| 1. |
- Boström, Jannika, et al.
(author)
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Autumn migratory fuelling : a response to simulated magnetic displacement in juvenile wheatears, Oenathe oenathe
- 2010
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In: Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0340-5443 .- 1432-0762. ; 64:11, s. 1725-1732
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Recent experiments exposing migratory birds to altered magnetic fields simulating geographical displacements have shown that the geomagnetic field acts as an external cue affecting migratory fuelling behaviour. This is the first study investigating fuel deposition in relation to geomagnetic cues in long-distance migrants using the western passage of the Mediterranean region. Juvenile wheatears (Oenanthe oenanthe) were exposed to a magnetically simulated autumn migration from southern Sweden to West Africa. Birds displaced parallel to the west of their natural migration route, simulating an unnatural flight over the Atlantic Ocean, increased their fuel deposition compared to birds experiencing a simulated migration along the natural route. These birds, on the other hand, showed relatively low fuel loads in agreement with earlier data on wheatears trapped during stopover. The experimental displacement to the west, corresponding to novel sites in the Atlantic Ocean, led to a simulated longer distance to the wintering area, probably explaining the observed larger fuel loads. Our data verify previous results suggesting that migratory birds use geomagnetic cues for fuelling decisions and, for the first time, show that birds, on their first migration, can use geomagnetic cues to compensate for a displacement outside their normal migratory route, by adjusting fuel deposition.
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| 2. |
- Henshaw, Ian, et al.
(author)
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Geomagnetic field affects spring migratory direction in a long distance migrant
- 2010
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In: Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0340-5443 .- 1432-0762. ; 64:8, s. 1317-1323
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Night-migrating song birds travel to and from their wintering and breeding areas often separated thousands of kilometers apart and are clearly capable of finding intended goal areas from a distant location. Displacement experiments provide a useful way to highlight orientation and navigational skills in migrants. To investigate which cues birds actually use to compensate for displacement and the exact mechanism of each cue, experiments with manipulation of single cues are required. We conducted a simulated displacement of lesser whitethroats Sylvia curruca on spring migration. Birds were displaced not geographically but in geomagnetic space only, north and south of their breeding area to test whether they incorporate information from the geomagnetic field to find their breeding area. Lesser whitethroats held in southeast Sweden but experiencing a simulated displacement north of their breeding area (Norway) failed to show a consistent direction of orientation, whereas birds displaced south of their breeding area (Czech Republic) exhibited consistent northerly orientation, close to the expected seasonally appropriate direction, after displacement toward the trapping location. The absence of a clear compensatory direction in birds displaced north might be due to unfamiliar magnetic information or lack of sufficient information such as a magnetic gradient when moving around. By isolating one orientation cue, the geomagnetic field, we have been able to show that lesser whitethroats might incorporate geomagnetic field information to determine latitude during spring migration.
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| 3. |
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| 4. |
- Olofsson, Martin, 1980-, et al.
(author)
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Marginal eyespots on butterfly wings deflect bird attacks under low light intensities with UV wavelengths
- 2010
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In: PLOS ONE. - : Public Library of Science (PLoS). - 1932-6203. ; 5:5, s. e10798-
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- BACKGROUND: Predators preferentially attack vital body parts to avoid prey escape. Consequently, prey adaptations that make predators attack less crucial body parts are expected to evolve. Marginal eyespots on butterfly wings have long been thought to have this deflective, but hitherto undemonstrated function. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Here we report that a butterfly, Lopinga achine, with broad-spectrum reflective white scales in its marginal eyespot pupils deceives a generalist avian predator, the blue tit, to attack the marginal eyespots, but only under particular conditions-in our experiments, low light intensities with a prominent UV component. Under high light intensity conditions with a similar UV component, and at low light intensities without UV, blue tits directed attacks towards the butterfly head. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: In nature, birds typically forage intensively at early dawn, when the light environment shifts to shorter wavelengths, and the contrast between the eyespot pupils and the background increases. Among butterflies, deflecting attacks is likely to be particularly important at dawn when low ambient temperatures make escape by flight impossible, and when insectivorous birds typically initiate another day's search for food. Our finding that the deflective function of eyespots is highly dependent on the ambient light environment helps explain why previous attempts have provided little support for the deflective role of marginal eyespots, and we hypothesize that the mechanism that we have discovered in our experiments in a laboratory setting may function also in nature when birds forage on resting butterflies under low light intensities.
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| 5. |
- Pawelzik, Sven-Christian, et al.
(author)
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Identification of Key Residues Determining Species Differences in Inhibitor Binding of Microsomal Prostaglandin E Synthase-1
- 2010
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In: Journal of Biological Chemistry. - 0021-9258 .- 1083-351X. ; 285:38, s. 29254-29261
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Microsomal prostaglandin E synthase-1 (MPGES1) is induced during an inflammatory reaction from low basal levels by pro-inflammatory cytokines and subsequently involved in the production of the important mediator of inflammation, prostaglandin E-2. Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs prevent prostaglandin E-2 production by inhibiting the upstream enzymes cyclooxygenases 1 and 2. In contrast to these conventional drugs, a new generation of NSAIDs targets the terminal enzyme MPGES1. Some of these compounds potently inhibit human MPGES1 but do not have an effect on the rat orthologue. We investigated this interspecies difference in a rat/human chimeric form of the enzyme as well as in several mutants and identified key residues Thr-131, Leu-135, and Ala-138 in human MPGES1, which play a crucial role as gate keepers for the active site of MPGES1. These residues are situated in transmembrane helix 4, lining the entrance to the cleft between two subunits in the protein trimer, and regulate access of the inhibitor in the rat enzyme. Exchange toward the human residues in rat MPGES1 was accompanied with a gain of inhibitor activity, whereas exchange in human MPGES1 toward the residues found in rat abrogated inhibitor activity. Our data give evidence for the location of the active site at the interface between subunits in the homotrimeric enzyme and suggest a model of how the natural substratePGH(2), or competitive inhibitors of MPGES1, enter the active site via the phospholipid bilayer of the membrane.
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| 6. |
- Vallin, Adrian, et al.
(author)
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Constant eyespot display as a primary defense – survival of male and female emperor moths when attacked by blue tits
- 2010
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In: The Journal of Research on the Lepidoptera. - : ISSN 0022-4324 (prINt) tHe lepIDopterA reSeArCH FoUNDAtIoN. - 0022-4324 .- 2156-5457. ; 43, s. 9-17
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Large conspicuous eyespots, commonly found on the wings of butterflies and moths, have been shown to thwart attacks from predators. Previous experiments have focused on lepidopteran species that expose eyespots only when harassed by a predator. In contrast, we investigate the potential efficiency of the constantly exposed eyespots of emperor moths thus constituting a primary defense. We staged experiments between blue tits and moths having either intact or painted over eyespots. Moths with eyespots were killed as often as moths without eyespots and were, additionally, approached earlier by the birds suggesting that birds were not intimidated by their eyespots. Female moths weighed three times more than males and were less often eaten, suggesting that their large size intimidated the birds. We suggest that the constant eyespot display of the emperor moth may be associated with a cost, because potential predators seem to be attracted rather than intimidated by the display.
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| 7. |
- Wängberg, Bo, 1953, et al.
(author)
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The long-term survival in adrenocortical carcinoma with active surgical management and use of monitored mitotane.
- 2010
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In: Endocrine-related cancer. - 1479-6821. ; 17:1, s. 265-72
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Adrenocortical carcinoma (ACC) is a rare tumour disease with sinister prognosis also after attempts to radical surgery; better prognosis is seen for low-stage tumours. Adjuvant treatment with the adrenolytic drug mitotane has been attempted, but not proven to prevent from recurrence. The drug may offer survival advantage in case of recurrence. The aim of this single-centre study (1979-2007) of 43 consecutive patients was to evaluate the long-term survival after active surgical treatment combined with monitored mitotane (to reduce side effects of the drug). The series is unique, since all patients were offered a period of mitotane as adjuvant or palliative treatment; six patients refused mitotane. Despite a high proportion of high-stage tumours (67%), the complete resection rate was high (77%). The disease-specific 5-year survival was high (64.1%); very high for patients with low-stage tumours without evident relation to mitotane levels. Patients with high-stage tumours had a clear survival advantage with mitotane levels above a threshold of 14 mg/l in serum. The hazard ratio for patients with high mitotane levels versus all patients indicates a significant effect of the drug. The results indicate that adjuvant mitotane may be the standard of care for patients with high-stage ACC after complete resection.
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