| 1. |
- Becher, Paul, et al.
(författare)
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Yeast, not fruit volatiles mediate Drosophila melanogaster attraction, oviposition and development
- 2012
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Ingår i: Functional Ecology. - : Wiley. - 1365-2435 .- 0269-8463. ; 26:4, s. 822-828
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- 1.In nature, the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster is attracted to fermenting fruit. Micro-organisms like Saccharomyces yeasts growing on fruit occupy a commonly overlooked trophic level between fruit and insects. Although the dietary quality of yeast is well established for D.melanogaster, the individual contribution of fruit and yeast on host finding and reproductive success has not been established. 2.Here, we show that baker's yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae on its own is sufficient for fruit fly attraction, oviposition and larval development. In contrast, attraction and oviposition were significantly lower if non-fermented grape juice or growth media were used, and yeast-free grapes did not support larval development either. 3.Despite a strong preference for fermented substrates, moderate attraction to and oviposition on unfermented fruit might be adaptive in view of the fly's capacity to vector yeast. 4.Signals emitted by fruit were only of secondary importance because fermenting yeast without fruit induced the same fly behaviour as yeast fermenting on fruit. We identified a synthetic mimic of yeast odour, comprising ethanol, acetic acid, acetoin, 2-phenyl ethanol and 3-methyl-1-butanol, which was as attractive for the fly as fermenting grape juice or fermenting yeast minimal medium. 5.Yeast odours represent the critical signal to establish the flyfruityeast relationship. The traditional plantherbivore niche concept needs to be updated, to accommodate for the role of micro-organisms in insectplant interactions.
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| 2. |
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| 3. |
- Elmberg, Johan, et al.
(författare)
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Climate change-induced shifts in survival and size of the worlds' northernmost oviparous snake : A 68-year study
- 2024
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Ingår i: PLoS ONE. - : Public Library of Science. - 1932-6203. ; 19:3
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Because of their dependence on ambient temperature ectothermic animals can serve as sentinels of conservation problems related to global warming. Reptiles in temperate areas are especially well suited to study such effects, as their annual and daily activity patterns directly depend on ambient temperature. This study is based on annual data spanning 68 years from a fringe population of Grass Snakes (Natrix natrix), which is the world's northernmost oviparous (egg-laying) reptile, and known to be constrained by temperature for reproduction, morphology, and behavior. Mark-recapture analyses showed that survival probability was generally higher in males than in females, and that it increased with body length. Body condition (scaled mass index) and body length increased over time, indicative of a longer annual activity period. Monthly survival was generally higher during winter (i.e., hibernation) than over the summer season. Summer survival increased over time, whilst winter survival decreased, especially duringrecent decades. Winter survival was lower when annual maximum snow depth was less than 15 cm, implying a negative effect of milder winters with less insulating snow cover. Our study demonstrates long-term shifts in body length, body condition and seasonal survival associated with a warming climate. Although the seasonal changes in survival ran in opposite directions and though changes were small in absolute terms, the trends did not cancel out, but total annual survival decreased. We conclude that effects of a warming climate can be diverse and pose a threat for thermophilic species in temperate regions, and that future studies should consider survival change by season, preferably in a long-term approach.
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| 4. |
- Elmberg, Johan, et al.
(författare)
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Movements and habitat choice of resident and translocated adult female Grass Snakes (Natrix natrix) during the egg-laying period
- 2019
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Ingår i: Herpetological Journal. - : BRITISH HERPETOL SOC. - 0268-0130. ; 29:4, s. 244-250
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We used externally applied transmitters to study movements of female grass snakes (Natrix natrix) during the egg-laying period in a near-urban landscape in Sweden. Half of the studied snakes were residents while the other half were translocated individuals with no previous experience of the area. As predicted, resident females moved more goal-oriented and shorter distances than did translocated individuals. Habitat use did not differ between resident and translocated snakes; they were typically found in bushes, reeds, and tall vegetation. Habitat preference (use in relation to availability) showed that bushy habitats, tall grassy vegetation and reedbeds were over-used in proportion to availability, whereas forest and open grass lawns were used less than expected based on availability. Our study highlights the importance of preserving and restoring linear habitat components providing shelter and connectivity in conservation of grass snakes. We suggest that externally applied transmitters are a better option than surgically implanted ones in movement studies of grass snakes, and that translocation as a conservation method for snakes has drawbacks.
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| 5. |
- Elmberg, Johan, 1960-, et al.
(författare)
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Snokens barnkammare försvinner
- 2013
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Ingår i: Fauna och flora. - 0014-8903. ; 108:1, s. 10-16
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Tidskriftsartikel (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)
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| 6. |
- Elmberg, Johan, et al.
(författare)
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Snokens barnkammare försvinner
- 2013
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Ingår i: Fauna och flora populär tidskrift för biologi. - 0014-8903. ; 108:1, s. 10-16
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Tidskriftsartikel (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)
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| 7. |
- Forsman, Anders, et al.
(författare)
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Association of coloration mode with population declines and endangerment in Australian frogs
- 2009
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Ingår i: Conservation Biology. - : Wiley. - 0888-8892 .- 1523-1739. ; 23:6, s. 1535-1543
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Successful protection of biodiversity requires increased understanding of the ecological characteristics that predispose some species to endangerment. Theory posits that species with polymorphic or variable coloration should have larger distributions, use more diverse resources, and be less vulnerable to population declines and extinctions, compared with taxa that do not vary in color. We used information from literature on 194 species of Australian frogs to search for associations of coloration mode with ecological variables. In general, species with variable or polymorphic color patterns had larger ranges, used more habitats, were less prone to have a negative population trend, and were estimated as less vulnerable to extinction compared with nonvariable species. An association of variable coloration with lower endangerment was also evident when we controlled statistically for the effects of range size. Nonvariable coloration was not a strong predictor of endangerment, and information on several characteristics is needed to reliably identify and protect species that are prone to decline and may become threatened by extinction in the near future. Analyses based on phylogenetic-independent contrasts did not support the hypothesis that evolutionary transitions between nonvariable and variable or polymorphic coloration have been accompanied by changes in the ecological variables we examined. Irrefutable demonstration of a role of color pattern variation in amphibian decline and in the dynamics and persistence of populations in general will require a manipulative experimental approach.
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| 8. |
- Forsman, Anders, et al.
(författare)
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Calling is an honest indicator of paternal genetic quality in male poison frogs
- 2006
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Ingår i: Evolution. - : Wiley. - 0014-3820 .- 1558-5646. ; 60:10, s. 2148-2157
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Several competing hypotheses have been put forward to explain why females of many species mate preferentially with males possessing the most conspicuous signals (e.g., ornaments, displays, or songs). We performed a laboratory experiment using two species of poison frogs, Dendrobates leucomelas and Epipedobates tricolor, to test the hypothesis that male calling performance is an honest indicator of parental quality. Our analyses are based on data from behavioral observations of mating activities of captive-reared individuals (and their offspring) that were housed in terraria for four consecutive breeding seasons. Male mating success increased with male calling rate and chirp duration in both species, suggesting that females preferred males with more elaborate calls. Because calling performance improved with age in D. leucomelas, female poison frogs that prefer males with more elaborate calls in the wild may end up mating with older males that have already proven their ability to survive. Females that mated with good callers obtained higher quality offspring. Eggs fertilized by males with high calling rates and long chirp durations had higher hatching success and produced tadpoles that were more likely to metamorphose into surviving frogs. As a consequence, females that mated with males with high calling performance obtained more surviving offspring per egg, compared to females that mated with poor callers. Collectively, our findings comply with the notion that female poison frogs prefer to mate with good callers because calling performance is a reliable predictor of offspring quality. The possible influence of maternal allocation and reasons for the strong effect size compared to previous studies are discussed.
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| 9. |
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| 10. |
- Hagman, Helga, et al.
(författare)
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Protein array profiling of circulating angiogenesis-related factors during bevacizumab containing treatment in metastatic colorectal cancer
- 2018
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Ingår i: PLoS ONE. - : Public Library of Science (PLoS). - 1932-6203. ; 13:12
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background Prolonged angiogenesis inhibition may improve treatment outcome in metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) patients. However, due to the complexity of the angiogenic pathways there is a lack of valid predictive biomarkers for anti-angiogenic agents. Here, we describe and optimize a procedure for simultaneous dynamic profiling of multiple angiogenesis related proteins in patient serum to explore associations with the response and acquired resistance to anti-angiogenic therapy. Materials and methods Patients (n=22) were selected from a clinical trial investigating maintenance treatment with bevacizumab alone after response to induction chemotherapy + bevacizumab in mCRC. Serum samples were analysed for 55 unique angiogenesis related proteins using a commercial proteome profiler array and a publicly available image analysis program for quantification. Samples were collected at baseline before induction treatment start, at start of maintenance treatment, and at end of treatment after tumour progression. Main results and conclusion For eight proteins, the antibody array signals were below detection range in all patient samples. None of the proteins showed levels at baseline or at start of maintenance with strong evidence for correlation to time to progression (lowest nominal p-value 0.03). The dynamic ranges of protein levels measured during the induction treatment period and during the maintenance period were analysed separately for time trends. Evidence for changing trends (up/down) in the levels of MMP-8, TIMP-4 and EGF was observed both during response to induction treatment and at progressive disease, respectively. For three of the proteins (IL-8, Activin A and IGFBP-2), weak evidence for correlation between increasing protein levels during induction with chemotherapy and bevacizumab and time to progression was observed. In conclusion, semi-quantitative profiling of angiogenesis related proteins in patient serum may be a versatile tool to screen for protein patterns aiming at identifying resistance mechanisms of anti-angiogenic treatment in patients with mCRC.
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