A preliminary assessment of the deep-sea Decapoda collected during the KARUBENTHOS 2015 Expedition to Guadeloupe Island.

A preliminary assessment of the deep-sea Decapoda is proposed for Guadeloupe Island based solely on high definition macro photographs taken during the KARUBENTHOS 2015 Expedition to the Island (R/V Antea, 7-29 June 2015). Overall, 190 species are recognized, several of which are depicted with their fresh color for the first time. Previous records in the Lesser Antilles are documented and the geographic distribution of the species in these Islands is given. The historical contribution of the steamer Blake (1878-1879) in the Lesser Antilles is emphasized. All species inventoried during KARUBENTHOS 2015 were already reported in the western Atlantic but 34 of them are new records for the Lesser Antilles and 116 are reported for the first time from Guadeloupe Island. This preliminary inventory is estimated to include about 38% of the deep-sea Decapoda potentially occurring around Guadeloupe Island.

Elhamma Walker (Lepidoptera: Hepialidae) revisited: adult morphology, assessment of recently proposed synonyms and descriptions of two species.

I revise the Australian-New Guinean ghost moth genus Elhamma. Two recent synonymies are assessed, and two new species from New Guinea, E. grehani sp. nov. and E. viettei sp. nov. are described. I provide an updated diagnosis for the genus and conclude that the presence of only 2 M-veins in the hind wing in both sexes (when females are known) and a strongly cup-shape juxta in the male genitalia are unique diagnostic characters among Hepialidae. I give a detailed description of the adult morphology based on male E. australasiae, and provide a key to all known species based on adult male characters.

Taxonomic assessment of Alligator Snapping Turtles (Chelydridae: Macrochelys), with the description of two new species from the southeastern United States.

The Alligator Snapping Turtle, Macrochelys temminckii, is a large, aquatic turtle limited to river systems that drain into the Gulf of Mexico. Previous molecular analyses using both mitochondrial and nuclear DNA suggested that Macrochelys exhibits significant genetic variation across its range that includes three distinct genetic assemblages (western, central, and eastern = Suwannee). However, no taxonomic revision or morphological analyses have been conducted previously. In this study, we test previous hypotheses of distinct geographic assemblages by examining morphology, reanalyzing phylogeographic genetic structure, and estimating divergence dating among lineages in a coalescent framework using Bayesian inference. We reviewed the fossil record and discuss phylogeographic and taxonomic implications of the existence of three distinct evolutionary lineages. We measured cranial (n=145) and post-cranial (n=104) material on field-captured individuals and museum specimens. We analyzed 420 base pairs (bp) of mitochondrial DNA sequence data for 158 Macrochelys. We examined fossil Macrochelys from ca. 15-16 million years ago (Ma) to the present to better assess historical distributions and evaluate named fossil taxa. The morphological and molecular data both indicate significant geographical variation and suggest three species-level breaks among genetic lineages that correspond to previously hypothesized genetic assemblages. The holotype of Macrochelys temminckii is from the western lineage. Therefore, we describe two new species as Macrochelys apalachicolae sp. nov. from the central lineage and Macrochelys suwanniensis sp. nov. from the eastern lineage (Suwannee River drainage). Our estimates of divergence times suggest that the most recent common ancestor (MRCA) of M. temminckii (western) and M. apalachicolae (central) existed 3.2-8.9 Ma during the late Miocene to late Pliocene, whereas M. temminckii-M. apalachicolae and M. suwanniensis last shared a MRCA 5.5-13.4 Ma during the mid-Miocene to early Pliocene. Examination of fossil material revealed that the fossil taxon M. floridana is actually a large Chelydra. Our taxonomic revision of Macrochelys has conservation and management implications in Florida, Georgia, and Alabama.

A re-assessment of Konarus Bamber, 2006 and sympatric leptocheliids from Australasia, and of Pseudoleptochelia Lang, 1973 (Crustacea: Peracarida: Tanaidacea).

Following recent revelations regarding males with subchelate chelipeds in the tanaidacean genus Parakonarus, a number of Australian leptocheliid taxa are re-assessed, and their males and females variously re-allocated. To assist the interpretation of taxa with subchelate males, Heterotanais anomalus Sars is redescribed based on material from the Balearic Islands. The males of Konarus are now known to have a subchelate cheliped. The male (only) of Pseudoleptochelia bulbus from Melanesia is reassigned to Konarus cheiris, while Pseudoleptochelia bulbus sensu stricto is reassigned to Leptochelia together with its "minuta"-type male, as Leptochelia bulbus. Pseudoleptochelia straddi is rassigned to Konarus, together with its females from Queensland, Australia, which were previously assigned to Konarus cheiris. Pseudoleptocheliafairgo is confirmed as a member of Parakonarus, but material from Queensland is re-described as a new species. Other species previously assigned to Pseudoleptochelia are re-assessed: P. inermis, P. mercantilis and P. mortenseni sensu stricto are transferred to Leptochelia. The "small females" and males of P. mortenseni are transferred to Parakonarus as a new species. P. antarctica is provisionally reverted to Heterotanais, P. mergellinae to Leptochelia, and P. filum is tentatively transferred to Pseudonototanais. Pseudoleptochelia magna is synonymized with P. anomala. Pseudoleptochelia provincialis is tentatively transferred to Parakonarus. Pseudoleptochelia occiporta (females only) is reassigned to Leptochelia; the male of P. occiporta is considered to represent a species of Parakonarus. Pseudoleptocheliajuliae is reassigned to Parakonarus. Konarus, Makraleptochelia, Bassoleptochelia, Parakonarus and Pseudoleptochelia are placed in the new subfamily Konariinae. Generic relationships in this subfamily were confirmed by Principle Components Analysis. Catenarius is placed in the new subfamily Catenariinae.

Viability assessment of primo-node slices from organ surface primo-vascular tissues in rats.

The primo-vascular system is a novel thread-like structure which is recently rediscovered, but its cellular properties are largely unknown. In this study, a slice preparation for primo-nodes was developed to facilitate study of the cellular properties of primo-node cells in vitro. Slices (4-8 slices; 200 µm thick) were sectioned from single primo-nodes collected from the abdominal organ surface of rats and incubated in oxygenated Krebs solution at 25°C or 31°C for up to 7 hours. Trypan blue staining and whole-cell patch-clamp recordings were performed to estimate the viability of cells in the slices. Viability was largely maintained during the first 3 hours, but subsequently decreased (from 80% to 21%, p < 0.001). In addition, the viability of slices incubated at 31°C was higher than those incubated at 25°C (80%vs. 47%, p < 0.001). In whole-cell patch-clamp experiments, high resistance seals readily formed and primo-node cells showed a mean resting membrane potential (-38 mV) comparable to that recorded with sharp electrodes and outwardly-rectifying current-voltage relationships. The results show that the primo-node slices developed in this study maintained viability for up to 4 hours in vitro.

Fitness costs may explain the post-colonisation erosion of phenotypic plasticity.

Many organisms can adjust their phenotypes to match local environmental conditions via shifts in developmental trajectories, rather than relying on changes in gene frequencies wrought by natural selection. Adaptive developmental plasticity confers obvious benefits in terms of rapid response and higher mean fitness, so why is it not more common? Plausibly, adaptive plasticity also confers a cost; reshaping the phenotype takes time and energy, so that canalised control of trait values enhances fitness if the optimal phenotype remains the same from one generation to the next. Although this idea is central to interpreting the fitness consequences of adaptive plasticity, empirical data on costs of plasticity are scarce. In Australian tiger snakes, larger relative head size enhances maximal ingestible prey size on islands containing large prey. The trait arises via adaptive plasticity in snake populations on newly colonised islands but becomes genetically canalised on islands where snakes have been present for much longer periods. We experimentally manipulated relative head size in captive neonatal snakes to quantify the costs of adaptive plasticity. Although small-headed snakes were able to increase their head sizes when offered large prey, the delay in doing so, and their inability to consume large prey at the outset, significantly reduced their growth rates relative to conspecifics with larger heads at the beginning of the experiment. This study describes a proximate cause to the post-colonisation erosion of developmental plasticity recorded in tiger snake populations.

Bathymetric patterns of morphological disparity in deep-sea gastropods from the western North Atlantic basin.

Understanding patterns of species richness requires knowledge of the individual roles species play in community structure. Here, I use gastropod shells as a source of information about both their ecological and their evolutionary functions in generating bathymetric gradients of diversity. Specifically, morphological disparity of shell architecture in deep-sea gastropods is evaluated over a depth gradient in the western North Atlantic by constructing an empirical morphospace based on an eigenshape analysis. Morphological disparity is quantified by calculating the centroid, total range, and dispersion of the morphospace at each station along the depth gradient. The results indicate that local faunas are drawn from a regional pool with the same variance but that average dissimilarity in forms reflects the number of species in the sample. The range of the morphospace at local scales is also less than at regional scales, resulting from the variability of the morphospace centroid over depth. Although the position of the morphospace changes with depth, morphological disparity remains unaffected. Despite the lack of bathymetric patterns in variance, patterns in nearest neighbor distance persist. The findings suggest the importance of interacting ecological and evolutionary processes at varying spatiotemporal scales for both morphological disparity and species richness.

Reducing a cost of traumatic insemination: female bedbugs evolve a unique organ.

The frequent wounding of female bedbugs (Cimex lectularius: Cimicidae) during copulation has been shown to decrease their fitness, but how females have responded to this cost in evolutionary terms is unclear. The evolution of a unique anatomical structure found in female bedbugs, the spermalege, into which the male's intromittent organ passes during traumatic insemination, is a possible counteradaptation to harmful male traits. Several functions have been proposed for this organ, and we test two hypotheses related to its role in sexual conflict. We examine the hypotheses that the spermalege functions to (i) defend against pathogens introduced during traumatic insemination; and (ii) reduce the costs of wound healing during traumatic insemination. Our results support the 'defence against pathogens' hypothesis, suggesting that the evolution of this unique cimicid organ resulted, at least partly, from selection to reduce the costs of mating-associated infection. We found no evidence that the spermalege reduces the costs of wound healing.

Costly traumatic insemination and a female counter-adaptation in bed bugs.

Male bed bugs pierce females through the body wall and inseminate directly into the body cavity. It has previously been shown that such traumatic insemination carries costs for females, and sexual conflict regarding the mode of insemination should thus propel male-female coevolution. Since males accumulate sexually antagonistic adaptations, females should evolve counter-adaptations that efficiently abate the costs to females of sexual interactions. Yet, unambiguous experimental evidence for female counter-adaptations is lacking. In bed bugs, the spermalege (a highly modified region of the abdomen where the male usually pierces the female) may represent a female counter-adaptation. We assess the female costs of traumatic insemination by varying the rate of insemination on the one hand, and the rate and mode of piercing trauma to females on the other. Our results show that female mating costs are not extreme-elevated mating rate shortened female lifespan but had no significant effect on lifetime egg production. More importantly, additional abdominal piercing in the spermalege had no effect on females whereas even a very low rate of such piercing outside the spermalege reduced female lifetime egg production by 50%. Thus, females are well counter-adapted to the intrusive mode of insemination exhibited by male bed bugs and the costs of elevated mating are comparable with those in other insects, as predicted by theory. We therefore demonstrate that the spermalege efficiently reduces the direct costs of piercing trauma to females, and hence provide experimental evidence for a female counter-adaptation to a sexually antagonistic male trait.