive failure.
Review
Ecology
Julia Joanna Pawluk, Magdalena Zagalska-Neubauer
Summary: The sex ratio of sexually reproducing animal species is usually close to 1:1 and can be influenced by both parents. This review focuses on summarizing the knowledge of male control in sex allocation, particularly the mechanisms of adjustment at different stages. While maternal effects are well studied, the paternal effects on sex ratio remain elusive.
Article
Biology
Merijn M. G. Driessen, Maaike A. Versteegh, Yoran H. Gerritsma, B. Irene Tieleman, Ido Pen, Simon Verhulst
Summary: Early life conditions may affect individual fitness, but their impact on immune function is not significant. The study found no effects of natal brood size on six measures of innate immune function in zebra finches. Low heritability estimates suggest that variation in immune function is largely due to environmental effects.
JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL BIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Behavioral Sciences
A. Balestrieri, L. Remonti, L. Morotti, N. Saino, C. Prigioni, F. Guidali
ETHOLOGY ECOLOGY & EVOLUTION
(2017)
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Andrea Romano, Gaia Bazzi, Manuela Caprioli, Margherita Corti, Alessandra Costanzo, Diego Rubolini, Nicola Saino
BEHAVIORAL ECOLOGY
(2016)
Article
Biology
Andrea Romano, Alessandra Costanzo, Diego Rubolini, Nicola Saino, Anders Pape Moller
BIOLOGICAL REVIEWS
(2017)
Article
Ecology
Alessandro Balestrieri, Elisa Cardarelli, Michela Pandini, Luigi Remonti, Nicola Saino, Claudio Prigioni
EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF WILDLIFE RESEARCH
(2016)
Article
Ecology
Andrea Romano, Alessandra Costanzo, Manuela Caprioli, Marco Parolini, Roberto Ambrosini, Diego Rubolini, Nicola Saino
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Cristina Daniela Possenti, Andrea Romano, Manuela Caprioli, Diego Rubolini, Caterina Spiezio, Nicola Saino, Marco Parolini
HORMONES AND BEHAVIOR
(2016)
Article
Ecology
Roberto Ambrosini, Jose Javier Cuervo, Chris du Feu, Wolfgang Fiedler, Federica Musitelli, Diego Rubolini, Beatrice Sicurella, Fernando Spina, Nicola Saino, Anders Pape Moller
JOURNAL OF ANIMAL ECOLOGY
(2016)
Article
Ornithology
Simone Pirrello, Andrea Pilastro, Diego Rubolini, Jacopo G. Cecere, Andrea Romano, Alessandro Andreotti, Stefano Volponi, Nicola Saino, Matteo Griggio, Lorenzo Serra
JOURNAL OF AVIAN BIOLOGY
(2017)
Article
Biology
Jacopo G. Cecere, Manuela Caprioli, Chiara Carnevali, Graziano Colombo, Isabella Dalle-Donne, Elisa Mancuso, Aldo Milzani, Marco Parolini, Antea Portanova, Nicola Saino, Lorenzo Serra, Diego Rubolini
JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL BIOLOGY
(2016)
Article
Zoology
Alessandro Balestrieri, Aritz Ruiz-Gonzalez, Maria Vergara, Enrica Capelli, Pietro Tirozzi, Sara Alfino, Gianmarco Minuti, Claudio Prigioni, Nicola Saino
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Gaia Bazzi, Jacopo G. Cecere, Manuela Caprioli, Emanuele Gatti, Luca Gianfranceschi, Stefano Podofillini, Cristina D. Possenti, Roberto Ambrosini, Nicola Saino, Fernando Spina, Diego Rubolini
Article
Ecology
Gaia Bazzi, Andrea Galimberti, Quentin R. Hays, Ilaria Bruni, Jacopo G. Cecere, Luca Gianfranceschi, Keith A. Hobson, Yolanda E. Morbey, Nicola Saino, Christopher G. Guglielmo, Diego Rubolini
ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2016)
Article
Zoology
Alessandro Balestrieri, Aritz Ruiz-Gonzalez, Enrica Capelli, Maria Vergara, Claudio Prigioni, Nicola Saino
Article
Environmental Sciences
Andrea Romano, Barbara De Giorgio, Marco Parolini, Chiara Favero, Cristina Daniela Possenti, Simona Iodice, Manuela Caprioli, Diego Rubolini, Roberto Ambrosini, Luca Gianfranceschi, Nicola Saino, Valentina Bollati
ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION
(2017)
Article
Medicine, General & Internal
Graziano Colombo, Francesco Reggiani, David Cucchiari, Nicola M. Portinaro, Daniela Giustarini, Ranieri Rossi, Maria Lisa Garavaglia, Nicola Saino, Aldo Milzani, Salvatore Badalamenti, Isabella Dalle-Donne