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Wyeomyia Smithii
''Wyeomyia smithii'', the pitcher plant mosquito, is an inquiline mosquito that completes its pre-adult life cycle in the phytotelma of—that is, the water contained by—the purple pitcher plant, ''Sarracenia purpurea''. In this microcommunity of bacteria, rotifers, protozoa, and midges, ''W. smithii'' is the top-level predator; its presence determines the bacterial species diversity within the pitcher. ''W. smithii'' is not a pest mosquito in general. The northern US population does not consume blood at all, while the southern US populations only consume blood after laying an initial egg batch; even then they appear disinterested in feeding. In fact, it is the only known mosquito to have both obligatory biting and non-biting populations in the same species. Life cycle Description of the life cycle The life cycle of ''Wyeomyia smithii'' begins in either late spring or early fall when the adult female lays her eggs in the phytolema of a purple pitcher plant. The eggs then ge ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Larva
A larva (; plural larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle. The larva's appearance is generally very different from the adult form (''e.g.'' caterpillars and butterflies) including different unique structures and organs that do not occur in the adult form. Their diet may also be considerably different. Larvae are frequently adapted to different environments than adults. For example, some larvae such as tadpoles live almost exclusively in aquatic environments, but can live outside water as adult frogs. By living in a distinct environment, larvae may be given shelter from predators and reduce competition for resources with the adult population. Animals in the larval stage will consume food to fuel their transition into the adult form. In some organisms like polychaetes and barnacles, adults are immobil ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Photoperiodism
Photoperiodism is the physiological reaction of organisms to the length of night or a dark period. It occurs in plants and animals. Plant photoperiodism can also be defined as the developmental responses of plants to the relative lengths of light and dark periods. They are classified under three groups according to the photoperiods: short-day plants, long-day plants, and day-neutral plants. Plants Many flowering plants (angiosperms) use a photoreceptor protein, such as phytochrome or cryptochrome, to sense seasonal changes in night length, or photoperiod, which they take as signals to flower. In a further subdivision, ''obligate'' photoperiodic plants absolutely require a long or short enough night before flowering, whereas ''facultative'' photoperiodic plants are more likely to flower under one condition. Phytochrome comes in two forms: Pr and Pfr. Red light (which is present during the day) converts phytochrome to its active form (pfr). This then triggers the plant to grow. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sarracenia Purpurea Inquilines
''Sarracenia'' ( or ) is a genus comprising 8 to 11 species of North American pitcher plants, commonly called trumpet pitchers. The genus belongs to the family Sarraceniaceae, which also contain the closely allied genera '' Darlingtonia'' and ''Heliamphora''. ''Sarracenia'' is a genus of carnivorous plants indigenous to the eastern seaboard of the United States, Texas, the Great Lakes area and southeastern Canada, with most species occurring only in the south-east United States (only '' S. purpurea'' occurs in cold-temperate regions). The plant's leaves have evolved into a funnel or pitcher shape in order to trap insects. The plant attracts its insect prey with secretions from extrafloral nectaries on the lip of the pitcher leaves, as well as a combination of the leaves' color and scent. Slippery footing at the pitcher's rim, causes insects to fall inside, where they die and are digested by the plant with proteases and other enzymes. Description ''Sarracenia'' are he ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Diptera Of North America
Flies are insects of the order Diptera, the name being derived from the Greek δι- ''di-'' "two", and πτερόν ''pteron'' "wing". Insects of this order use only a single pair of wings to fly, the hindwings having evolved into advanced mechanosensory organs known as halteres, which act as high-speed sensors of rotational movement and allow dipterans to perform advanced aerobatics. Diptera is a large order containing an estimated 1,000,000 species including horse-flies, crane flies, hoverflies and others, although only about 125,000 species have been described. Flies have a mobile head, with a pair of large compound eyes, and mouthparts designed for piercing and sucking (mosquitoes, black flies and robber flies), or for lapping and sucking in the other groups. Their wing arrangement gives them great maneuverability in flight, and claws and pads on their feet enable them to cling to smooth surfaces. Flies undergo complete metamorphosis; the eggs are often laid on the la ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Culicinae
The Culicinae are the most extensive subfamily of mosquitoes (Culicidae) and have species in every continent except Antarctica, but are highly concentrated in tropical areas. Mosquitoes are best known as parasites to many vertebrate animals and vectors for disease. They are holometabolous insects, and most species lay their eggs in stagnant water, to benefit their aquatic larval stage. Introduction The subfamily Culicinae is the largest subfamily of Culicidae, a family of Nematocera dipterans. There are 3,046 species of Culicinae mosquitoes, in 108 genera and 11 tribes. Members of the Culicinae subfamily are small flies with fore wings for flight and hind wings reduced to halteres for balance. The mosquitoes also have long, slender, legs and proboscis-style mouth parts for feeding on vertebrate blood or plant fluids. Only the females are blood feeders, requiring a high quality protein meal before they can oviposit. Because the mosquitoes are well adapted for finding hosts, the f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fitness (biology)
Fitness (often denoted w or ω in population genetics models) is the quantitative representation of individual reproductive success. It is also equal to the average contribution to the gene pool of the next generation, made by the same individuals of the specified genotype or phenotype. Fitness can be defined either with respect to a genotype or to a phenotype in a given environment or time. The fitness of a genotype is manifested through its phenotype, which is also affected by the developmental environment. The fitness of a given phenotype can also be different in different selective environments. With asexual reproduction, it is sufficient to assign fitnesses to genotypes. With sexual reproduction, recombination scrambles alleles into different genotypes every generation; in this case, fitness values can be assigned to alleles by averaging over possible genetic backgrounds. Natural selection tends to make alleles with higher fitness more common over time, resulting in Darwin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Microevolution
Microevolution is the change in allele frequencies that occurs over time within a population. This change is due to four different processes: mutation, selection (natural and artificial), gene flow and genetic drift. This change happens over a relatively short (in evolutionary terms) amount of time compared to the changes termed macroevolution. Population genetics is the branch of biology that provides the mathematical structure for the study of the process of microevolution. Ecological genetics concerns itself with observing microevolution in the wild. Typically, observable instances of evolution are examples of microevolution; for example, bacterial strains that have antibiotic resistance. Microevolution may lead to speciation, which provides the raw material for macroevolution. Difference from macroevolution Macroevolution is guided by sorting of interspecific variation ("species selection"), as opposed to sorting of intraspecific variation in microevolution. Species selecti ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Global Warming
In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to Earth's climate. The current rise in global average temperature is more rapid than previous changes, and is primarily caused by humans burning fossil fuels. Fossil fuel use, deforestation, and some agricultural and industrial practices increase greenhouse gases, notably carbon dioxide and methane. Greenhouse gases absorb some of the heat that the Earth radiates after it warms from sunlight. Larger amounts of these gases trap more heat in Earth's lower atmosphere, causing global warming. Due to climate change, deserts are expanding, while heat waves and wildfires are becoming more common. Increased warming in the Arctic has contributed to melting permafrost, glacial retreat and sea ice loss. Higher temperatures are also causing m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Evolution (journal)
''Evolution: International Journal of Organic Evolution'', is a monthly scientific journal that publishes significant new results of empirical or theoretical investigations concerning facts, processes, mechanics, or concepts of evolutionary phenomena and events. ''Evolution'' is published by the Society for the Study of Evolution. Its current editor-in-chief is Tracey Chapman. Former editors-in-chief The journal was founded soon after the Second World War. Its first editor was the evolutionary geneticist Ernst Mayr. * Ruth Geyer Shaw, July 2013 – 2017 * Daphne Fairbairn Daphne (; ; el, Δάφνη, , ), a minor figure in Greek mythology, is a naiad, a variety of female nymph associated with fountains, wells, springs, streams, brooks and other bodies of freshwater. There are several versions of the myth in whi ..., 2010- June 2013 References External linksOfficial website Evolutionary biology journals Publications established in 1947 Academic journals published by l ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Diapause
In animal dormancy, diapause is the delay in development in response to regular and recurring periods of adverse environmental conditions.Tauber, M.J., Tauber, C.A., Masaki, S. (1986) ''Seasonal Adaptations of Insects''. Oxford University Press It is a physiological state with very specific initiating and inhibiting conditions. The mechanism is a means of surviving predictable, unfavorable environmental conditions, such as temperature extremes, drought, or reduced food availability. Diapause is observed in all the life stages of arthropods, especially insects. Embryonic diapause, a somewhat similar phenomenon, occurs in over 130 species of mammals, possibly even in humans, and in the embryos of many of the oviparous species of fish in the order Cyprinodontiformes. Activity levels of diapausing stages can vary considerably among species. Diapause may occur in a completely immobile stage, such as the pupae and eggs, or it may occur in very active stages that undergo extensive migrat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Biological Life Cycle
In biology, a biological life cycle (or just life cycle or lifecycle when the biological context is clear) is a series of changes in form that an organism undergoes, returning to the starting state. "The concept is closely related to those of the life history, development and ontogeny, but differs from them in stressing renewal." Transitions of form may involve growth, asexual reproduction, or sexual reproduction. In some organisms, different "generations" of the species succeed each other during the life cycle. For plants and many algae, there are two multicellular stages, and the life cycle is referred to as alternation of generations. The term life history is often used, particularly for organisms such as the red algae which have three multicellular stages (or more), rather than two.Dixon, P.S. 1973. ''Biology of the Rhodophyta.'' Oliver & Boyd. Life cycles that include sexual reproduction involve alternating haploid (''n'') and diploid (2''n'') stages, i.e., a change of pl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Environmental Microbiology (journal)
''Environmental Microbiology'' is a monthly peer-reviewed scientific journal focused on microbial interactions and microbial processes in the environment. It is published by Wiley-Blackwell on behalf of the Society for Applied Microbiology. According to the ''Journal Citation Reports'', the journal has a 2021 impact factor The impact factor (IF) or journal impact factor (JIF) of an academic journal is a scientometric index calculated by Clarivate that reflects the yearly mean number of citations of articles published in the last two years in a given journal, as i ... of 5.476. References External links * Wiley-Blackwell academic journals Monthly journals English-language journals Microbiology journals {{microbiology-journal-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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