Search for: All records

Quaternary ammonium compounds (QACs) are a class of compounds that were widely used as disinfectants during the COVID-19 pandemic and continue to be used as disinfecting agents.

 

Marine mammals have undergone a dramatic series of morphological transformations throughout their evolutionary history that facilitated their ecological transition to life in the water. Pinnipeds are a diverse clade of marine mammals that evolved from terrestrial carnivorans in the Oligocene (∼27 million years ago). However, pinnipeds have secondarily lost the dental innovations emblematic of mammalian and carnivoran feeding, such as a talonid basin or shearing carnassials. Modern pinnipeds do not masticate their prey, but can reduce prey size through chopping behavior. Typically, small prey are swallowed whole. Nevertheless, pinnipeds display a wide breadth of morphology of the post-canine teeth. We investigated the relationship between dental morphology and pinniped feeding by measuring the puncture performance of the cheek-teeth of seven extant pinniped genera. Puncture performance was measured as the maximum force and the maximum energy required to puncture a standardized prey item (Loligo sp.). We report significant differences in the puncture performance values across the seven genera, and identify three distinct categories based on cheek-teeth morphology and puncture performance: effective, ineffective and moderate puncturers. In addition, we measured the overall complexity of the tooth row using two different metrics, orientation patch count rotated (OPCR) and relief index (RFI). Neither metric of complexity predicted puncture performance. Finally, we discuss these results in the broader context of known pinniped feeding strategies and lay the groundwork for subsequent efforts to explore the ecological variation of specific dental morphologies.

 

Primary biodiversity data records that are open access and available in a standardised format are essential for conservation planning and research on policy-relevant time-scales. We created a dataset to document all known occurrence data for the Federally Endangered Poweshiek skipperling butterfly [ Oarismapoweshiek (Parker, 1870; Lepidoptera: Hesperiidae)]. The Poweshiek skipperling was a historically common species in prairie systems across the upper Midwest, United States and Manitoba, Canada. Rapid declines have reduced the number of verified extant sites to six. Aggregating and curating Poweshiek skipperling occurrence records documents and preserves all known distributional data, which can be used to address questions related to Poweshiek skipperling conservation, ecology and biogeography. Over 3500 occurrence records were aggregated over a temporal coverage from 1872 to present. Occurrence records were obtained from 37 data providers in the conservation and natural history collection community using both “HumanObservation” and “PreservedSpecimen” as an acceptable basisOfRecord. Data were obtained in different formats and with differing degrees of quality control. During the data aggregation and cleaning process, we transcribed specimen label data, georeferenced occurrences, adopted a controlled vocabulary, removed duplicates and standardised formatting. We examined the dataset for inconsistencies with known Poweshiek skipperling biogeography and phenology and we verified or removed inconsistencies by working with the original data providers. In total, 12 occurrence records were removed because we identified them to be the western congener Oarismagarita (Reakirt, 1866). This resulting dataset enhances the permanency of Poweshiek skipperling occurrence data in a standardised format. This is a validated and comprehensive dataset of occurrence records for the Poweshiek skipperling ( Oarismapoweshiek ) utilising both observation and specimen-based records. Occurrence data are preserved and available for continued research and conservation projects using standardised Darwin Core formatting where possible. Prior to this project, much of these occurrence records were not mobilised and were being stored in individual institutional databases, researcher datasets and personal records. This dataset aggregates presence data from state conservation agencies, natural heritage programmes, natural history collections, citizen scientists, researchers and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. The data include opportunistic observations and collections, research vouchers, observations collected for population monitoring and observations collected using standardised research methodologies. The aggregated occurrence records underwent cleaning efforts that improved data interoperablitity, removed transcription errors and verified or removed uncertain data. This dataset enhances available information on the spatiotemporal distribution of this Federally Endangered species. As part of this aggregation process, we discovered and verified Poweshiek skipperling occurrence records from two previously unknown states, Nebraska and Ohio. 

Organisms are composed of hierarchically arranged component parts that must work together to successfully achieve whole organism functions. In addition to integration among individual parts, some ecological demands require functional systems to work together in a type of inter-system performance integration. While performance can be measured by the ability to successfully accomplish ecologically relevant tasks, integration across performance traits can provide a deeper understanding of how these traits allow an organism to survive. The ability to move and the ability to consume food are essential to life, but during prey capture these two functions are typically integrated. Suction-feeding fishes have been used as a model of these interactions, but it is unclear how other ecologically relevant scenarios might reduce or change integration. To stimulate further research into these ideas, we highlight three contexts with the potential to result in changes in integration and underlying performance traits: (1) behavioral flexibility in aquatic feeding modes for capturing alternative prey types, (2) changes in the physical demands imposed by prey capture across environments, and (3) secondary adaptation for suction prey capture behaviors. These examples provide a broad scope of potential drivers of integration that are relevant to selection pressures experienced across vertebrate evolution. To demonstrate how these ideas can be applied and stimulate hypotheses, we provide observations from preliminary analyses of locally adapted populations of Trinidadian guppies (Poecilia reticulata) capturing prey using suction and biting feeding strategies and an Atlantic mudskipper (Periophthalmus barbarus) capturing prey above and below water. We also include a re-analysis of published data from two species of secondarily aquatic cetaceans, beluga whales (Delphinapterus leucas) and Pacific white-sided dolphins (Lagenorhynchus obliquidens), to examine the potential for secondary adaptation to affect integration in suction prey capture behaviors. Each of these examples support the broad importance of integration between locomotor and feeding performance but outline new ways that these relationships can be important when suction demands are reduced or altered. Future work in these areas will yield promising insights into vertebrate evolution and we hope to encourage further discussion on possible avenues of research on functional integration during prey capture.