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Evolutionary Strategy (evolutionary + strategy)
Selected AbstractsCOEVOLUTION OF COLOR PATTERN AND THERMOREGULATORY BEHAVIOR IN POLYMORPHIC PYGMY GRASSHOPPERS TETRIX UNDULATAEVOLUTION, Issue 2 2002Anders Forsman Abstract Ectothermic organisms, such as insects and reptiles, rely on external heat sources to control body temperature and possess physiological and behavioral traits that are temperature dependent. It has therefore been hypothesised that differences in body temperature resulting from phenotypic properties, such as color pattern, may translate into selection against thermally inferior phenotypes. We tested for costs and benefits of pale versus dark coloration by comparing the behaviors (i.e., basking duration and bouts) of pygmy grasshopper (Tetrix undulata) individuals exposed to experimental situations imposing a trade-off between temperature regulation and feeding. We used pairs consisting of two full-siblings of the same sex that represented different (genetically coded) color morphs but had shared identical conditions from the time of fertilization. Our results revealed significant differences in behavioral thermoregulation between dark and pale individuals in females, but not in males. Pale females spent more time feeding than dark females, regardless of whether feeding was associated with a risk of either hypothermia or overheating. In contrast, only minor differences in behavior (if any) were evident between individuals that belonged to the same color morph but had been painted black or gray to increase and decrease their heating rates. This suggests that the behavioral differences between individuals belonging to different color morphs are genetically determined, rather than simply reflecting a response to different heating rates. To test for effects of acclimation on behaviors, we used pairs of individuals that had been reared from hatchlings to adults under controlled conditions in either low or high temperature. The thermal regime experienced during rearing had little effect on behaviors during the experiments reported above, but significantly influenced the body temperatures selected in a laboratory thermal gradient. In females (but not in males) preferred body temperature also varied among individuals born to mothers belonging to different color morphs, suggesting that a genetic correlation exists between color pattern and temperature preferences. Collectively, these findings, at least in females, are consistent with the hypothesis of multiple-trait coevolution and suggest that the different color morphs represent alternative evolutionary strategies. [source] Optimization of integrated circuits placement for electric field reduction inside telecommunications equipment using Monte Carlo simulation and parallel recombinative simulated annealingMICROWAVE AND OPTICAL TECHNOLOGY LETTERS, Issue 12 2007Sotirios K. Goudos Abstract This article presents a novel approach to the modeling and reduction of electromagnetic interference (EMI) caused by radiated emissions of integrated circuits (ICs) inside rectangular metallic enclosures of telecommunications devices. This type of analysis applies for several types of modern telecommunications equipment found in high-speed networks as well as in mobile communications. A generic model of such a device is created. The ICs are modeled as small electric dipoles and their interaction with the enclosure walls is studied by using the dyadic Green's functions. The electric field on the enclosure walls is computed and its reduction is studied as optimization problem using evolutionary algorithms. Two algorithms are employed: Genetic algorithms (GAs) and parallel recombinative simulated annealing (PRSA). PRSA is a hybrid evolutionary strategy that inherits properties from both GAs and simulated annealing. Monte Carlo simulation is subsequently applied to the optimization results to derive the electric field on the metallic walls and also to perform a worst-case analysis. The applications of the above approach in early PCB design process are discussed. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 49: 3049,3055, 2007; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/mop.22893 [source] Spatial structure and genetic diversity of two tropical tree species with contrasting breeding systems and different ploidy levelsMOLECULAR ECOLOGY, Issue 3 2004Kevin K. S. Ng Abstract Analyses of the spatial distribution pattern, spatial genetic structure and of genetic diversity were carried out in two tropical tree species with contrasting breeding systems and different ploidy levels using a 50-ha demographic plot in a lowland dipterocarp forest in Peninsular Malaysia. Shorea leprosula is a diploid and predominantly outcrossed species, whereas S. ovalis ssp. sericea is an autotetraploid species with apomictic mode of reproduction. Genetic diversity parameters estimated for S. leprosula using microsatellite were consistently higher than using allozyme. In comparisons with S. leprosula and other tropical tree species, S. ovalis ssp. sericea also displayed relatively high levels of genetic diversity. This might be explained by the lower pressure of genetic drift due to tetrasomic inheritance, and for autotetraploids each locus can accommodate up to four different alleles and this allows maintenance of more alleles at individual loci. The observed high levels of genetic diversity in S. ovalis ssp. sericea can also be due to a random retention of more heterogeneous individuals in the past, and the apomictic mode of reproduction might be an evolutionary strategy, which allows the species to maintain high levels of genetic diversity. The spatial distribution pattern analyses of both species showed significant levels of aggregation at small and medium but random distribution at the big diameter-class. The decrease in magnitude of spatial aggregation from small- to large-diameter classes might be due to compensatory mortality during recruitment and survival under competitive thinning process. Spatial genetic structure analyses for both species revealed significant spatial genetic structure for short distances in all the three diameter-classes. The magnitude of spatial genetic structure in both species was observed to be decreasing from smaller- to larger-diameter classes. The high spatial genetic structuring observed in S. ovalis ssp. sericea at the small-diameter class is due primarily to limited seed dispersal and apomictic mode of reproduction. The similar observation in S. leprosula, however, can be explained by limited seed and pollen dispersal, which supports further the fact that the species is pollinated by weak fliers, mainly of Thrips and Megalurothrips in the lowland dipterocarp forest. [source] The Muscles of Mastication in the Caspian Seal (Phoca caspica)ANATOMIA, HISTOLOGIA, EMBRYOLOGIA, Issue 5 2002H. Endo Summary The muscles of mastication and their related skull characters in the Caspian seal (Phoca caspica) were anatomically examined and compared with those of the Baikal (Phoca sibirica) and ringed (Phoca hispida) seals. A well-developed masseter muscle was observed in the Caspian seal, whereas the temporal muscle consisted of thin bundles. The skull of the Caspian seal possessed the same thin frontal bone and the dorso-ventrally developed zygomatic arch found in the Baikal seal that are required to install the enlarged eyeball into the orbit. The temporal bone was not robust, and the digastric muscle was well-developed in the ventral space of the auditory bulla. The present results suggest that the skull form of the Caspian seal has changed morphologically from its ringed seal-like ancestors, and suggest that the evolutionary strategy of the muscles of mastication in the Caspian seal is principally consistent with that of the Baikal seal. [source] Life history traits and foraging behaviour of Cotesia nonagriae (Olliff) (Hymenoptera: Braconidae), a newly recognised member of the Cotesia flavipes complex of stemborer parasitoidsAUSTRALIAN JOURNAL OF ENTOMOLOGY, Issue 1 2010Kate A Muirhead Abstract Cotesia nonagriae (Olliff) from Australia, a parasitoid of the incidental native pest of sugarcane, Bathytricha truncata (Walker) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), was previously thought to be a synonym of Cotesia flavipes Cameron. However, recent studies using DNA sequences, morphology and preliminary biological information show that this parasitoid is clearly a different species than C. flavipes and other members of the species complex. Here we further examine differences in the biology of these species by undertaking a detailed study of the life history traits of C. nonagriae, including adult longevity and the potential and realised fecundity of females. In addition, the influence of learning on microhabitat location and foraging behaviour were investigated. Duration of the larval stages and adult longevity of C. nonagriae were longer than previously recorded for other members of the species complex. The potential fecundity of females was similar to C. flavipes (,200 eggs); however, C. nonagriae oviposited a average of over 100 eggs into each host, almost three times more than for other species in the C. flavipes complex (30,40). The propensity of C. nonagriae to allocate a large number of eggs to each host may be an evolutionary strategy due to the high mortality rate (50,57%) of ovipositing adult wasps. During microhabitat location, both naïve and experienced females demonstrated a strong response towards the plant host complex, with experienced wasps benefiting by having a more rapid response time to host-induced volatiles and cues. [source] | ||||||||||