In controlled experimental settings, DNA from plugs will provide a powerful tool for distinguishing pre- and postcopulatory sexual selection. “
“Locomotor performance is crucial to survival in many species. Swimming performance in fish depends on fin shape and size, and swimming performance may change with fin damage. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between fin size and swimming performance in male Eastern mosquitofish STI571 Gambusia holbrooki either with undamaged

fins, or with fins that have sustained damage as a consequence of aggressive encounters. We show that in fish with undamaged fins burst swimming speeds increase with an increasing caudal fin size, while sustained swimming speeds (Ucrit) decrease with increasing fin size. In fish with damaged fins, Ucrit increases with an increasing caudal fin area, demonstrating a measurable cost of fin damage. The relationship between fin size and Ucrit is not linear but is best described by a Gaussian curve, where Ucrit decreases as fin size either increases or decreases from a central optimal value. We suggest that fish with

large fins benefit because they can withstand more fin damage resulting from intraspecific aggression before experiencing detrimental effects such as reduced Ucrit. “
“There is mounting evidence that some European temperate species did not respond to click here the last (Weichselian) glaciation by simply shifting their distributions to the Mediterranean region selleck screening library but also survived at higher latitudes previously considered inhospitable. However, it remains to be determined to what extent such high-latitude glacial refugia contributed to post-glacial colonization of Europe. The bank vole Myodes glareolus apparently survived in a high-latitude glacial refugium in the Carpathian Mountains. Here, we used 144 new mitochondrial DNA sequences (largely obtained from museum skins), together with

relevant previous data, to investigate whether the phylogeography of bank voles currently living in deglaciated areas north of the Carpathians reflects colonization from this or other refugia. Phylogenetic reconstruction resolved the newly identified haplotypes into three major clades. The majority of voles sampled in Poland carried haplotypes of the Carpathian clade, previously only known from the Carpathians and their immediate vicinity. Voles from eastern Poland and northern Germany carried haplotypes of the Eastern clade, also found in eastern Europe and Siberia, and six voles from scattered localities carried haplotypes of the Western clade, which has a west European distribution. Therefore, the results suggest the contribution of multiple glacial refugia.