Matriarchs as repositories of social knowledge in African elephants

Despite widespread interest in the evolution of social intelligence, little is known about how wild animals acquire and store information about social companions or whether individuals possessing enhanced social knowledge derive biological fitness benefits. Using playback experiments on African elephants (Loxodonta africana), we demonstrated that the possession of enhanced discriminatory abilities by the oldest individual in a group can influence the social knowledge of the group as a whole. These superior abilities for social discrimination may result in higher per capita reproductive success for female groups led by older individuals. Our findings imply that the removal of older, more experienced individuals, which are often targets for hunters because of their large size, could have serious consequences for endangered populations of advanced social mammals such as elephants and whales.     

Relationship Between Behavioral Frequency and Reproductive Potential of Female Alpine Musk Deer in Captivity

Between June 2005 and February 2006, focal sampling and all occurrence behavior recording were used to quantify the behavioral patterns of captive female alpine musk deer （Moschus sifanicus） at Xinglongshan Musk Deer Farm, Gansu Province, China. Copulation success was used to differentiate individuals into two groups （successful and unsuccessful） and to provide a basis for behavioral comparisons, throughout both mating （rut） and non mating seasons. The results indicated significant differences between the behavior patterns of successful and unsuccessful females; however, the reproductive season played an important environmental factor. Pooling results across reproductive seasons, successfully copulating females showed significantly higher frequencies of vigilance and lower frequency of feeding behavior as compared with unsuccessfully copulating females. In the non-mating season, unsuccessfully copulating females had higher frequency of self-directed behavior, environment sniffing, and were less aggressive than successful copulating females. Furthermore, females who were successful at copulating also demonstrated tail-pasting behavior; however, this only occurred during the rut season. The results of this study can improve management practices for musk deer farms through increasing mating success and reducing maintenance costs. Furthermore, variation in behavior may also be used as a predictor of copulation success and reproductive potential, whereby females can be grouped and separated according to their reproductive history and past reproduction success.     

A localized negative genetic correlation constrains microevolution of coat color in wild sheep

The evolutionary changes that occur over a small number of generations in natural populations often run counter to what is expected on the basis of the heritability of traits and the selective forces acting upon them. In Soay sheep, dark coat color is associated with large size, which is heritable and positively correlated with fitness, yet the frequency of dark sheep has decreased. This unexpected microevolutionary trend is explained by genetic linkage between the causal mutation underlying the color polymorphism and quantitative trait loci with antagonistic effects on size and fitness. As a consequence, homozygous dark sheep are large, but have reduced fitness relative to phenotypically indistinguishable dark heterozygotes and light sheep. This result demonstrates the importance of understanding the genetic basis of fitness variation when making predictions about the microevolutionary consequences of selection.     

A mechanism for social selection and successful altruism

Within the framework of neo-Darwinism, with its focus on fitness, it has been hard to account for altruism behavior that reduces the fitness of the altruist but increases average fitness in society. Many population biologists argue that, except for altruism to close relatives, human behavior that appears to be altruistic amounts to reciprocal altruism, behavior undertaken with an expectation of reciprocation, hence incurring no net cost to fitness. Herein is proposed a simple and robust mechanism, based on human docility and bounded rationality that can account for the evolutionary success of genuinely altruistic behavior. Because docility-receptivity to social influence-contributes greatly to fitness in the human species, it will be positively selected. As a consequence, society can impose a "tax" on the gross benefits gained by individuals from docility by inducing docile individuals to engage in altruistic behaviors. Limits on rationality in the face of environmental complexity prevent the individual from avoiding this "tax." An upper bound is imposed on altruism by the condition that there must remain a net fitness advantage for docile behavior after the cost to the individual of altruism has been deducted.     

突变基因的积累与生殖隔离形成的一个途径（英文）

通过用RR、Rr和rr3种基因型的适合度之比量化R与r基因在后代中的频率,计算r的频率逐代演变的分岔点,研究随机交配群体中的杂合子适合度低于纯合子适合度的突变基因r在群体中的逐代积累过程。揭示了R与r在遗传中的不相容性;遗传漂变能使r在新群体中有较高的频率,超过分岔点,最终形成生殖隔离;同时生物进化的动力仅有突变、遗传漂变、自然选择这3个条件还不够,还需要有杂合子适合度低于纯合子适合度的突变基因,即原有群体的遗传背景对新突变的排斥作用。     

A map of local adaptation in Arabidopsis thaliana

Local adaptation is critical for species persistence in the face of rapid environmental change, but its genetic basis is not well understood. Growing the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana in field experiments in four sites across the species' native range, we identified candidate loci for local adaptation from a genome-wide association study of lifetime fitness in geographically diverse accessions. Fitness-associated loci exhibited both geographic and climatic signatures of local adaptation. Relative to genomic controls, high-fitness alleles were generally distributed closer to the site where they increased fitness, occupying specific and distinct climate spaces. Independent loci with different molecular functions contributed most strongly to fitness variation in each site. Independent local adaptation by distinct genetic mechanisms may facilitate a flexible evolutionary response to changing environment across a species range.     

Social components of fitness in primate groups

There is much interest in the evolutionary forces that favored the evolution of large brains in the primate order. The social brain hypothesis posits that selection has favored larger brains and more complex cognitive capacities as a means to cope with the challenges of social life. The hypothesis is supported by evidence that shows that group size is linked to various measures of brain size. But it has not been clear how cognitive complexity confers fitness advantages on individuals. Research in the field and laboratory shows that sophisticated social cognition underlies social behavior in primate groups. Moreover, a growing body of evidence suggests that the quality of social relationships has measurable fitness consequences for individuals.     

昆虫繁殖适度研究进展

昆虫已成为动物界种类最多、分布最广的一个类群.繁殖是昆虫保证种群延续以及繁荣的重要手段.因为其极强的繁殖能力和特殊的繁殖体系,雌性昆虫可以通过受精囊储存交配中从雄虫处获得的精子延迟卵的受精,控制其受精时间,以此避免不利于其后代生存的时间和环境,待寻找到合适的环境以及寄主后,再控制精液流出使卵受精,保证其卵的孵化率和幼虫...     

油菜素内酯参与调控植物生长发育与抗逆性的机制及其育种应用研究

油菜素内酯（brassinosteroids,BRs）是一类重要的植物促生激素,参与调控植物生长发育。最近的研究表明,BRs能增加作物产量和增强作物抗逆性。在BRs信号转导过程中,蛋白激酶的磷酸化功能与转录因子的磷酸化和脱磷酸化过程是BRs信号重要的生化调控机制,其中起始BRs信号由胞外向胞内转导的蛋白激酶BRI1和 BAK1,以及BRs信号下游调控不同性状基因表达的转录因子BZR1和BZR2/BES1,是BRs信号途径中关键的功能基因。基于重要蛋白激酶和转录因子的蛋白结构和功能分析,通过不同氨基酸功能位点的基因定点突变和修饰技术,能实现BRs信号途径的功能研究与植物性状改良,从而提高植物对环境的适应性。综述了BRs信号途径与植物生长发育和环境胁迫的研究,期望为植物分子育种提供很好的借鉴。     

延迟交配对蛾类生殖适合度影响的Meta分析

延迟交配被认为是交配干扰技术间接控制害虫种群的一种方法。近年来延迟交配行为对蛾类昆虫生殖适合度的影响得到了广泛的研究,然而,延迟交配行为与蛾类生殖适合度之间的关系相当复杂且存在很大疑惑。本文通过对搜集到的38篇实例研究性文献进行Meta分析,探讨了蛾类的延迟交配行为对雌蛾的生殖产量的影响并确定这种差异是否受科属、性别和交配策略的影响。结果表明延迟交配明显降低雌蛾的产卵量和卵的孵化率,而雌蛾寿命相应地延长。这种负相关性在不同科、性别和交配策略的蛾类之间有所差异,表现为延迟交配对夜蛾科、螟蛾科、卷蛾科、尺蛾科等的负作用高于草螟科、菜蛾科、巢蛾科和蛀果蛾科等蛾类;对雌蛾的影响比雄蛾更明显;而对多配制蛾类的影响比单配制蛾类更显著。笔者的结果支持成虫日龄与雌蛾生殖产量之间存在明显的相关性,每种蛾类均存在一个最佳的交配日龄,从而提出交配干扰技术在实际生产中只有在蛾类最佳交配日龄之前应用合成信息素来阻止或干扰其交配行为才能取得最佳的防治效果。     

生殖隔离形成机理的杂合子低适合度分化模型

通过用RR、Rr和rr3种基因型的适合度之比,量化R与r基因在后代中的频率,计算r的频率逐代演变的分岔点,研究随机交配群体中的杂合子适合度低于纯合子适合度的突变基因r在群体中的逐代积累过程。揭示了R与r在遗传中的不相容性;遗传漂变能使r在新群体中有较高的频率,超过分岔点,最终形成生殖隔离;同时生物进化的动力仅有突变、遗传漂变、自然选择这3个条件还不够,还需要有杂合子适合度低于纯合子适合度的突变基因,即原有群体的遗传背景对新突变的排斥作用。     

不同水分处理对番茄产量性状及其生理机制的效应

在分析不同处理土壤水分动态的基础上,探讨了不同水分处理对番茄植株营养生长、生殖生长及其生理机制的效应,分析了不同土壤水分状况下番茄的水分利用效率的差异。试验表明:(1)日光温室滴灌条件下深墒较稳层的土壤水分含量在整个生育期有下降趋势,胁迫处理更为明显,土壤含水率变幅为13%~21%;(2)土壤水分对营养生长为正效应,而对生殖生长影响不明显;(3)胁迫处理叶片的细胞液浓度高于高水分处理,而叶片气孔导度低于高水分处理;(4)番茄座果后保持土壤水分不低于田间持水量的70%,较适合番茄生长。     

白洋淀水环境风险受体脆弱性评价

白洋淀是“华北明珠”，也是雄安新区的重要生态依托，开展水环境风险受体脆弱性研究，可为白洋淀水环境保护与水环境风险管理提供依据。从风险受体敏感性和缓冲能力两方面，选取14项指标，构建了白洋淀水环境风险受体脆弱性评价指标体系，提出了脆弱性评价与分级方法，并对白洋淀水环境风险受体脆弱性进行了评价。结果表明，淀区以较低和低度脆弱为主，东北部、西北部和中部的部分区域脆弱度较高。研究表明，应通过控制污染、生态补水、水生植被种植、微地形改造等措施提高缓冲能力，从而降低脆弱度。     

Breeding together: kin selection and mutualism in cooperative vertebrates

In cooperatively breeding vertebrates, nonbreeding helpers raise young produced by dominant breeders. Although the evolution of cooperative breeding has often been attributed primarily to kin selection (whereby individuals gain "indirect" benefits to their fitness by assisting collateral relatives), there is increasing evidence that helpers can be unrelated to the young they are raising. Recent studies also suggest that the indirect benefits of cooperative behavior may often have been overestimated while the direct benefits of helping to the helper's own fitness have probably been underestimated. It now seems likely that the evolutionary mechanisms maintaining cooperative breeding are diverse and that, in some species, the direct benefits of helping may be sufficient to maintain cooperative societies. The benefits of cooperation in vertebrate societies may consequently show parallels with those in human societies, where cooperation between unrelated individuals is frequent and social institutions are often maintained by generalized reciprocity.     

A yeast prion, Mod5, promotes acquired drug resistance and cell survival under environmental stress

Prion conversion from a soluble protein to an aggregated state may be involved in the cellular adaptation of yeast to the environment. However, it remains unclear whether and how cells actively use prion conversion to acquire a fitness advantage in response to environmental stress. We identified Mod5, a yeast transfer RNA isopentenyltransferase lacking glutamine/asparagine-rich domains, as a yeast prion protein and found that its prion conversion in yeast regulated the sterol biosynthetic pathway for acquired cellular resistance against antifungal agents. Furthermore, selective pressure by antifungal drugs on yeast facilitated the de novo appearance of Mod5 prion states for cell survival. Thus, phenotypic changes caused by active prion conversion under environmental selection may contribute to cellular adaptation in living organisms.     

参数可变自适应遗传算法在军事地形图矢量化中的应用

针对纸制军事地图矢量化问题进行研究，提出一种基于自适应遗传算法的军事地形图矢量化方法，并在生成新的个体后，增加个体修正操作，提高个体的适应度。在该算法中，提出一种即考虑进化代数对算法的影响，又考虑到每代不同个体适应度作用的自适应交叉概率和变异概率。通过与传统方法的实验比较，证明该方法的可用性和有效性。     

Sexual selection,temperature, and the lion's mane

The mane of the African lion (Panthera leo) is a highly variable trait that reflects male condition and ambient temperature. We examined the consequences of this variation in a long-term study of lions in the Serengeti National Park, Tanzania. Mane darkness indicates nutrition and testosterone and influences both female choice and male-male competition. Mane length signals fighting success and only appears to influence male-male assessment. Dark-maned males enjoy longer reproductive life-spans and higher offspring survival, but they suffer higher surface temperatures, abnormal sperm, and lower food intake during hot months of the year. Maned males are hotter than females, and males have lighter and/or shorter manes in hotter seasons, years, and habitats. This phenotypic plasticity suggests that the mane will respond to forecasted increases in ambient temperature.     

Constraints in the evolution of sex ratio adjustment

When the relative fitness of male and female offspring varies with environmental conditions, evolutionary theory predicts that parents should adjust the sex of their offspring accordingly. Qualitative and even quantitative support for this prediction is striking in some taxa but much less convincing in others. Explaining such variation across taxa in the fit of sex ratio theory remains a major challenge. We use meta-analysis to test the role of two constraints in the evolution of sex ratios. Based on analysis of sex ratio skews in birds and wasps, we show that (i) mechanisms of sex determination do not necessarily constrain the evolution of sex ratio adjustment, and (ii) parental ability to predict their offsprings' environment influences the evolution of sex ratio patterns across taxa. More generally, our results show that multiple constraints may determine the precision of adaptation.     

Frames, biases, and rational decision-making in the human brain

Human choices are remarkably susceptible to the manner in which options are presented. This so-called "framing effect" represents a striking violation of standard economic accounts of human rationality, although its underlying neurobiology is not understood. We found that the framing effect was specifically associated with amygdala activity, suggesting a key role for an emotional system in mediating decision biases. Moreover, across individuals, orbital and medial prefrontal cortex activity predicted a reduced susceptibility to the framing effect. This finding highlights the importance of incorporating emotional processes within models of human choice and suggests how the brain may modulate the effect of these biasing influences to approximate rationality.     

Plant Growth, Yield Components, Economic Responses, and Soil Indigenous K Uptake of Two Cotton Genotypes with Different K-Efficiencies

HG103, a high K-efficiency cotton cultivar with high-yield potential, and LG122, a low K-efficiency cotton cultivar with low-yield potential were used to study the genotypic variation on yield, economic responses, and soil indigenous K exploitation for cotton in pot and field conditions in 2006 and 2007. Results indicated that both the cultivars differed significantly in the rate of translocation of dry matter into reproductive organs and the time of running into reproductive stage. Cotton yield and economic parameters of HG103 were much better than LG122. Potassium content in cotton shells reached the highest level at maturity stage for both genotypes. Results also showed that the K content in each plant part of HG 103 was lower than that of LG 122. The two genotypes showed different efficiencies and abilities on absorbing soil rapidly available K and slowly available K. LG122 showed higher absorption of K rate than HG103 after K fertilization, but on the contrary, HG103 uptake more soil indigenous K than LG122 in no K fertilization treatment. This result indicated that HG103 could tolerant and absorb more soil indigenous K than LG122, under condition of soil K stress. LG122 could grow well and absorb more K nutrient when soil K supply is sufficient. Our results demonstrated that higher K content in plant tissues and higher K uptake by plant may not an exclusive condition for high yield planting with K fertilization. Earlier translocation of more dry matters into reproductive organs is one of the key mechanisms of high K use efficiency in cotton.