WILLIAM AMOS results 29
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Exploring gaps, biases, and research priorities in the evidence for reptile conservation actionsNARA Subscribed
With over 21% of reptile species threatened with extinction, there is an urgent need to ensure conservation actions to protect and restore populations are informed by relevant, reliable evidence. We examined the geographic and taxonomic distribution of 707 studies that tested the effects of actions to conserve reptiles synthesized in Conservation Evidence's Reptile Conservation synopsis. More studies were conducted in countrie...
Bayesian Skyline Plots disagree with range size changes based on Species Distribution Models for Holarctic birdsNARA Subscribed
During the Quaternary, large climate oscillations impacted the distribution and demography of species globally. Two approaches have played a major role in reconstructing changes through time: Bayesian Skyline Plots (BSPs), which reconstruct population fluctuations based on genetic data, and Species Distribution Models (SDMs), which allow us to back‐cast the range occupied by a species based on its climatic preferences. In this...
Female multiple mating in wild and laboratory populations of the two‐spot ladybird, Adalia bipunctataNARA Subscribed
Female mating rate is an important variable for understanding the role of females in the evolution of mating systems. Polyandry influences patterns of sexual selection and has implications for sexual conflict over mating, as well as for wider issues such as patterns of gene flow and levels of genetic diversity. Despite this, remarkably few studies of insects have provided detailed estimates of polyandry in the wild. Here we co...
Not so long ago, mammalian breeding systems were seen as dominated by males fighting each other for the right to mate with passive females. Genetic parentage analysis has been instrumental in changing this view and exposing the key role of female choice. Some of the most interesting discoveries have emerged from work on seals, where extreme polygyny is common but females often seem to have a bigger say than was previously thou...
Inbreeding depression and multiple regions showing heterozygote advantage in Drosophila melanogaster exposed to stressNARA Subscribed
Recent studies that reveal a correlation between heterozygosity and fitness in natural populations have rekindled interest in whether balancing selection is widespread or an evolutionary oddity. We therefore quantified heterozygote advantage at 12 microsatellite markers in both inbred and outbred crosses of Drosophila grown under different forms of environmental stress. As expected, inbreeding depression reduces fitness relati...
Contrasting effects of heterozygosity on survival and hookworm resistance in California sea lion pupsNARA Subscribed
Low genetic heterozygosity is associated with loss of fitness in many natural populations. However, it remains unclear whether the mechanism is related to general (i.e. inbreeding) or local effects, in particular from a subset of loci lying close to genes under balancing selection. Here we analyse involving heterozygosity–fitness correlations on neonatal survival of California sea lions and on susceptibility to hookworm ( Unci...
Bovine tuberculosis (bTB) is an important re‐emerging zoonotic disease, causing major economic losses and constraining international trade of animals and their products. Despite eradication programmes, some countries continue to encounter outbreaks, mainly due to wildlife acting as primary hosts or reservoirs. While the genetic component of tuberculosis in humans and cattle is well documented, the role of genetic factors as mo...
Clonal mixing in the soldier‐producing aphid Pemphigus spyrothecae (Hemiptera: Aphididae)NARA Subscribed
Illuminating the genetic relationships within soldier‐producing aphid colonies is an essential element of any attempt to explain the evolution of the altruistic soldier caste. Pemphigus spyrothecae is a soldier‐producing aphid that induces galls on the leaf petioles of its host (trees of the genus Populus ). At least a quarter of the aphids within the clonally produced gall population are morphologically and behaviourally dist...
Although largely solitary, humpback whales exhibit a number of behaviours where individuals co‐operate with one another, for example during bubble net feeding. Such cases could be due to reciprocal altruism brought on by exceptional circumstances, for example the presence of abundant shoaling fish. An alternative explanation is that these behaviours have evolved through kin selection. With little restriction to either communic...
Microsatellites were used to conduct an analysis of paternity of Antarctic fur seals ( Arctocephalus gazella ) from Bird Island, South Georgia. At most, only 28% of pups at our study site could be assigned a father, even though the majority (~90%) of candidate males within this colony were sampled. The behavioural and genetic evidence from this study suggests that a number of alternative mating strategies may exist within this...