Genetic correlations among traits alter evolutionary trajectories due to indirect selection. Pleiotropy, chance linkage, and selection can all lead to genetic correlations, but have different consequences for phenotypic evolution. We sought to assess the mechanisms contributing to correlations with size at maturity in the cyclic parthenogen Daphnia pulicaria. We selected on size in each of four...

The functional response of Daphnia, a common pelagic herbivore in lakes, was assessed with a combination of secondary and meta-analyses of published data and new data from an experiment conducted using very low food levels. Secondary analyses of literature data (28 studies, n = 239-393) revealed a significant positive influence of food concentration on Daphnia clearance rate at low food levels,...

In nature, multiple parasite species infect multiple host species and are influenced by processes operating across different spatial and temporal scales. Data sets incorporating these complexities offer exciting opportunities to examine factors that shape epidemics. We present a method using generalized linear mixed models in a multilevel modeling framework to analyze patterns of variances and ...

1. Global change models predict the greatest impact in climate to occur in the northern polar region. Change in temperature will alter individual metabolism and has the potential to change community structure to an unknown degree. 2. The temperature-dependent energy budget of Arctic Daphnia middendorffiana was investigated by measuring respiration rates, ingestion rates and assimilation rates. ...

A traditional view is that sexual reproduction increases the potential for phenotypic evolution by expanding the range of genetic variation upon which natural selection can act. However, when nonadditive genetic effects and genetic disequilibria underlie a genetic system, genetic slippage (a change in the mean genotypic value contrary to that promoted by selection) in response to sex may occur....

Four chemical races were detected in Pulicaria dysenterica, when sampled within Europe, on the basis of the surface flavonoids present. One race uniquely contained quercetagetin 3,7-dimethyl ether and another 6-hydroxykaempferol 3,4'-dimethyl ether. A third race was based on plants having 6-hydroxykaempferol 3,7-dimethyl ether together with quercetagetin 3,7,3'-trimethyl ether. The fourth race ...

Explaining the repeated evolution of similar sets of traits under similar environmental conditions is an important issue in evolutionary biology. The extreme alternative classes of explanations for correlated suites of traits are optimal adaptation and genetic constraint resulting from pleiotropy. Adaptive explanations presume that individual traits are free to evolve to their local optima and ...

Removal samples from an irrigated pasture were used as a calibration technique for the D-Vac. Plots 4 m2 were enclosed with a frame, and 1 initial and 3 removal samples were taken. Equations are given for computing the population and probability of collecting an insect. For leafhopper adults, leafhopper nymphs, Orius insidiosus (Say), and corn flea beetle, Chaetocnema pulicaria Melsheimer, cali...