1. |
|
|
2. |
|
|
3. |
- Billing, Anna M., et al.
(author)
-
No terminal investment in pipefish males : Only young males exhibit risk-prone courtship behavior
- 2007
-
In: Behavioral Ecology. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 1045-2249 .- 1465-7279. ; 18:3, s. 535-540
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Animals are expected to trade-off current and future reproduction in order to maximize lifetime reproductive success. Old individuals may accept higher risks during courtship and mate choice as their residual reproductive value (RRV) diminishes (the terminal investment hypothesis). Alternatively, young individuals may be forced to take higher risks during courtship to compensate for their lower competitiveness and/or attractiveness (the compensation hypothesis). In this study, we used the sex-role reversed pipefish Syngnathus typhle to test how mate choice and courtship behavior of males with different RRV were affected by an increase in predation risk. Males of different ages were given the opportunity to court and choose between 2 partners. In half of the trials, a predator was present in a separate aquarium. We found no support for the terminal investment hypothesis: no difference in response to the increased predation risk by males of different ages was evident. In agreement with the compensation hypothesis, young males invested more in courtship behavior compared with older males. In addition, in the absence of a predator, we found that a high female activity was important for male mate choice decisions. During increased predation risk, this relationship was, however, reversed and males preferred less active, and thus less conspicuous, partners. This suggests that both female activity and size are important factors for male mating decisions in this species and that these decisions mainly are affected by predation risk and advantages in mate acquisition.
|
|
4. |
|
|
5. |
- Hagen, Ingerid J., et al.
(author)
-
A genome-wide linkage map for the house sparrow (Passer domesticus) provides insights into the evolutionary history of the avian genome
- 2020
-
In: Molecular Ecology Resources. - : Wiley. - 1755-098X .- 1755-0998. ; 20:2, s. 544-559
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The house sparrow is an important model species for studying physiological, ecological and evolutionary processes in wild populations. Here, we present a medium density, genome wide linkage map for house sparrow (Passer domesticus) that has aided the assembly of the house sparrow reference genome, and that will provide an important resource for ongoing mapping of genes controlling important traits in the ecology and evolution of this species. Using a custom house sparrow 10 K iSelect Illumina SNP chip we have assigned 6,498 SNPs to 29 autosomal linkage groups, based on a mean of 430 informative meioses per SNP. The map was constructed by combining the information from linkage with that of the physical position of SNPs within scaffold sequences in an iterative process. Averaged between the sexes; the linkage map had a total length of 2,004 cM, with a longer map for females (2,240 cM) than males (1,801 cM). Additionally, recombination rates also varied along the chromosomes. Comparison of the linkage map to the reference genomes of zebra finch, collared flycatcher and chicken, showed a chromosome fusion of the two avian chromosomes 8 and 4A in house sparrow. Lastly, information from the linkage map was utilized to conduct analysis of linkage disequilibrium (LD) in eight populations with different effective population sizes (Ne) in order to quantify the background level LD. Together, these results aid the design of future association studies, facilitate the development of new genomic tools and support the body of research that describes the evolution of the avian genome.
|
|
6. |
- Niskanen, Alina K., et al.
(author)
-
Consistent scaling of inbreeding depression in space and time in a house sparrow metapopulation
- 2020
-
In: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. - : Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. - 0027-8424 .- 1091-6490. ; 117:25, s. 14584-14592
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Inbreeding may increase the extinction risk of small populations. Yet, studies using modern genomic tools to investigate inbreeding depression in nature have been limited to single populations, and little is known about the dynamics of inbreeding depression in subdivided populations over time. Natural populations often experience different environmental conditions and differ in demographic history and genetic composition, characteristics that can affect the severity of inbreeding depression. We utilized extensive long-term data on more than 3,100 individuals from eight islands in an insular house sparrow metapopulation to examine the generality of inbreeding effects. Using genomic estimates of realized inbreeding, we discovered that inbred individuals had lower survival probabilities and produced fewer recruiting offspring than noninbred individuals. Inbreeding depression, measured as the decline in fitness-related traits per unit inbreeding, did not vary appreciably among populations or with time. As a consequence, populations with more resident inbreeding (due to their demographic history) paid a higher total fitness cost, evidenced by a larger variance in fitness explained by inbreeding within these populations. Our results are in contrast to the idea that effects of inbreeding generally depend on ecological factors and genetic differences among populations, and expand the understanding of inbreeding depression in natural subdivided populations.
|
|
7. |
|
|
8. |
|
|
9. |
- Rydell Karlsson, Monica, et al.
(author)
-
Patients with chronic heart failure who plan their own self- care education decrease their outpatient visits
- 2011
-
In: The International Journal of Person Centered Medicine. - 2043-7730 .- 2043-7749. ; 1:4, s. 705-718
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background, aims and objectives: Patient education programs delivering a defined package of information aimed to optimise the care of chronic heart failure have been evaluated. However, there is a lack of knowledge about the effects of programs designed to support the patients’ learning by allowing them to self-direct their learning activities. We aimed to contribute to the associated knowledge base.Method: We compared an intervention group of patients choosing among different learning activities with a control group, where the nurse practitioner scheduled a package of learning activities. One hundred and eighty two patients with chronic heart failure in NYHA class I-IV who were referred to the nurse practitioner outpatient clinic randomised to either a structured control education program (92 patients) or to a self-directed intervention program (90 patients). Additionally, both groups received the same nurse-practitioner based self-care advice and treatment. Outcome measures were quality of life, knowledge acquisition, visits to the outpatient clinic, readmissions and medication during one year.Results: All patients significantly increased their knowledge and quality of life, with no difference between the groups. However, the intervention group patients had fewer visits to the outpatient clinic as compared to controls (p=0.007). This was accomplished without a concomitant increase in re-admission rate. Both groups increased, as intended, their use of angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors, angiotensin receptor blockers and beta-blockers.Conclusion: In conclusion, our findings show that it is safe and results in fewer outpatient visits if patients with chronic heart failure actively plan their own education program. To encouraging patients taking own decisions lead to an increased self-control of their healthcare behaviour.
|
|
10. |
- Silva, C. N. S., et al.
(author)
-
Insights into the genetic architecture of morphological traits in two passerine bird species
- 2017
-
In: Heredity. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0018-067X .- 1365-2540. ; 119:3, s. 197-205
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Knowledge about the underlying genetic architecture of phenotypic traits is needed to understand and predict evolutionary dynamics. The number of causal loci, magnitude of the effects and location in the genome are, however, still largely unknown. Here, we use genome-wide single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) data from two large-scale data sets on house sparrows and collared flycatchers to examine the genetic architecture of different morphological traits (tarsus length, wing length, body mass, bill depth, bill length, total and visible badge size and white wing patches). Genomic heritabilities were estimated using relatedness calculated from SNPs. The proportion of variance captured by the SNPs (SNP-based heritability) was lower in house sparrows compared with collared flycatchers, as expected given marker density (6348 SNPs in house sparrows versus 38 689 SNPs in collared flycatchers). Indeed, after downsampling to similar SNP density and sample size, this estimate was no longer markedly different between species. Chromosome-partitioning analyses demonstrated that the proportion of variance explained by each chromosome was significantly positively related to the chromosome size for some traits and, generally, that larger chromosomes tended to explain proportionally more variation than smaller chromosomes. Finally, we found two genome-wide significant associations with very small-effect sizes. One SNP on chromosome 20 was associated with bill length in house sparrows and explained 1.2% of phenotypic variation (V-P), and one SNP on chromosome 4 was associated with tarsus length in collared flycatchers (3% of V-P). Although we cannot exclude the possibility of undetected large-effect loci, our results indicate a polygenic basis for morphological traits.
|
|