{"title":"Association, in an Ant, of a Quantity of an Element with the Time Period of Its Learning","authors":"M. Cammaerts, R. Cammaerts","doi":"10.5539/ijb.v14n1p26","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5539/ijb.v14n1p26","url":null,"abstract":"The workers of the ant Myrmica sabuleti detain numerosity abilities, have a notion of the running time, and can acquire operant conditioning. The present work examines if, according to these skills and through conditioning, the workers of this ant can associate a learned quantity of a given element with the time period of its occurrence. We collectively trained such ants from 8 to 19 o’clock to a stand bearing a given quantity of an element and from 20 o’clock to 7 o’clock next day to a stand bearing another quantity of the same element, and we tested them in front of these two amounts at 16 o’clock and 4 o’clock next day. At 16 o’clock, the ants reacted essentially to the amount presented during training from 8 to 19 o’clock, and at 4 o’clock to the amount presented during training from 20 o’clock to 7 o’clock. They thus associated the learned quantity of an element with the period of the day during which this learning occurred. It may be argued that this association simply results from the three cognitive capabilities cited here above, and does not require any other more complex skill. In addition, the ants appeared to have better learned from 20 to 7 o’clock than from 8 to 19 o’clock, i.e., during the time of day corresponding to their period of highest natural activity.","PeriodicalId":13849,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Biology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-05-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"79413017","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Weight at First Calving and Its Relationship With Productive Indicators in Nelore Cows in a Grazing System of the Bolivian Tropics","authors":"Atsuko Ikeda, P. Marini","doi":"10.5539/ijb.v14n1p19","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5539/ijb.v14n1p19","url":null,"abstract":"Considering only selection for increased weight gain until after one year could cause adult cow weight gain that would not be desirable depending on the production system. To evaluate the relationship of weight at first calving and its relationship with productive indicators in Nelore cows in a grazing system of the Bolivian tropics. Retrospective data from the years 1992 to 2019 were used, which were part of two cooperatives: Agropecuaria Integral San Juan de Yapacaní and the Centro Tecnológico Agropecuario located in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia. The data corresponding to 1052 Nelore primiparous cows were used for the research work. The lightest cows had the same calf weight at birth as the rest of the heaviest cows, weaned a lighter calf, arrived the first calving rapidly, showed no differences with the Accumulated Production and the Calf Index with the heaviest cows, but had the highest stock efficiency. Identifying the group of lightest cows as the most efficient was considered a positive tool to recommend producers to take into account at the time of selection. The study shows that the age at first calving is related to indicators of productive efficiency in Nelore cows in a grazing system of the Bolivian tropics and that their use would have a greater impact in identifying the most efficient cow for each production system.","PeriodicalId":13849,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Biology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-05-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"79374663","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Chihiro Ishii, Masayuki Shiba, Yoshimasa Kumekawa, T. Fukuda
{"title":"Seed Germination and Seedling Emergence of Canavalia Lineata (Thunb.) DC. (Fabaceae)","authors":"Chihiro Ishii, Masayuki Shiba, Yoshimasa Kumekawa, T. Fukuda","doi":"10.5539/ijb.v14n1p8","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5539/ijb.v14n1p8","url":null,"abstract":"Canavalia lineata (Thunb.) DC. (Fabaceae) is a perennial trailing vine that flowers in the summer, and its seeds are sea-dispersed. It grows under various environmental conditions in coastal areas of the temperate and subtropical regions of Asia. Plant species with a wide distribution tend to differentiate in different environmental conditions; therefore, we conducted this study to find whether C. lineata has regional differentiation in seed germination and seedling emergence. Seeds of C. lineata collected from different areas of Japan were used to compare the seed-floating ability, the effect of low temperature on seed dormancy (0, 2, and 8 months) before germination, and the influence of temperature (4 °C, 15 °C, 20 °C, and 25 °C) on seed germination. Seed-floating tests indicated that many C. lineata seeds can float on the sea without losing their germination ability, and there was no associated regional differentiation. In addition, our results showed that this species could germinate without being exposed to low temperatures, but the timing of germination in such cases was different from that in the seeds that experienced low temperatures. The optimal temperature for C. lineata germination was 20 °C or higher. These analyses did not reveal any regional differentiation. Our results suggest that sea-dispersed seeds of C. lineata that do not lose germination ability for a long period may germinate in relatively warm areas regardless of the presence of low temperature conditions. The study also indicates that as germination of this species requires a relatively high temperature; thus, their distribution has not expanded to the north of Japan.","PeriodicalId":13849,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Biology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-04-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"90287124","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Lokonon Jacques Ezéchiel, Sènou Maximin, Abissi Gloria, T. Pascal, Dehou René
{"title":"Evaluation of the Anti-Sickle Cell Activity of Uvaria Chamea P. Beauv. Roots Aqueous Extract","authors":"Lokonon Jacques Ezéchiel, Sènou Maximin, Abissi Gloria, T. Pascal, Dehou René","doi":"10.5539/ijb.v14n1p1","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5539/ijb.v14n1p1","url":null,"abstract":"Sickle cell disease was a very common hemoglobinosis in tropical countries. Several plants were used in traditional Beninese medicine to relieve sickle cell crises. The present work was carried out to test the efficiency of Uvaria chamea roots aqueous extract in the treatment of sickle cell crises. \u0000 \u0000Methods: Uvaria chamea roots aqueous extract was preincubated at different concentrations with blood cells from SS red blood cells before or after the Emmel Test. Intra-erythrocyte oxidative stress was measured by methaemoglobin assay after incubation of the extract with hemoglobin. In vivo, the action of the extract on Hemoglobin level, Mean Corpuscular Volume, and platelet count was measured in Wistar rats. \u0000 \u0000Results: The extract significantly prevented the formation of sickle cells at doses of 40 and 20 mg / ml of blood (P <0.05) and significantly reduced sickle cells to the normal biconcave form at the dose of 40 mg / ml (P <0.05). It lowered the production of methemoglobin at a dose of 10 mg / ml, suggesting antioxidant activity. Hemoglobin level, Mean Corpuscular Volume, and platelet count did not significantly increase in treated rats, indicating that the extract did not stimulate erythropoiesis or thrombopoiesis. \u0000 \u0000Conclusion: Uvaria chamea extract inhibited dose-dependent sickling of red blood cells. It reduced intraerythrocyte oxidative stress but did not show hematopoietic activity. It could therefore be considered in the preventive or curative management of sickle cell crises, but not against anemia.","PeriodicalId":13849,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Biology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-01-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"84063764","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Reviewer Acknowledgements for International Journal of Biology, Vol. 13, No. 2","authors":"Ryan Jones","doi":"10.5539/ijb.v13n2p74","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5539/ijb.v13n2p74","url":null,"abstract":"Reviewer Acknowledgements for International Journal of Biology, Vol. 13, No. 2","PeriodicalId":13849,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Biology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-11-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"79007267","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
James Kho, Chelsea Colbourne, Emma V Bent, Amal El Nabbout, T. Rossolimo
{"title":"Coinfection of Bartonella spp. and Borrelia Burgdorferi in Ixodes Scapularis Using PCR Assay, a Case Study in Nova Scotia","authors":"James Kho, Chelsea Colbourne, Emma V Bent, Amal El Nabbout, T. Rossolimo","doi":"10.5539/ijb.v13n2p57","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5539/ijb.v13n2p57","url":null,"abstract":"Coinfection of vector species can provide more insight into the complex relationship between zoonotic pathogens and its host. Ixodes scapularis (Say) or the deer-tick in particular is an important species in North America because of its exceptional ability as a vector that can transmit zoonotic diseases such as Lyme and Cat Scratch Disease (CSD). In recent years, many studies have suggested a possible link between the coinfection of Borrelia burgdorferi, the causative agent of Lyme, with other tick-borne bacteria such as Bartonella spp., the causative agent of CSD, as partly responsible for the symptoms associated with Chronic Lyme Disease or Post-Treatment Lyme Disease Syndrome. This study investigates the prevalence of Bartonella spp. and Borrelia burgdorferi in Ixodes scapularis using Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) assay to potentially find a link between the two of the most common tick-borne pathogens found in Nova Scotia. Standard PCR using primers targeted at the two bacterial species were conducted on 157 I. scapularis ticks collected in Nova Scotia. Overall, we found high prevalence for both bacteria at 75.16% for Bartonella spp. and 47.13% for B. burgdorferi with no significant differences between the sex of the ticks. Interestingly, all the ticks positive for B. burgdorferi were also positive for Bartonella spp. which implies that the coinfection rate between B. burgdorferi and Bartonella spp. is 47.13%. We report one of the highest coinfection rates for B. burgdorferi and Bartonella spp. in I. scapularis, consistent with the current trends of increasing tick presence in North America.","PeriodicalId":13849,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Biology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-11-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"90559084","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Rheophytic Adaptation of Eurya Japonica Thunb. (Ternstroemiaceae)","authors":"M. Shiba, T. Tate, T. Fukuda","doi":"10.5539/ijb.v13n2p65","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5539/ijb.v13n2p65","url":null,"abstract":"Plants along rivers have narrow leaves to avoid the stress caused by the river’s flow during flooding. Plants that have undergone such morphological leaf modifications to adapt to rivers are called rheophytes. Some populations of Eurya japonica Thunb. (Ternstroemiaceae) were grown on riversides so that the comparative morphology and anatomy of leaves between riverside and inland (control) populations could be examined to confirm their rheophytic speciation. Our morphological and anatomical analyses revealed that the leaf of E. japonica in the riverside populations was significantly smaller than that of the inland populations due to the decreased number of cells; therefore, the pattern of rheophytic differentiation in riversides was not the stenophyllization but the miniaturization of the leaf. Moreover, our results indicated that this species in the riverside populations had thicker leaves and higher density of stomata than those of inland populations, suggesting that E. japonica had been morphologically modified in response to the light and water environments along the river.","PeriodicalId":13849,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Biology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-11-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"83363785","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Ants Can Expect the Size of the Next Element in a Geometric Sequence of Increasing or Decreasing Shapes, Only If This Sequence Is Present","authors":"M. Cammaerts, R. Cammaerts","doi":"10.5539/ijb.v13n2p37","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5539/ijb.v13n2p37","url":null,"abstract":"Having shown that the ant Myrmica sabuleti can expect the following number in an arithmetic sequence of increasing or decreasing numbers, we here investigated on their ability in expecting the size of the following element in an increasing or decreasing geometric sequence of shapes, otherwise identical. We found that the ants could anticipatively correctly increment or decrement a geometric sequence when tested in the presence of the learned sequence, but not without seeing the sequence in its learned sequential order. Such a behavior, i.e. perfectly choosing the next element of a sequence when in presence of that sequence but not otherwise, seems appropriate for the use of encountered cues while foraging and returning to the nest.","PeriodicalId":13849,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Biology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-11-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"85283368","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The Relationship Between Feeding Patch Quality and Fodder Species of Wild Elephants in the Teknaf Wildlife Sanctuary, Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh","authors":"A. Hossen, E. Røskaft","doi":"10.5539/ijb.v13n2p1","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5539/ijb.v13n2p1","url":null,"abstract":"We examined the relationship between the presence or absence of elephants in patches of land and the most common ecological factors, such as fodder species, water bodies, resting places, elephant movement trails, and soil types, across ten transect sites in the Teknaf Wildlife Sanctuary (TWS), Bangladesh. By ground-truthing 360 line transects and 1080 quadrate blocks, we recorded a total of 184 fodder species, including 71 monocotyledons, 58 dicotyledons, and 55 domesticated plant species. Three categories of domesticated fodder species were recorded that consisted of 13 cultivated crops, 24 vegetables, and 18 homestead garden plants. We also applied dung-pile dissection techniques to a total of 250 dung piles between August 2018 and July 2019. Highly statistically significant differences among the abundances of different fodder species and presence of elephants were found across different transect sites. The average fodder species density was found to be 3.44 plant species per site per km2, while the elephant density was 0.63 individuals per site per km2. A significant strong correlation was found between fodder species density and the number of elephants among the transect sites (P = 0.02). The numbers of ground-recorded fodder species were higher than those found in dung piles. The presence of elephants across transect sites was influenced not only by fodder species but also by other ecological factors, such as water bodies, resting places, movement trails, and soil types.","PeriodicalId":13849,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Biology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-11-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"85624871","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The Role of Sea-Whip Coral (Leptogorgia sp.) as Habitat of Temperate Near-Shore Fish of Gulf of Mexico Jetties","authors":"Alyssa Squiers, K. Strychar","doi":"10.5539/ijb.v13n2p17","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5539/ijb.v13n2p17","url":null,"abstract":"Many fish species use intercoastal jetties throughout their life cycle to migrate to and from the ocean into bays and estuaries. During migration, fish may encounter rock, algae, sand, sea-grass, and coral. Anecdotal information indicates that some migrating fish of intercoastal jetties preferentially select colonies of gorgonian coral (Leptogorgia spp.) vs. any other habitat when encountering a predator. Since very little information exists regarding Leptogorgia, we focused our study in determining the importance of such coral as fish habitat. Stationary field sampling was conducted seasonally to determine the abundance of these coral, the type of migrating fish, and the habitat they associated with. Mesocosm studies were then conducted to determine whether Leptogorgia habitats are important to fish in the presence or absence of a predator. Five different habitats were compared (rock, algae, sand, Leptogorgia, and seagrass) and 6 species of fish (sergeant major, pinfish, mangrove snapper, spotfin mojarra, pigfish, and red drum). In the field study component, more than 600 colonies of Leptogorgia were observed and 17 different fish species. The most commonly observed fish were sergeant major, pinfish, mangrove snapper, and spotfin mojarra, however, sergeant majors were the most abundant species using coral as habitat. The use of mesocosms showed that all fish species significantly selected for structured habitat over non-structured habitat (e.g. sand), but that the fish commonly called ‘sergeant major’ significantly (ANOVA; p ≤ 0.001) selected for Leptogorgia.","PeriodicalId":13849,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Biology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-11-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"85777726","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}