Questions: Does the evolution of anti-herbivore defences depend on whether the defences are induced or constitutively expressed? Mathematical methods: Cost–benefit model examining invasion and fixation conditions. Key assumptions: Annual plant, haploid. Defence affects herbivore preference and performance. Induced defences are expressed only after herbivore attack and there is a lag between att...

Introduction Adaptation to climate change is one of the main concerns for cities in deltaic areas. For a country such as the Netherlands where two thirds of the land are located under sea level, reliability of the flood defence system is a top priority. Flood defences are exposed to different deterioration processes (also known as failure mechanisms) which might compromise the water retaining c...

It is well known that microbial pathogens and herbivores elicit defence responses in plants. Moreover, microorganisms associated with herbivores, such as bacteria or viruses, can modulate the plant's response to herbivores. Herbivorous spider mites can harbour different species of bacterial symbionts and exert a broad range of effects on host-plant defences. Hence, we tested the extent to which...

Genetic diversity can benefit social insects by providing variability in immune defences against parasites and pathogens. However, social parasites of ants infest colonies and not individuals, and for them a different relationship between genetic diversity and resistance may exist. Here, we investigate the genetic variation, assessed using up to 12 microsatellite loci, of workers in 91 Formica ...

This article aims to expand the social-theoretical and psychoanalytic range of research on ontological in/ security, by exploring parallel concerns addressed Beck, Kristeva, Butler Zizek. These include, first, psychic roots othering processes their encoding into cultural repertoires. Second, difficulties possibilities displacing within national international politics. Third, disruptive effects ...

Six focus group discussions were conducted among 59 young people to explore the possible factors of premarital sex, ex-nuptial pregnancy, and infant abandonment. Thematic analysis revealed three associated with social crises; i)‘adjustment transition in life’- described living a dilemma between strong urge for more freedom sexuality adherence religious teaching; ii)' conflict relationships pare...

Social living poses challenges for individual fitness because of the increased risk of disease transmission among conspecifics. Despite this challenge, sociality is an evolutionarily successful lifestyle, occurring in the most abundant and diverse group of organisms on earth--the social insects. Two contrasting hypotheses predict the evolutionary consequences of sociality on immune systems. The...

there is growing evidence that lectin-carbohydrate interactions can mediate the infection of parasites to their insect vector. many insect species are host or vectors of protozoan or metazoan parasites that cause socially and economically important disease such as malaria and leishmaniasis. however, relatively little work has been undertaken concerning the interaction of insect immunity against...