bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Avoidance, concealment, and defence
Authors: Brakefield Paul M , Thomas Tim G Shreeve with Jeremy A
Published: November 2023

Fluctuations in abundance are a regular feature of butterfly populations. Most of these changes can be related either to the performance of egg-laying females (chapter 3) or to survival at each stage of the life cycle (chapter 4). Every stage differs in size, form, location, mobility, duration, and usually in its season of occurrence. Because of these differences each offers a different reward to a specific type of natural enemy, and presents it with particular problems of finding and handling. The different life stages, therefore, have different enemies. Those of the earliest stages tend to be arthropod predators and parasitoids, whereas later, larger and often more mobile stages tend to be difficult for these small enemies to handle. In contrast, vertebrate predators are not usually the major enemies of eggs and small larvae because they offer small reward to these consumers compared to the energetic cost of finding them. They tend to be the most important enemies of the larger stages. Predators and parasitoids can be divided into two major groups: generalists, which use many types of food, and specialists, which attack particular species or groups of related species. All life stages of butterflies are vulnerable to both types of enemy.
Reproductive structure and reproductive roles in colonies of eusocial insects
Authors: Keller Laurent , Vargo Edward L
Published: November 2023

Variation in the number of queens in colonies of social insects has become a subject of growing interest among sociobiologists. The increased concern with colony queen number is partly due to the discovery that multiple queen (polygynous) colonies are more common than previously recognized, especially among ants, in which polygyny may be the predominant social structure (Buschinger 1974; Rissing and Pollock 1988; Frumhoff and Ward 1992). More importantly, the mounting interest in polygyny stems from the realization that the origin and subsequent evolution of polygynous colonies from their presumed single-queen (monogynous) ancestors is an evolutionary enigma (Holldobler and Wilson 1977; Nonacs 1988), presenting many of the same theoretical challenges as does the origin and maintenance of eusociality (see Ross 1988a, 1989). For this reason, Rosengren and Pamila (1983) referred to the evolution of polygynous societies from monogynous ancestors as ‘sociality evolving a second time’. Thus research into the origin and evolution of polygyny and eusociality are highly complementary, with insights gained into one situation likely to shed light on the other.
Wild Otters
Authors: Kruuk Hans
Published: November 2023

Wild Otters answers the need for an up-to-date, scientifically-oriented introduction to the Lutra lutra species. Based in part on the author's extensive field observations, the book provides a superb basis for active conservation management of a species faced with an increasingly hostile environment. Topics include social organization and behavior, food and foraging strategies, ecological information on their main prey fish, problems of energetics and thermo-insulation, population structure, mortality and reproduction, and the impact of humans. Packed with illustrations and photographs, Wild Otters is perfect for students and researchers in ecology, conservation, zoology, and animal behavior.
Thermo-insulation of otters in the sea and fresh water
Authors: Kruuk Hans
Published: November 2023

abstract

Even when swimming in cold water body temperature is maintained around 38 °C, although otters experience cooling rates of about 2.3 °C hr1. Body temperature increases prior to submersion, and animals leave the water at approximately overall mean body temperature. Differences in water temperature had no discernible effect on body temperature, or on time spent swimming. For thermo-insulation otters rely almost entirely on their fur and air trapped inside it, and fur maintenance (grooming, rolling) is described and compared with that of some other species. The most elaborate fur maintenance is found in the sea otter. When Lutra is living in the sea it is dependent on pools of fresh water for furmaintenance; often these pools are found deep inside the holts. Thus, the distribution of otters along sea coasts is dependent upon the distribution of fresh water.
Synthesis: some generalizations and speculations
Authors: Kruuk Hans
Published: November 2023

This chapter draws together the observations and conclusions on foraging, habitat requirements, social and spatial organization, and population characteristics. It is suggested that the main problems of otter populations and survival are due to the species’ extreme specialization, to an existence in an almost linear habitat, foraging for difficult prey (involving a prolonged learning period), in an energetically very hostile environment which is also highly sensitive to pollution. Otter densities per unit of suitable habitat are comparable with those of other similar-sized carnivores, but numbers in populations are low because of habitat scarcity.
Otters, man, and conservation
Authors: Kruuk Hans
Published: November 2023

Otters are protected by law in many countries, but some persecution still continues, and a few types of traps are described. The motivation for persecution is that the animals may cause damage to fishing gear, and they may take a large proportion of the production of commercially valuable fish populations. The skins of several otter species are still being traded. Nevertheless, persecution is unlikely to threaten otter populations in Europe, but there is more concern for tropical species. The threats to otters as perceived by observers in countries world-wide are quantified; the most commonly mentioned hazard is habitat destruction, with pollution recorded as a second cause in Europe, and persecution elsewhere. Declining prey populations are a likely major hazard, and conservation management should aim at preserving whole ecosystems, focusing on fish populations, in which otters as top predators play an important and high-profile role. Pollution is likely to be an important determinant of survival of otter populations, in conjunction with food availability, but there is still much uncertainty about which compounds are most important; the case against mercury and PCBs is discussed. Important habitat components, as the foci for conservation management, are freshwater pools and streams along coasts, and islands, reed beds, and bank vegetation inland. Overall, the need for an ecosystem approach is emphasized, rather than a single-species otter conservation policy.
Whither Tropical Rain Forest
Authors: Aiken S Robert , Leigh Colin H
Published: November 2023

Environmental change is an enduring facet of human history. Vegetation, soils, fauna, water, climate, landforms—in short, all the major components of the biosphere—have been profoundly altered by human agency. In the mid-latitudes, for example, cultivated landscapes and urban systems sprawl over regions where once great forests held sway. Little of the natural vegetation remains. Now the most complex and luxuriant of all forest types is under attack, both from within and from without. Viewed from a historical perspective, the onslaught is only the most recent phase in a long and concerted effort by humans to extend the horizons of the forest frontier.
Introduction
Authors: Okada T S
Published: November 2023

In the paper entitled ‘Formation of endoderm from ectoderm in Cordylophora (freshwater hydra) ’, Zwilling (1963) began his introduction by raising the problem of transdifferentiation with the very broad, but explicit statement quoted above. The subject of this monograph is stated in this quotation without any ambiguity. Simply, we are asking whether or not the result of cell differentiation is flexible, and can be altered to express the phenotype of another cell type. If we define cell differentiation as an irreversible process, the question itself will be logically self-contradictory. Nevertheless, a growing volume of information suggests the occurrence of a switch after differentiation from one cell type into another.
Are dormant genes in differentiated cells activated?
Authors: Okada T S
Published: November 2023

Essential requirements for the occurrence of transdifferentiation are: (1) a given differentiated cell should contain surplus genes which may be used for the differentiation of other cells types but not its own; and (2) these dormant and unused genes should have the potential of being activated in particular conditions. The current consensus view of the theory of cell differentiation holds all that varieties of specified cell type are generally equivalent in their genomic constitution. Although gene recombination or gene amplification before terminal differentiation occurs in certain systems, the differentiation of major cell types during development should occur without an accompanying alteration of the genomic composition (Gurdon 1974; Davidson 1986; Maclean and Hall 1987). Thus, most differentiated cells retain a number of silent genes, which have neither been used for the differentiation nor for the maintenance of the differentiated state in normal conditions.
Transdifferentiation in cell culture conditions
Authors: Okada T S
Published: November 2023

In theory, Zwilling was correct in considering the clonal culture of single cells with distinct differentiated phenotypes in order to demonstrate cellular transdifferentiation unequivocally. His hope was first realized by Eguchi and Okada (1973) who studied the clonal culture of cells of retinal pigmented epithelium (RPE) of chicken embryos. The reason why the first successful demonstration of transdifferentiation of eye tissues in cell culture came from chicken embryos, and not from newts whose remarkable eye regeneration has a long history of research, was simply because reliable cell cultures for newt cells had not been devised at that time. On the other hand, a survey of early literature, based on sporadic reports of regeneration in situ and in organ culture, suggested to us the developmental flexibility of differentiated eye tissues of chicken embryos (see Chapter 6.3). There were two premises for conducting clonal cell culture of RPE cells to demonstrate their transdifferentiation.
An introduction to symbiosis
Authors: Douglas A E
Published: November 2023

The term ‘symbiosis’ derives from the Greek for living together, but no definition of symbiosis is universally accepted. The difficulties can be appreciated by considering three associations. 1. Schistosoma is a parasitic trematode worm. The adult worm lives in blood vessels of mammals and birds. Humans are host to three species, S. mansoni, S. japonicum, and S. haematobium, and people with schistosomiasis have a variety of debilitating symptoms, including lassitude and diarrhoea. The World Health Organization has estimated that in 1990 200 million people were infected. 2. Many flowering plants are pollinated by insects. The insect transfers pollen as it visits plants to feed on nectar (as for most butterflies) or nectar and pollen (e.g. honeybees). 3. Aphids are insects which feed on the phloem sap of plants. They require bacteria of the genus Buchnera, which are contained within special aphid cells in the body cavity. If the bacteria are eliminated from the aphid (using antibiotics), the aphids fail to grow properly and they die without producing any offspring.
Symbiosis As A Source Of Novel Metabolic Capabilities
Authors: Douglas A E
Published: November 2023

As considered in Chapter 1, eukaryotes have obtained access to a number of metabolic capabilities through symbiosis. The principal associations are listed in Table 1.3. In this chapter, they are described in terms of the metabolic capability acquired: photosynthesis and chemosynthesis, nitrogen fixation, the synthesis of vitamins and essential amino acids, methanogenesis, cellulose degradation, and luminescence.
satisfy the amalgamation property
Authors: Douglas A E
Published: November 2023

In symbiosis research, the term ‘regulation’ has a very specific meaning. It refers to the mechanisms by which the relative biomass of the partners in an association are controlled. Under most conditions, symbioses are stable. The symbionts occupy a predictable proportion of the volume or biomass of the association, and they are restricted to particular regions of the host body. For example, the symbiotic Chlorella in hydra are harboured in hydra digestive cells (see Fig. 1.2(b)), and they occupy 10 per cent of the digestive cell volume; and the bacteria in aphids account for 60 per cent of the volume of the insect’s mycetocytes, and do not colonize any other aphid cells.
Palaeoclimatic history of the opening South Atlantic
Authors: Parrish Judith Totman
Published: November 2023

Climate has never been uniform in the South Atlantic Ocean. The rift system that opened to form the South Atlantic spanned nearly 60° latitude, and during its history the basin has extended across several climatic zones. Palaeoclimatic data for Gondwana as a whole are comparatively sparse, but for the circum-South Atlantic region, because the region has been studied intensively, palaeoclimatic history is fairly clear. In this chapter, methods that have been applied in studies of South Atlantic palaeoclimates will be discussed, followed by descriptions of what is currently known about the palaeoclimatic history of the South Atlantic and of southern Laurasia.
The Origin of the New World monkeys
Authors: Aiello Leslie C
Published: November 2023

The New World or platyrrhine, monkeys are found today in the tropical regions of both Central and South America. Their fossil record extends back approximately 26 million years to the Late Oligocene Deseadan Beds of Bolivia (Branisella boliviana) (MacFadden 1990), and this poses a mystery. Throughout most of the early Cenozoic South America was an island continent (Tarling 1980). If primates arrived in South America in the Late Eocene or Early Oligocene as is commonly thought, they would have had to cross a considerable water barrier no matter where they came from.
The strange rodents of Africa and South America
Authors: George Wilma
Published: November 2023

The name rodent—from the Latin rodo, to gnaw-indicates the chief characteristic of the group. Rodents have ever-growing incisors, with enamel on the outside only; and they have a jaw which can be aligned either to gnaw with the incisors or to chew with the cheek teeth. The two working positions necessitate moving the jaw fore and aft. The jaw joint is, therefore, long and loosefitting; there is a gap, the diastema, between the two sets of teeth; the two sides of the lower jaw are only loosely connected in front; and the masseter muscles—the chewing muscles—are complex. These arrangements allow for a great variety of jaw movements. In other respects rodents have few unique characteristics.
Why worry about phylogeny?
Authors: Harvey Paul H , Pagel Mark D
Published: November 2023

Living organisms can tell us a lot about their evolutionary history. Indeed, our estimates of phylogenies would be much the same in the absence of a fossil record. This chapter explains why an assessment of phylogenetic relationships is a prerequisite for a successful comparative analysis. In particular, closely related species share many similarities in addition to those of relevance to any particular comparative question. Such similarities can confound comparative studies. If we had a sample of bird and mammal species, for example, and wanted to know why some species have feathers, we might notice that the feathered species lay eggs and have beaks while those species with teeth and fur produce live young.
Specialization
Authors: Hulscher Jan B
Published: November 2023

Probably the best known fact about Oystercatcher biology is that individuals differ in the feeding technique they adopt. Niko Tinbergen even produced a film about Oystercatchers called The specialist. The suggestion that these birds learn which feeding technique to use from their parents has become a classic example of the cultural transmission of behaviour while the presence of individual specializations has numerous consequences for understanding many aspects of their physiology, behaviour and population ecology. Partridge and Green (1985) suggested that the three main factors rhat will result in differences in foraging behaviour between individuals are differences in morphology, frequency-dependent advantage and differences in habitat.
Where to feed
Authors: Goss-Custard John D , West Andrew D , Sutherland William J
Published: November 2023

Variation occurs between entire estuaries and different areas of large coastal flats (Wolff 1969) and, in conjunction with climate-related energy demands, between regions of the entire winter range (Piersma et al. 1993a). A number of other factors may also vary spatially, such as the risk of predator attack (Cresswell and Whitfield 1994) and the proximity of the high water roost (Goss-Custard et al. 1981; Zwarts and Drent 1981; Goss-Custard et al. 1992). The feeding grounds of Oystercatchers can therefore be viewed as a series of interlocking habitat gradients that range in scale from a few square metres up to hundreds of square kilometres.
Rearing to independence
Authors: Safriel Uriel N , Ens Bruno J , Kaiser Alan
Published: November 2023

The Oystercatcher provides a test of how far existing theory helps to understand the behavioural and population ecology of a well-studied species (Goss-Custard, Introduction, this volume). By the same token, research on a carefully selected, and such a well-studied species, should advance general theory. Is the Oystercatcher not only relatively easy to study, but also a ‘typical’ shorebird whose study is applicable to many other species, not only of shorebirds, but also of birds in general?
Haematopus ostralegus in perspective: comparisons with other Oystercatchers
Authors: Hockey Philip A R
Published: November 2023

The primary aim of this book is to provide a scientific interpretation of our knowledge of the Eurasian Oystercatcher, one of the best-studied shorebirds in the world. There are, however, 11 other species of oystercatchers worldwide. None has been as well studied as the Eurasian Oystercatcher, but some have been studied in different ways and to address different questions. The aim of this chapter is to provide an overview of how facets of the biology of Haematopus ostralegus compare or contrast with other oystercatcher species, and to consider what the reasons for these similarities or differences might be.
The carrying capacity of coastal habitats for Oystercatchers
Authors: Goss-Custard John D , West Andrew D , Clarke Ralph T , Caldow Richard W G , Durell Sarah E A le V dit
Published: November 2023

The need to predict the consequences for Oysrercatcher numbers of the many anthropogenic influences to which the coastal zone is prone (Lambeck et al., Chapter 11, this volume) has stimulated much of the research that has been done on the species. Broadly, predictions are required at two scales; locally, for the estuary or stretch of coast where environmental changes are expected to occur, and globally, for the wider population across a region, country or the whole of Europe. If a fishery, for example, was considering removing half the mussel (Mytilus edulis) beds within one estuary, the following questions would be asked. Will the food supply that remains be sufficient to maintain the present number of Oystercatchers? If not, and some starve or emigrate, how many would remain? Would any emigrants be able to establish themselves elsewhere and, if so, would they survive as well as at present? If more birds do die, either locally or as a knock-on consequence of the redistribution of birds to other areas, what would be the effect on the metapopulation, the greater population of which the local Oystercatchers are one part? The metapopulation consequences are discussed by Goss-Custard et al. (Chapter 13, this volume). This chapter deals only with predicting the effect of a change in the local environment on local numbers.
On the shovel-tusked elephantoids from China
Authors: Guan Jian
Published: November 2023

Fossil remains of Proboscidea from the People’s Republic of China (hereafter China) indicate a rich and diverse fauna which was an important component of proboscidean evolution. Historical reviews of these fossils have been given by Osborn and Granger (1932), Osborn (1936, 1942), Hopwood (1935), and Tobien et al. (1984, 1986, 1988). Tables 13.1 and 13.2 include some of the most productive localities of Neogene to Pleistocene elephantoids (especially gomphotheres; ‘Elephantoidea’ after Tassy 1988a), and a list of taxa found in China, respectively. This chapter focuses on a few gomphothere genera and species from China, the gomphotheres sensu Jato include amebelodontids.
The biogeography of the gomphotheriid proboscideans of North America
Authors: Lambert W David
Published: November 2023

The gomphothere proboscideans sensu Iato, consisting of the Gomphotheriidae including Amebelodontinae were arguably the most successful of all the proboscideans in terms of their longevity and geographical distribution. They lasted at least from the earliest Miocene to the end of the Pleistocene and reached all continents except the island continents Antarctica and Australia (Tobien 1973a). North America played a significant role in the history of gomphothere biogeography and diversity (Lambert and Shoshani, in press). From the middle Miocene to the Pleistocene, North America received numerous immigrant taxa from the Old World via Beringia (and possibly the converse as well). It was also a centre for major autochthonous evolution and was the staging ground for the dispersal of gomphotheres into South America.
Para- or monophyly of the gomphotheres and their position within Proboscidea
Authors: Shoshani Jeheskel
Published: November 2023

The systematics of Proboscidea in general, and of gomphotheres in particular, has undergone considerable modifications during the past 50 years. Osborn’s (1936) discussion of gomphothere taxa and review of earlier literature may be considered a starting point for modern studies. Simpson (1945) reviewed and amended Osborn’s work, and Tobien’s (1972, 1973a, 1973b, 1975, 1976, 1978b, 1978c) and Tobien et al.’s (1986, 1988) studies provided good background information on gomphotheres. Employing cladistic methods on proboscidean taxa, Tassy (1982, 1988a, 1990a, this volume, Chapter 6) concluded that gomphotheres were a paraphyletic group. Similar results were obtained by Tassy and Shoshani (1988). None of these authors conducted a detailed cladistic analysis of all the gomphothere taxa in one study; many questions on affinities among the gomphotheres remain unresolved.
Proboscidean remains in southern Levant
Authors: Tchernov Eitan , Shoshani Jeheskel
Published: November 2023

Palaeontological, archaeological, and historical records suggest that proboscideans may have roamed in the Levant for almost 20 million years, from the early Miocene until a few thousand years ago (Hooijer 1962a; Savage and Tchernov 1968; Clutton-Brock 1981; Tchernov et al. 1987). King Solomon was known to have had a craving to possess ivory, believed to have been brought from the south (possibly northern Africa): ‘once every three years came the navy of Tarshish, bringing gold, and silver, ivory, and apes, and peacocks’ (I Kings 10: 22). The possibility exists that other ivory pieces which date as late as 800 BC may have been from local elephants which lived in the Levant (Weiss 1985).
Mammoths, gomphotheres, and the Great American Faunal Interchange
Authors: Dudley Joseph P
Published: November 2023

The mammoths (Mammuthus: Elephantidae) were the most highly specialized of all proboscidean taxa in their dentitions and morphological/physiological adaptations to survival in cold cli¬ mates. The Elephantidae was one of the most rapidly evolving families of mammals during the Plio-Pleistocene (Simpson 1944). The Elephantidae radiated explosively during the late Cenozoic but were decimated by the extinction of several genera during the late Pleistocene (Simpson 1944; Aguirre 1969a; Coppens et al. 1978).
Devonian
Authors: Xiwen Zhao
Published: November 2023

The Devonian succeeded the Caledonian orogeny, which had resulted in great changes in plate framework and tectonogeography in the world. Smith eta!. (1981), Ziegler (1981), and Scotese and McKerrow (1990) have attempted to reconstruct the Devonian palaeocontinents. It is clear that the relative positions of continents and their latitudinal distribution have provided the palaeotectonic and palaeogeographical background for palaeobiogeography. Many scholars (House 1971; Cocks and McKerrow 1973; Johnson and Boucot 1973; Oliver and Pedder 1976; House 1979; Norris 1979; Savage et al. 1976; Ziegler 1981; Pedder and Oliver 1990; Young 1990) have contributed a great deal on Devonian palaeobiogeography. This valuable information enables us to draw a brief sketch of the Devonian biosphere. Here the whole world is divided into three realms (Fig. 6.1),
Triassic
Authors: Hongfu Yin , Qiuxian Lin
Published: November 2023

The Triassic Pangaea was indented by a wedge shaped Tethyan Ocean spanning tropical and subtropical areas, with the Antarctic and Siberian Platform located in southern and northern high latitudes respectively. Configuration of the eastern Tethys is modified in this chapter on the basis of new data from palaeomagnetic, palaeogeographical, and geotectonic researches. This region displayed the interspersion of microcontinents and microocean basins, reminiscent of modern South-East Asia. North China (centred at Taiyuan, Shanxi) and Yangtze (centred at Emei, Sichuan) were at the palaeolatitudes of about 15°N and 2°N, respectively, during the Late Permian. However, North China had a rapid northward migration during the Permian and collided with Siberia-Mongolia in the Early Triassic. Later, Yangtze started to move northwards and merged with North China by the late Middle Triassic,
Cretaceous
Authors: Benpei Liu , Yuling, Xu , Feng Chen
Published: November 2023

Pangaea experienced further disintegration during the Cretaceous. The main body of Laurasia approached its modem location but the Eurasian part deviated remarkably south-westward, forming an angle of several tens of degrees with modem latitudes. In the southern hemisphere, Gondwana underwent several rifting and dismembering phases, the most remark able of which were the extensive rift-openning of the South Atlantic and rapid northward movement of the Indian plate. The Tethyan or Neo-Tethyan (sensu Sengor, 1984) Ocean existed between Eurasia and eastern Gondwana, but controversy persists as to its possible dimensions.
Flight and behaviour
Authors: Brodsky Andrei K
Published: November 2023

The first winged insects had limited flight abilities, and the range of behaviours which they could perform in the air was not large. However, among the first flying insects there were still some masterly fliers. The dragonflies provide an excellent example of the perfection of ancient flight; they have changed very little from their ancestors, which hunted in the air space above the swampy forests covering the earth about 300 million years ago. During the Carboniferous period primitive cot.”kroaches, mayflies, dragonflies of all sizes, and clumsy Palaeodictyoptera made their way through the air. Swooping and dancing along the edges of lagoons and lapping seas, those early fliers logged more then 200 million years of flying time before the first test flights of the birds, making them airworthy by any standard.
Vitamin A receptors: new insights on retinoid control of transcription
Authors: Mangelsdorf David J , Evans Ronald M
Published: November 2023

One of the fundamental questions in retinoid biology—and in extracellular signalling processes in general—is how a group of closely related and simple compounds can mediate diverse and complex responses. Multicellular organisms have evolved two basic strategies for mediating the translation of an extracellular signal into a transcriptional response at the target cell (Fig. 3.1). In one mechanism the stimulus (e.g. a small peptide or growth factor) binds to a cell surface receptor. Transduction of this signal to the nucleus is then accomplished by one of a myriad of second messengers. The many examples of signals that operate via a second messenger are demonstrated by the high genetic and phenotypic variation of their receptors and pathways (Herschman 1989). In the second mechanism, cells process an extracellular stimulus through an intracellular receptor. In this pathway the blood-borne signals are small lipophilic molecules, such as steroids, which are either actively or passively transported through the cell membrane where they bind cytosolic or nuclear receptors. The liganded receptor complex is a functionally active transcription factor, which binds specifically to the regulatory region of target genes.
Cellular retinal binding protein: regulation of expression and putative functions
Authors: Chytil Frank , Stump Donald G , Haq Riaz ul , Rush Margaret G , Mufson Elisabeth E
Published: November 2023

Cellular retinol binding protein (CRBP) was the first protein discovered to bind retinol non-covalently in many tissues (Bashor et al. 1973). Subsequently, other proteins binding natural retinoids non-covalently were found in nonvisual and visual tissues, including the cellular retinoic acid binding protein (CRABP) (for review see Chytil and Ong 1987). Considerable progress has been made in the purification, characterization, and cloning of these proteins, although their exact metabolic function(s) remains to be elucidated. In recent years less attention has been given to CRBP than to CRABP, most probably because the natural ligand of CRABP is retinoic acid. Retinoic acid (RA), a production of retinol oxidation, has been shown to be a potent differentiation agent (for review see Chytil 1984) used therapeutically in dermatology (Peck 1984). RA action involves activating or repressing formation of many gene products (for review sec Chytil and Haq 1990). Moreover, unlike retinol, RA appears to be involved in morphogenesis (Eichele et al. 1985; Summerbell and Maden 1990). This article will discuss recent developments in our laboratory in further characterization of the CRBP protein and regulation of its gene.
Eucryphiaceae
Authors: Gregory Mary
Published: November 2023

The family consists of one genus, Eucryphia Cav., with 5-6 species of trees and shrubs in Australia, Tasmania, Chile and Argentina; all are evergreen except E. glutinosa (Prepp. & Endl.) Baill. Paracryphia Baker f. was at one time included in the family but has been transferred to a family of its own (Shaw 1965; see also Dickison and Baas 1977), which Takhtajan (1983) included in Celastrales.

Account based mainly on Dickison (1978: 5 spp.) with additional information from Hill (1991).
Roridulaceae
Authors: Wilkinson By Hazel P
Published: November 2023

This monogeneric family is composed of two species only, Roridula dentata L. and R. gorgonias Planchon. Both are shrubs endemic to Cape Province, Republic of South Africa. Both grow in acidic soils derived from sandstone and low in nitrates, R. dentata on rather dry mountain flats and R. gorgonias in marshy areas or seeps on mountain slopes. According to Carlquist ( l976b) both species could be classed as mesophytes but Bruce (1907) indicated that the leaves of R. dentata show some xeromorphic adaptations. Roridula Burm. f. ex L. was at one time considered to be carnivorous since it has undoubted powers of trapping insects in the resinous exudate from the abundant leaf glands. The digesting powers of the glands were tested by Bruce (1907) with dubious results and later tests made by Lloyd (1934) appeared to prove that digestion of insects does not take place.
Greyiaceae
Authors: Gregory Mary
Published: November 2023

This South African family consists of the single genus Greyia Hook. & Harv., with three species of shrubs or medium-sized trees, two deciduous and one evergreen (G. fianaganii H. Bolus), growing on rocky mountain slopes.
Benzodiazepines
Authors: Ferner R E , Norman Elizabeth , Rawlins M D
Published: November 2023

Chlordiazepoxide (‘Librium’) was the first benzodiazepine to be marketed, and has been available since 1960. By the mid-1970s, benzodiazepines were prescribed to around 3 per cent of the population in several European countries (Marks 1985). The remarkably widespread use of the drugs was due in part to their perceived safety in acute overdosage, especially when compared with barbiturate sleeping tablets. It was also in part the result of their wide promotion.
Paracetamol (acetaminophen in the United States)
Authors: Ferner R E , Norman Elizabeth , Rawlins M D
Published: November 2023

Paracetamol is a widely available analgesic (pain-killer) which is remarkably safe in therapeutic dosage. Its forensic importance lies in the problems associated with paracetamol overdosage.
Evolution of mating systems and sexual selection
Authors: Frith Clifford B , Frith Dawn W
Published: November 2023

No matter how simplistic or complicated a bird’s mating strategy and courtship, all investment involved is towards one goal—the production of offspring that will in turn be reproductively successful. The evolutionary processes behind the uniquely complex bowerbird behaviour, structures, their decoration, and painting, in the context of their mating systems, demand explanation. While most mammals reproduce polygamously, the majority of birds do so as socially monogamous species. This is largely because birds lay eggs that produce nestlings requiring constant direct transfer of parental body heat followed, in the vast majority of species (with some exceptions), by substantial provisioning of food and other parental care. These demands have resulted in widespread avian social monogamy in species in which it is hypothesised males are able to economically defend required resources and a mate. The fundamental requirement for polygamous species is the ability of males to monopolize several mates (Emlen and Oring 1977; Johnsgard 1994; Ligon 1999).
The vespid wasps (Vespidae)
Authors: West-Eberhard Mary Jane , Carpenter James M , Hanson Paul E
Published: November 2023

Classification and distribution. Traditionally (e.g. Spradbery, 1973b; Krombein in Krombein et al., 1979; Gauld & Bolton, 1988) this group has been divided into three families, the Masaridae, Eumenidae and Vespidae. However, following Carpenter ‘s (1982) phylogenetic analysis, it has become increasingly accepted that all should be united in a single family, the Vespidae. This family is now classified in six apparently monophyletic subfamilies (Carpenter, 1982, 1991); their postulated phylogenetic relationships are shown in Fig. 15.02.
Vascular and interstitial physiology of tumours: role in cancer detection and treatment
Authors: Jain Rakesh K
Published: November 2023

Cancer is the second leading cause of death in the United States and in many industrialized countries (1). After the primary tumour has been surgically removed and/or sterilized by radiation, the residual disease is usually managed with a variety of systemic therapies (Table 5.1). For these therapies to be successful, they must satisfy two requirements: (i) the relevant agent must be effective in the in vivo microenvironment of tumours, and (ii) this agent must reach the target cells in vivo in optimal quantities. The goal of this article is to examine the latter issue. More specifically, I will discuss the pathophysiology of the tumour vasculature and interstitium, and the important part it plays in the delivery of diagnostic and therapeutic agents to solid tumours.
The role of collagens and proteoglycans in tumour angiogenesis
Authors: Rooney P , Kumar P , Ponting, J , Kumar S
Published: November 2023

The natural history of tumour development and growth is well established. A population of cells within a host is exposed to an initiation factor and a new wave of gene expression occurs, removing normal growth constraints from the primary tumour (1,2). The primary tumour can grow to approximately 1-2 mm in diameter but will grow no further unless it is vascularized (3-5). Tumour angiogenesis is a multistep cascade of events which proceeds only when a proportion of cells within the tumour, estimated to be less than 10% (6,7), switches to an angiogenic phenotype, and releases factors which either act directly on endothelial cells of neighbouring blood vessels or stimulate surrounding stromal tissue to release factors which act on the endothelial cells. Once activated, endothelial cells are induced to degrade local extracellular matrix (ECM), migrate through the ECM, proliferate, and reach the tumour.
Living, Growing, and Daylight
Authors: Herring Peter
Published: November 2023

Life on earth derives its existence, survival, and success from primary production, namely the biological synthesis of complex organic molecules using inorganic sources of carbon and an external source of energy. The open-ocean ecosystem is similar to the terrestrial one, both in this fundamental principle and in the biochemical pathways invoked, but the players and the controlling processes are very different. The deep-sea fauna are dependent upon them.
Control of thyroid hormones and their involvement in haemoglobin transition during Xenopus and Rana metamorphosis
Authors: Just John J , Kraus-Just Jeanne
Published: November 2023

It has been known for 75 years that thyroid hormones (THs) are involved in amphibian metamorphosis. In the last 25 years several investigators have shown that at or near the time of tail loss there is a sudden rise in circulating TH concentrations that is dependent on the pituitary and hypothalamus. The required pituitary hormone is thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH); however, c:irculating TSH concentrations have yet to be determined during metamorphosis. During the last decade much effort focused on measurements of thyrotropin releasing hormone (TRH) concentrations in the tissues of several anuran tadpoles, but there is no credible evidence showing that TRH can directly initiate metamorphic climax in any species. Recent data suggest that other hypothalamic hormones are involved in the control of TSH concentrations and therefore TH concentrations before climax. During metamorphosis THs are known to control cell death, stem cell stimulation and differentiation of existing cell populations. In order for larval tissues to respond to THs, they must have TH receptors. Several different types of TH receptors exist and all are members of a larger group of nuclear protein receptors that include receptors for THs, steroid hormones and retinoic acid. More recent evidence suggests that larval tissue TH receptor concentrations change during metamorphosis and that their concentrations are highest about the time of tail loss. The transition from larval to adult haemoglobin is used to document both hormonal and environmental factors involved in the control of this metamorphic process.
Parasites of Xenopus
Authors: Tinsley F C
Published: November 2023

The Xenopus species carry a richer assemblage of parasites than most other anurans, with over 25 genera from seven invertebrate groups. This spectrum reflects a dual origin: some of the parasites are characteristic of anurans and represent ‘heirlooms’ from a common ancestry of parasites which have evolved with the anuran lineages. In addition, a component of the fauna is related to parasites which typically infect fishes: these represent ecological acquisitions and reflect the overlap, in terms of diet, habitats etc., between Xenopus and fish. For both these subsets of parasites, the representatives infecting Xenopus are highly distinctive, with life-history and other specializations which are often unique within the respective parasite groups. From a systematic point of view, they are best interpreted as having had a very distant origin from their nearest relatives and having now diverged to the point where almost all forms infecting Xenopus are placed in their own genera, families or higher taxonomic categories, strictly specific to Xenopus. Some of the parasites exploit Xenopus as an intermediate host and await passage to final hosts which are predators of Xenopus (and usually also of fish). These parasites may be pathogenic, infecting the heart, body musculature, eyes and lateral line system: by interfering with normal function, infection increases the risks of predation and thus facilitates completion of the parasite’s life cycle. Other parasites employ Xenopus as a final host (in which their sexual reproduction occurs), and invade by a variety of routes (with the diet, by vector transfer, or by direct penetration of an active infective stage). For most of these parasites, pathogenic effects are difficult to detect and infection levels tend to occur below the point at which damage may be serious. The skin-infecting nematode, Pseudocapillaroides xenopodis, is exceptional in its pathogenicity, being responsible for lethal epidemics amongst laboratory-maintained X. laevis.
The immune system of Xenopus: with special reference to B celI development and immunoglobulin genes
Authors: Pasquier Louis Du , Wilson Melanie , Robert Jacques
Published: November 2023

The immunoglobulin genes of Xenopus are organized in a manner similar to those of bony fish, birds and mammals, with multiple families of variable region elements, multiple Ds (for the heavy chain), multiple J segments, but a single gene foreach constant region. B cells, in which these gene segments rearrange to build up functional immunoglobulin genes, develop early in larval life and express a repertoire of antibodies different from that of the adult and restricted by the small numbers of lymphocyte clones. The comparison of larval and adult cDNAs showed that the N diversification which contributes to the adult complexity of the third hypervariable region of heavy chains is missing in tadpoles. The adult repertoire is less heterogeneous than that of mammals, presumably because somatic hypermutations occurring in the V genes are not properly selected. Some polyploid species retained polysomic inheritance of immunoglobulin genes, whereas they functionally diploidized their major histocompatibility complex. A lymphoid cell line with a larval phenotype with two complete lg heavy chain rearrangements has been isolated from a thymus tumour and grown in vitro: while expressing cell surface markers of a T cell, its immunoglobulin gene rearrangements are more typical of a B cell. This may contribute a new tool for Xenopus biologists in the future.
Evolutionary inferences from host and parasite co-speciation
Authors: Tinsley R C
Published: November 2023

The distinctive and host-specific parasite fauna of Xenopus may be viewed as a phylogenetic unit, evolving with its host group. The parasite taxa show a high degree of parallel speciation with the recognized Xenopus lineages. Parasite affinities also provide an independent assessment of host relationships.
Running waters: a unique habitat
Authors: Giller Paul S , Malmqvist Björn
Published: November 2023

Uisce Bea/ha is Irish for whiskey but it actually translates as ‘Water of Life’. While some may see this as the raison d’être for water, this phrase has a rather different connotation lo the aquatic biologist, as water provides the very habitat in which aquatic life exists. Aquatic ecosystems range from the open oceans and intertidal marine systems, to freshwater lakes and streams and rivers. There will obviously be some overlap in the patterns and processes among these systems and trying to identify these similarities can only further our understanding of the natural world. However, there is sufficient that is unique about streams and rivers, the subject or this volume, to make their study an intriguing and rewarding experience.
Design concepts - birds that don’t fly
Authors: Davies S J J F , Bamford Michael J , Loomes Danika
Published: November 2023

First of all, loss of the ability to fly removes a restriction on size. The largest Recent flying bird is the great bustard Otis tarda, a male of which has been reliably recorded as weighing 18 kg (Cramp and Simmons 1980), with an unconfirmed record of 21 kg. As birds increase in size, the force of the flight muscles does not increase as rapidly as the mass of the bird and this places an upper limit on the size of flying birds.
Ratites and tinamous in the future
Authors: Davies S J J F , Bamford Michael J , Loomes Danika
Published: November 2023

In the last five hundred years more than half the recent species of large ratites have become extinct, including all the moas and elephant birds and two of the three emus. Two of the three kiwis are greatly reduced in number. Amongst the tinamous, several are now endangered. Although it is difficult to prove, it is also difficult to avoid the conclusion that most of these extinctions and declines are related, directly or indirectly, to the activities of humans. Clearing of woodland and forest impacts very severely on birds that evolved under stable conditions ,where food was abundant and cover plentiful.
Ostrich and elephant birds Family Struthionidae Vigors 1825
Authors: Davies S J J F , Bamford Michael J , Loomes Danika
Published: November 2023

Largest living birds. Bill broad and depressed, the culmen with a strong, rounded tip overlapping the mandible. The nostrils lie in a membranous groove near the middle of the bill. There are no clavicles, the tibia is without a bony bridge, the after shaft is absent and in the alimentary canal, the caecae and rectum arc large. Wings are short and imperfect, with long soft plumes; the tail is also of long, curved soft plumes.
Mass extinctions: collapse and recovery
Authors: Wood Rachel
Published: November 2023

The previous chapter emphasized the importance of disturbance for maintaining the high diversity of modern coral reef communities. The response of reefs to events which cause catastrophic disturbance is, however, highly complex and depends on the timing, intensity, and history of events. Indeed, some combinations of disturbances can act synergistically to cause seemingly permanent shifts in the composition of individual reef communities. But it is now clear that while reef biotas (and therefore ecosystems) may be robust to environmental variability over both ecologically and geologically significant timescales, reefs themselves are relatively fragile, transient phenomena. And we have seen that over even longer timescales, a succession of different ecosystems have formed reefs over the past 3.5 Ga, and that the ‘incumbency’ of many of these long-lived ecosystems was terminated by mass extinctions.
Mathematical Models Of Structural Change
Authors: Bader Richard F W
Published: November 2023

The definition of structure obtained through the application of the equivalence relation to the gradient vector fields of the charge density leads to the partitioning of nuclear configuration space into a finite number of structural regions. The boundaries of these regions denote the configurations of the unstable structures. This information enables one to construct a system’s structure diagram, a diagram which details all of its stable structures and all of the unstable structures that are transitional in form between those of neighbouring structural regimes. The collection of the structurally unstable points in nuclear configuration space R, is called the catastrophe set C. As a corollary of the theorem of structural stability stated by Palis and Smale (1970) one finds that only two types of catastrophe points are possible a configuration X∈ R is structurally unstable if and only if its associated charge density ρ (r; X) exhibits (a) at least one degenerate critical point, also known as a singularity in the charge density or (b) a non-transversal intersection of the stable and unstable manifolds of a pair of its critical points. A configuration satisfying either (a) or (b) is called a bifurcation or conflict point, respectively.