The Science of Nature最新文献

Nearly complete late Eocene skull from the North Pacific elucidates the cranial morphology and affinities of the penguin-like Plotopteridae

IF 2.1 3区生物学

The Science of Nature Pub Date : 2025-03-20 DOI: 10.1007/s00114-025-01977-1

Gerald Mayr, James L. Goedert, Adrian Richter

{"title":"Nearly complete late Eocene skull from the North Pacific elucidates the cranial morphology and affinities of the penguin-like Plotopteridae","authors":"Gerald Mayr, James L. Goedert, Adrian Richter","doi":"10.1007/s00114-025-01977-1","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s00114-025-01977-1","url":null,"abstract":"<div>The extinct Plotopteridae were penguin-like, wing-propelled diving birds of the North Pacific. Recently, the oldest and most complete plotopterid skull has been discovered in the late Eocene lower part of the Lincoln Creek Formation, southern Olympic Peninsula (Washington State, USA), and informs the poorly known cranial morphology of these birds. This skull is somewhat larger than previously described partial skulls from the Oligocene Pysht Formation of the northern Olympic Peninsula, from which it also differs in the shape of the nostrils. It may represent the genus Klallamornis, but a definitive taxonomic assignment is not yet possible. The specimen corroborates a sister group relationship of plotopterids to the suliform Suloidea and exhibits a notable character mosaic. Whereas the long rostrum most closely resembles that of the Fregatidae and some Phalacrocoracidae, the neurocranium is more similar to that of the Sulidae. An arcuate rostral ridge of the basicranium is otherwise only known from the Sphenisciformes, and a pair of prominent longitudinal ridges along the ventral surface of the rostrum is an autapomorphy of plotopterids. The small nostrils are situated at the caudal ends of conspicuous sulci, which are interpreted as vestiges of long, slit-like nostrils and are much less pronounced in extant Suliformes. Long, slit-like nostrils occur in stem group Sphenisciformes and may also have been present in stem group Fregatidae, in which case the nostrils were reduced twice within Suliformes, presumably to prevent salt water influx into the nasal cavity.</div>","PeriodicalId":794,"journal":{"name":"The Science of Nature","volume":"112 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2025-03-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s00114-025-01977-1.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143655426","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

Pomphorhynchus laevis host manipulation regardless of presence of gammarid conspecifics or predator cues

IF 2.1 3区生物学

The Science of Nature Pub Date : 2025-03-06 DOI: 10.1007/s00114-025-01975-3

H. Fanton, E. Franquet, N. Kaldonski

{"title":"Pomphorhynchus laevis host manipulation regardless of presence of gammarid conspecifics or predator cues","authors":"H. Fanton, E. Franquet, N. Kaldonski","doi":"10.1007/s00114-025-01975-3","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s00114-025-01975-3","url":null,"abstract":"<div>Pomphorhynchus laevis is a freshwater heteroxenous parasite that infects Gammarus pulex as intermediate host and Squalius cephalus as definitive host. This acanthocephalan parasite is able to manipulate the behavior of G. pulex to increase probability of transmission between G. pulex prey and S. cephalus predator. Manipulation results from complex interactions and could be triggered or enhanced by biotic parameters. This experimental study investigated the effect of the presence both of G. pulex conspecifics and of S. cephalus cues on the behavior of P. laevis-infected and uninfected G. pulex in flowing water. The presence of G. pulex conspecifics increased the distance covered by both uninfected and P. laevis-infected gammarids in the artificial stream, whereas S. cephalus cues did not influence the distance covered by either. In static water, S. cephalus cues significantly decreased G. pulex attraction to light, regardless of infection status. Our results show that P. laevis manipulates distance covered regardless of the presence of either G. pulex conspecifics or S. cephalus cues. We discuss how these two biological parameters affect uninfected G. pulex and other factors involved in P. laevis manipulation of its gammarid host.</div>","PeriodicalId":794,"journal":{"name":"The Science of Nature","volume":"112 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2025-03-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143553779","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

Soil-adhesive or water repellent properties of the surface of cicada exuviae

IF 2.1 3区生物学

The Science of Nature Pub Date : 2025-03-04 DOI: 10.1007/s00114-025-01976-2

Jun Murayama, Kazuo Yamazaki, Hiroshi Ogasawara, Hiroshi Moriwaki

引用次数: 0

Host associations of Brazilian Darwin wasps: current knowledge and the IchHostBR dataset

IF 2.1 3区生物学

The Science of Nature Pub Date : 2025-02-27 DOI: 10.1007/s00114-025-01974-4

Alvaro Doria dos Santos, Carlos Roberto Ferreira Brandão, Helena Carolina Onody

{"title":"Host associations of Brazilian Darwin wasps: current knowledge and the IchHostBR dataset","authors":"Alvaro Doria dos Santos, Carlos Roberto Ferreira Brandão, Helena Carolina Onody","doi":"10.1007/s00114-025-01974-4","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s00114-025-01974-4","url":null,"abstract":"<div>Darwin wasps (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae) are among the most diverse and ecologically important groups of parasitoid insects, with more than 25,000 valid species and many more yet to be discovered. As the most speciose family within the order Hymenoptera, their remarkable evolutionary success is primarily attributed to their parasitic life history, which enables them to exploit a vast array of hosts and ecological niches. Despite their pivotal role in regulating host populations and maintaining ecosystem balance, host association data for Ichneumonidae remain significantly underexplored. This article presents IchHostBR, a comprehensive dataset compiling host-parasitoid records for Brazilian Darwin wasps. The dataset integrates 342 host-parasitoid associations sourced from 156 journal articles, encompassing 16 subfamilies, 74 genera, and 93 species of Ichneumonidae, as well as six host orders and 121 host species. The methodology involved rigorous data collection, cleaning, and standardization ensuring accuracy and usability. The primary aim of this initiative is to establish a robust, accessible, and continuously updated online platform that supports research and conservation efforts. In addition to introducing the dataset, the article provides a state-of-the-art review of current knowledge on Ichneumonid host associations, identifies key gaps in our knowledge and hopefully lays a foundation for advancing studies on Ichneumonidae host interactions in Brazil.</div>","PeriodicalId":794,"journal":{"name":"The Science of Nature","volume":"112 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2025-02-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143496893","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

The left–right-handedness of the cylindrical spathe correlates with the phyllotactic spiral direction in Arisaema (Araceae) 圆柱形佛焰苞的左右手方向与天南星科植物的叶绿素螺旋方向有关

IF 2.1 3区生物学

The Science of Nature Pub Date : 2025-02-26 DOI: 10.1007/s00114-025-01973-5

Tetsuya K. Matsumoto, Kodai N. Sato, Junichi Ohno, Tokiyoshi Hiramatsu, Jin Murata

{"title":"The left–right-handedness of the cylindrical spathe correlates with the phyllotactic spiral direction in Arisaema (Araceae)","authors":"Tetsuya K. Matsumoto, Kodai N. Sato, Junichi Ohno, Tokiyoshi Hiramatsu, Jin Murata","doi":"10.1007/s00114-025-01973-5","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s00114-025-01973-5","url":null,"abstract":"<div>A left–right asymmetry of plants has attracted attention in various study areas (e.g., developmental biology, ethology, and evolutionary biology); however, the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. In the genus Arisaema (Araceae), each plant possesses a cylindrical spathe that exhibits the left–right-handedness in the folding direction. As the spathe is a modified leaf, a phyllotactic spiral (clockwise or counter-clockwise directions) in vegetative organs may affect this dimorphism. In this study, we aimed to examine (1) interannual changes in the spathe folding direction in the same individuals, (2) the effect of phyllotactic spirals on the left–right-handedness of the spathe, (3) the abundance ratio of left- and right-folded spathes in several Arisaema species, and (4) the relationship between the coiling direction of young folded leaves and phyllotactic spirals in other aroid genera. The spathe folding direction changed annually and was significantly related to the phyllotactic spiral direction. The left–right-handedness prevailed among the 27 tested Arisaema species, and frequencies of left- and right-folded spathes were mostly similar. In the five aroid genera, the phyllotaxis was clearly correlated with the leaf coiling direction. These results imply that the phyllotactic spiral affects the spathe folding direction of Arisaema and the leaf coiling direction of aroids. Considering developmental studies on asymmetric leaves in other taxa, the left–right-handedness of the spathe in Arisaema is possibly a consequence of the phyllotactic pattern formation.</div>","PeriodicalId":794,"journal":{"name":"The Science of Nature","volume":"112 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2025-02-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143489658","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

Breeding behaviour, visual communication and male combat of Philothamnus occidentalis and Philothamnus natalensis

IF 2.1 3区生物学

The Science of Nature Pub Date : 2025-02-25 DOI: 10.1007/s00114-025-01972-6

Kirsty J. Kyle, Colleen T. Downs

引用次数: 0

A quick and non-destructive approach to combat timber adulteration using attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and chemometrics

IF 2.1 3区生物学

The Science of Nature Pub Date : 2025-02-21 DOI: 10.1007/s00114-025-01970-8

Arti Yadav, Chongtham Nimi, Manish Kapoor, Rajinder Singh

{"title":"A quick and non-destructive approach to combat timber adulteration using attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and chemometrics","authors":"Arti Yadav, Chongtham Nimi, Manish Kapoor, Rajinder Singh","doi":"10.1007/s00114-025-01970-8","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s00114-025-01970-8","url":null,"abstract":"<div>Timber adulteration, illegal harvesting, and logging of legally protected timber species are a major threat to biodiversity. Identifying and differentiating low-value timber species from high-grade ones is a prerequisite to combat timber-related crimes. Timber adulteration can be detected by techniques such as DNA barcoding. However, these techniques have some drawbacks as they are time-consuming and destructive. To address all these issues, in this study, a quick and non-destructive approach has been used to detect timber adulteration by identifying and discriminating selective timber species using vibrational spectroscopy along chemometric methods such as principal component analysis (PCA), linear discriminant analysis (LDA), and partial least square discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) that successfully differentiated Tectona grandis (teak) from Magnolia champaca (champ) with 96.25% accuracy, Swietenia macrophylla (mahogany) from Magnolia champaca with 97.5% accuracy, and Artocarpus heterophyllus (Jack) from Mangifera indica (mango) with 100% PCA LDA training accuracies. Partial least square discriminant analysis successfully differentiated the timber species with 100% accuracy. ATR-FTIR spectroscopy and chemometric tools proved to be effective in detecting timber adulteration, which will help the investigating agencies combat timber-related crimes.</div>","PeriodicalId":794,"journal":{"name":"The Science of Nature","volume":"112 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2025-02-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143465944","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

The effectiveness of pollinators and their foraging behavior on Neustanthus phaseoloides (Fabaceae)

IF 2.1 3区生物学

The Science of Nature Pub Date : 2025-02-20 DOI: 10.1007/s00114-025-01971-7

Suman Paul, Tanushree Singha, Riya Roy, Osunam Tayeng, Engchong Sangdo, Prasenjit Debbarma, Bhushan B. Dholakia, Badal Kumar Datta

{"title":"The effectiveness of pollinators and their foraging behavior on Neustanthus phaseoloides (Fabaceae)","authors":"Suman Paul, Tanushree Singha, Riya Roy, Osunam Tayeng, Engchong Sangdo, Prasenjit Debbarma, Bhushan B. Dholakia, Badal Kumar Datta","doi":"10.1007/s00114-025-01971-7","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s00114-025-01971-7","url":null,"abstract":"<div>Insect pollination is critical for the reproduction of crops and wild plants, yet the efficiency of pollinators varies widely across species. Hence, it is essential to study the visitation behavior and pollination effectiveness of the floral visitors. Neustanthus phaseoloides is an agro-ecologically and medicinally important plant occurring in Tripura, Northeast India. We selected it for the present investigation as its distinct floral morphology might impact the pollinator visitation behaviors and subsequent pollination success. A total of 12 insect foragers visited the flowers of N. phaseoloides. Among them, 10 generalist pollinators were observed depositing conspecific pollen along with some amount of heterospecific pollen grains on the stigma. Although the pollen deposition efficiency varied significantly among pollinator species, the bees were the most effective in pollen deposition and subsequent reproductive outputs. All pollinators contributed to the fruit and seed production at varying degrees, indicating their effectiveness in reproductive success. The mating system studies indicated that the species was self-compatible and dependent on pollinators for increased reproductive success. Furthermore, some degree of pollination deficit was detected in our study population, suggesting that the increased visitation of effective pollinators might enhance the reproductive outputs. Overall, this first report on the pollination effectiveness of N. phaseoloides will improve our understanding of the reproductive success in a medicinally useful wild plant.</div>","PeriodicalId":794,"journal":{"name":"The Science of Nature","volume":"112 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2025-02-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s00114-025-01971-7.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143446377","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

Correction: The long proboscis of the aphid Stomaphis yanonis (Aphididae Lachninae) is advantageous for avoiding predation by tending ants

IF 2.1 3区生物学

The Science of Nature Pub Date : 2025-02-19 DOI: 10.1007/s00114-025-01969-1

Takumi Matsuura, Shunsuke Nakamura, Tetsuya Yamamoto, Tsubasa Toji, Takao Itino

引用次数: 0

Innate floral object identification in a solitary pollinator employs a combination of both visual and olfactory cues

IF 2.1 3区生物学

The Science of Nature Pub Date : 2025-02-17 DOI: 10.1007/s00114-025-01965-5

Aditi Mishra, Anupreksha Jain, Padmapriya S. Iyer, Ashwin Suryanarayanan, Karin Nordström, Shannon B. Olsson

{"title":"Innate floral object identification in a solitary pollinator employs a combination of both visual and olfactory cues","authors":"Aditi Mishra, Anupreksha Jain, Padmapriya S. Iyer, Ashwin Suryanarayanan, Karin Nordström, Shannon B. Olsson","doi":"10.1007/s00114-025-01965-5","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s00114-025-01965-5","url":null,"abstract":"<div>Object identification is fundamental to animal behaviour and identifying nutritive objects is key for survival. Solitary insects emerging far from food sources and without access to social learning must therefore employ innate identification of food cues to locate relevant nutritive objects from a distance. Such innate preferences for food cues should be both specific enough to allow discrimination between food and non-food objects and general enough to allow for the variety of food objects relevant to the insect species. Here, we examined innate floral object identification behaviour in solitary generalist insect pollinator Eristalinus aeneus using an artificial floral object with both visual and olfactory cues previously found to be attractive to several hoverfly species across multiple environments. We used a subtractive two choice assay to present flower-naïve E. aeneus with a choice between this object and a similar object that differed in either a single visual or olfactory cue. We found that innate floral choices of the hoverfly E. aeneus are a product of broad, plant-based olfactory cues and visual cues, where a combination of radial symmetry and reflectance in the 300–400 nm and 500–700 nm wavelength range was particularly important for innate floral object preference. Our study, therefore, shows how solitary animals without prior experience can efficiently employ multimodal cues to identify multiple relevant nutritive objects.</div>","PeriodicalId":794,"journal":{"name":"The Science of Nature","volume":"112 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2025-02-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s00114-025-01965-5.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143423209","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0