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Article Reference Seasonal modifications and morphogenesis of the hypercalcified sponge Petrobiona massiliana (Calcarea, Calcaronea)
The periodicity of sexual elements and soft tissue modifications during the life cycle of the hypercalcified sponge Petrobiona massiliana was investigated monthly from June 2006 to November 2007. Sexual reproduction, likely regulated by seawater temperatures, occurred during more than half of the year (from early April to late October); 70% of the samples appeared reproductively active. Specimens of P. massiliana displayed a high plasticity of tissue organization, allowing modulation and rearrangement of their aquiferous systems in response to life cycle phases and environmental changes. Permanent changes were observed in the basal region of the choanosome in non-reproductive specimens, such as disorganization/ restructuring events leading to remodeling of the aquiferous system. Periodic modifications occurring during sexual reproduction included the transformation of choanocytes from a typical form to hourglass and vespiform shapes, and more global disorganization of the basal region of the choanosome during provisioning of oocytes and embryos, followed by restructuring after release of the larvae. Finally, episodic disorganization/reorganization phenomena occurred in a few specimens after unfavorable environmental conditions (e.g., decreasing seawater temperatures). Histological and ultrastructural observations of storage cells, located in peculiar trabecular tracts, suggest a transdifferentiation capacity that allows such soft tissue dynamics.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications
Article Reference A tight association in genetically unlinked traits in sympatric and allopatric populations of a saltmarsh beetle
Local adaptation likely involves selection on multiple, genetically unlinked traits to increase fitness in divergent habitats. Conversely, recombination is expected to counteract local adaptation under gene flow by breaking down adaptive gene combinations. Western European populations of the salt marsh beetle Pogonus chalceus are characterized by large interpopulation variation at various geographical ranges in two traits related to dispersal ability, i.e. wing size and different allozymes of the mitochondrial NADP?-dependent isocitrate dehydrogenase (mtIdh) gene. In this study, we tested whether variation in wing length was as strongly genetically determined in locally adapted populations in a sympatric mosaic compared to allopatric populations, and if variation in mtIDH and wing size was genetically unlinked. We demonstrate that the genetic determination of wing size is very high (h2 = 0.90) in sympatry and of comparable magnitude as geographically separated populations. Second, we show that, although frequencies of mtIDH allozymes are tightly associated with mean population wing size across Western European populations, the correlation is strongly reduced within some of the populations. These findings demonstrate that the divergence involves at least two traits under independent genetic control and that the genetically distinct ecotypes are retained at geographical distances with ample opportunity for gene flow.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications
Article Reference Baseline levels and trophic transfer of persistent organic pollutants in sediments and biota from the Congo River Basin (DR Congo)
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications
Article Reference A new hero emerges: another exceptional mammalian spine and its potential adaptive significance
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications
Article Reference The role of dispersal and vicariance in Pleistocene history of an East African mountain rodent, Praomys delectorum
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications
Article Reference Rediscovery of Glauconycteris superba Hayman, 1939 (Chiroptera: Vespertilionidae) after 40 years at Mbiye Island, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications
Article Reference Water level fluctuations and metapopulation dynamics as drivers of genetic diversity in populations of three Tanganyikan cichlid fish species
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications
Article Reference Effets de lisière et sex ratio de rongeurs forestiers dans un écosystème fragmenté en République Democratique du Congo (Réserve de Masako, Kisangani)
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications
Article Reference Densite et distribution de Tetrodromus tetradactylus tordayi (Macroscelididae, Mammalia) dans la reserve forestiere de Yoko (R.D.Congo)
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications
Article Reference Taxonomic and population genetic re-interpretation of two color morphs of the decollate snail, <i>Rumina decollata</i> (Mollusca, Pulmonata) in southern France
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications