In: Evolution, 2008, vol. 62, no. 6, p. 1294–1304
Learning ability can be substantially improved by artificial selection in animals ranging from Drosophila to rats. Thus these species have not used their evolutionary potential with respect to learning ability, despite intuitively expected and experimentally demonstrated adaptive advantages of learning. This suggests that learning is costly, but this notion has rarely been tested. Here we report...
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In: Journal of Evolutionary Biology, 2004, vol. 17, p. 1402-1404
Salathé and Ebert (2003, J. Evol. Biol. 16: 976-985) have shown that the mean logarithmic fitness of Daphnia magna clones declined faster than linearly with increasing inbreeding coefficient F. They interpreted this result as evidence for synergistic epistasis. Trouve et al. (2004, J. Evol. Biol., doi: 10.1111/j.1420-9101.2004.00755.x) suggested that hybrid vigour could be an alternative...
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In: Evolution, 2007, vol. 61, no. 8, p. 1980–1991
Trade-offs between reproduction and life span are ubiquitous, but little is known about their underlying mechanisms. Here we combine treatment with the juvenile hormone analog (JHa) methoprene and experimental evolution in Drosophila melanogaster to study the potential role of juvenile hormone (JH) in mediating such trade-offs at both the physiological and evolutionary level. Exposure to...
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In: American Journal of Pathology, 2009, vol. 174, p. 2324-2336
The calcium-binding protein calretinin has emerged as a useful marker for the identification of mesotheliomas of the epithelioid and mixed types, but its putative role in tumor development has not been addressed previously. Although exposure to asbestos fibers is considered the main cause of mesothelioma, undoubtedly, not all mesothelioma patients have a history of asbestos exposure. The question...
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In: Ecology Letters, 2004, vol. 7, p. 1225-1241
Studies of local adaptation provide important insights into the power of natural selection relative to gene flow and other evolutionary forces. They are a paradigm for testing evolutionary hypotheses about traits favoured by particular environmental factors. This paper is an attempt to summarize the conceptual framework for local adaptation studies. We first review theoretical work relevant for...
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In: Evolution, 2004, vol. 58, no. 4, p. 757-767
Learning is thought to be adaptive in variable environments, whereas constant, predictable environments are supposed to favor unconditional, genetically fixed responses. A dichotomous view of behavior as either learned or innate ignores a potential evolutionary interaction between the learned and innate components of a behavioral response. We addressed this interaction in the context of...
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In: Journal of Evolutionary Biology, 2006, vol. 19, no. 4, p. 1265-1274
To what extent is adaptive evolution over short timescales repeatable? To address this question, we studied the performance of crosses between replicate Drosophila melanogaster lines previously subject to selection for improved learning response in the context of oviposition substrate choice. Of the 10 pairwise F1 crosses among the five selection lines, four performed in the original learning...
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In: Journal of Evolutionary Biology, 2006, vol. 19, no. 4, p. 1359-1363
Learning ability and immunity to parasites are linked at the physiological level in several insect species. The aim of this work was to investigate the relationship between learning and immunity at an evolutionary level. We tested whether selection for improved learning ability in Drosophila melanogaster led to changes in parasitoid resistance as a correlated response. Similarly, we assayed...
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In: Ecological Entomology, 2008///doi:10.1111/j.1365-2311.2008.01007.x
Abstract. 1. Dietary conditions affect cognitive abilities of many species, but it is unclear to what extent this physiological effect translates into an evolutionary relationship.2. A reduction of competitive ability under nutritional stress has been reported as a correlated response to selection for learning ability in Drosophila melanogaster. Here we test whether the reverse holds as well,...
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In: Evolution, 2009///doi: 10.1111/j.1558-5646.2009.00718.x
Many animal species face periods of chronic nutritional stress where the individuals must continue to develop, grow and/or reproduce despite low quantity or quality of food. Here we use experimental evolution to study adaptation to such chronic nutritional stress in six replicate Drosophila melanogaster populations selected for the ability to survive and develop within a limited time on a very...
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