| 1. |
|
|
| 2. |
- Banyoi, Silvia-Maria, et al.
(författare)
-
The effects of exposure to environmentally relevant PFAS concentrations for aquatic organisms at different consumer trophic levels : Systematic review and meta-analyses
- 2022
-
Ingår i: Environmental Pollution. - : Elsevier. - 0269-7491 .- 1873-6424. ; 315
-
Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- Per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) is a collective name for approximately 4700 synthetic chemicals ubiquitous in the aquatic environment worldwide. They are used in a wide array of products and are found in living organisms around the world. Some PFAS have been associated with cancer, developmental toxicity, endocrine disruption, and other health effects. Only a fraction of PFAS are currently monitored and regulated and the presence and effects on aquatic organisms of many PFAS are largely unknown. The aim of this study is to investigate the health effects of environmentally relevant concentrations of PFAS on aquatic organisms at different consumer trophic levels through a systematic review and meta-analysis. The main result shows that PFAS in concentrations up to 13.5 μg/L have adverse effects on body size variables for secondary consumers. However, no significant effects on liver or gonad somatic indices and neither on fecundity were found. In addition, the results show that there are large research gaps for PFAS effects on different organisms in aquatic environments at environmentally relevant concentrations. Most studies have been performed on secondary consumers and there is a substantial lack of studies on other consumers in aquatic ecosystems.
|
|
| 3. |
- Bensch, Staffan, et al.
(författare)
-
Genetic, morphological, and feather isotope variation of migratory willow warblers show gradual divergence in a ring.
- 2009
-
Ingår i: Molecular Ecology. - 0962-1083 .- 1365-294X. ; 18:14, s. 3087-96
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The circular distribution of the willow warbler Phylloscopus trochilus around the Baltic Sea shares many features with the classic examples of ring species; however, the system is much younger. It has previously been shown that a secondary contact zone is located in central Scandinavia, where there are narrow clines for several morphological traits coincident with a migratory divide. Here we analyse multiple traits and genes from > 1700 males captured on breeding territories at 77 sites spread around the Baltic Sea to test the following hypothesis. If the secondary contact zone in Scandinavia is a result of divergence in two allopatric refuge populations during the last glaciation, we expect to find a similar secondary contact zone somewhere else around the circular distribution. Our results show that the trait clines were wider and displaced from each other along the eastern side of the Baltic Sea. Analyses of 12 microsatellite loci confirmed that the genome is very similar between the terminal forms (F(ST) = 0). Two AFLP-derived markers filtered out from a genomic scan instead appear to be maintained by selection. These markers exhibited steep clines at the secondary contact zone in Scandinavia, but as for the phenotypic traits, had vastly different cline centres east of the Baltic Sea. The trait clines along the ring distribution outside the Scandinavian secondary contact zone thus seem to have been shaped by independent action of selection or drift during the process of postglacial colonization.
|
|
| 4. |
- Björklund, Svante, et al.
(författare)
-
Measurement of Rank and Other Properties of Direct and Scattered Signals
- 2016
-
Ingår i: International Journal of Antennas and Propagation. - : Hindawi Publishing Corporation. - 1687-5869 .- 1687-5877. ; 2016
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We have designed an experiment for low-cost indoor measurements of rank and other properties of direct and scattered signals with radar interference suppression in mind. The signal rank is important also in many other applications, for example, DOA (Direction of Arrival) estimation, estimation of the number of and location of transmitters in electronic warfare, and increasing the capacity in wireless communications. In real radar applications, such measurements can be very expensive, for example, involving airborne radars with array antennas. We have performed the measurements in an anechoic chamber with several transmitters, a receiving array antenna, and a moving reflector. Our experiment takes several aspects into account: transmitted signals with different correlation, decorrelation of the signals during the acquisition interval, covariance matrix estimation, noise eigenvalue spread, calibration, near-field compensation, scattering in a rough surface, and good control of the influencing factors. With our measurements we have observed rank, DOA spectrum, and eigenpatterns of direct and scattered signals. The agreement of our measured properties with theoretic and simulated results in the literature shows that our experiment is realistic and sound. The detailed description of our experiment could serve as help for conducting other well-controlled experiments. © Copyright 2016 Svante Björklund et al.
|
|
| 5. |
- Boss, John, et al.
(författare)
-
Gene expression in the brain of a migratory songbird during breeding and migration
- 2016
-
Ingår i: Movement Ecology. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2051-3933. ; 4
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- BACKGROUND: We still have limited knowledge about the underlying genetic mechanisms that enable migrating species of birds to navigate the globe. Here we make an attempt to get insight into the genetic architecture controlling this complex innate behaviour. We contrast the gene expression profiles of two closely related songbird subspecies with divergent migratory phenotypes. In addition to comparing differences in migratory strategy we include a temporal component and contrast patterns between breeding adults and autumn migrating juvenile birds of both subspecies. The two willow warbler subspecies, Phylloscopus trochilus trochilus and P. t. acredula, are remarkably similar both in phenotype and genotype and have a narrow contact zone in central Scandinavia. Here we used a microarray gene chip representing 23,136 expressed sequence tags (ESTs) from the zebra finch Taeniopygia guttata to identify mRNA level differences in willow warbler brain tissue in relation to subspecies and season.RESULTS: Out of the 22,109 EST probe sets that remained after filtering poorly binding probes, we found 11,898 (51.8 %) probe sets that could be reliably and uniquely matched to a total of 6,758 orthologous zebra finch genes. The two subspecies showed very similar levels of gene expression with less than 0.1 % of the probe sets being significantly differentially expressed. In contrast, 3,045 (13.8 %) probe sets were found to be differently regulated between samples collected from breeding adults and autumn migrating juvenile birds. The genes found to be differentially expressed between seasons appeared to be enriched for functional roles in neuronal firing and neuronal synapse formation.CONCLUSIONS: Our results show that only few genes are differentially expressed between the subspecies. This suggests that the different migration strategies of the subspecies might be governed by few genes, or that the expression patterns of those genes are time-structured or tissue-specific in ways, which our approach fails to uncover. Our findings will be useful in the planning of new experiments designed to unravel the genes involved in the migratory program of birds.
|
|
| 6. |
|
|
| 7. |
- Ekblom, Robert, 1976-
(författare)
-
Immunoecology of the Great Snipe (Gallinago media) : Mate Choice, MHC Variation, and Humoral Immunocompetence in a Lekking Bird
- 2004
-
Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- At the centre of the vertebrate immune system is a group of proteins called MHC (major histocompatibility complex) molecules. These function in self – non self recognition and activation of the immune defence against intruding parasites and pathogens. In this thesis I have investigated individual variation in MHC class II genes and antibody producing ability in relation to ecology and behaviour in the great snipe (Gallinago media), a lekking bird, breeding in northern Europe. There was much variation in the MHC genes of the great snipe and the sequence data show that balancing selection has been acting on these genes. I found genetic differentiation in the MHC between two separate geographic regions of the great snipe distribution. Furthermore, this structure was more pronounced than that previously found in neutral genetic markers, suggesting that different selection pressures (possibly resulting from variation in parasitic fauna) are acting in these different regions. The birds produced specific antibodies following injection with two novel antigens. Males that were chosen as mates, had higher antibody titers than their neighbouring males, suggesting that this ability may be important in female mate choice. Such choice could give the offspring an enhanced immune system or could favour females directly by avoidance of sexually transmitted diseases. Females choosing to mate with a male having a different set of MHC genes than their own could give the offspring immune system the ability to react to a wide range of parasites. No such mate choice could, however, be found in the great snipe. Instead, females preferred males with certain MHC alleles, irrespective of their own MHC type. If those alleles confer resistance to parasites currently prevailing in the population, such resistance would be inherited by the offspring, thereby enhancing their fitness.
|
|
| 8. |
- Ekblom, Robert, et al.
(författare)
-
Major histocompatibility complex variation and mate choice in a lekking bird, the great snipe (Gallinago media)
- 2004
-
Ingår i: Molecular Ecology. - 0962-1083 .- 1365-294X. ; 13:12, s. 3821-3828
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Genes of the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) play a major part in the activation of the vertebrate immune system. In addition, they also appear to function as cues for mate choice. In mammals especially, several kinds of MHC-dependent mate choice have been hypothesized and observed. These include choice of mates that share no or few alleles with the choosing individual, choice of mates with alleles that differ as much as possible from the choosing individual, choice of heterozygous mates, choice of certain genotypes and choice of rare alleles. We investigated these different aspects of mate choice in relation to MHC in a lekking bird species, the great snipe (Gallinago media). We found no evidence for MHC disassortative mating, no preference for males with many MHC alleles and no preference for rare alleles. However, we did find that some allelic lineages were more often found in males with mating success than in males without mating success. Females do not seem to use themselves as references for the MHC-dependent mate choice, rather they seem to prefer males with certain allele types. We speculate that these alleles may be linked to resistance to common parasites.
|
|
| 9. |
- Ekblom, Robert, et al.
(författare)
-
Patterns of polymorphism in the MHC class II of a non-passerine bird, the great snipe (Gallinago media)
- 2003
-
Ingår i: Immunogenetics. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0093-7711 .- 1432-1211. ; 54:10, s. 734-741
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The genomic organisation of the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) seems to vary considerably between different bird species. In order to understand this variation it is important to gather information from different species. We have, for the first time, investigated MHC class 11 polymorphism in a wader species, the great snipe (Gallinago media). Eleven alleles were found in five sequenced individuals; these come from at least three different loci, but RFLP data suggest that a larger number of genes may be present. For MHC genes, amino acid substitutions followed the, for MHC genes, general pattern of high non-synonymous substitution rates in peptide-binding regions, suggesting that the sequenced alleles may be expressed. The number of genes, lengths of introns and exon sequences of the great snipe MHC seem to be intermediate between those of chicken and passerine birds.
|
|
| 10. |
|
|
