Developmental cardiovascular physiology of the olive ridley sea turtle (Lepidochelys olivacea).

Our understanding of reptilian cardiovascular development and regulation has increased substantially for two species the American alligator (Alligator mississippiensis) and the common snapping turtle (Chelydra serpentina) during the past two decades. However, what we know about cardiovascular maturation in many other species remains poorly understood or unknown. Embryonic sea turtles have been studied to understand the maturation of metabolic function, but these studies have not addressed the cardiovascular system. Although prior studies have been pivotal in characterizing development, and factors that influence it, the development of cardiovascular function, which supplies metabolic function, is unknown in sea turtles. During our investigation we focused on quantifying how cardiovascular morphological and functional parameters change, to provide basic knowledge of development in the olive ridley sea turtle (Lepidochelys olivacea). Embryonic mass, as well as mass of the heart, lungs, liver, kidney, and brain increased during turtle embryo development. Although heart rate was constant during this developmental period, arterial pressure approximately doubled. Further, while embryonic olive ridley sea turtles lacked cholinergic tone on heart rate, there was a pronounced beta adrenergic tone on heart rate that decreased in strength at 90% of incubation. This beta adrenergic tone may be partially originating from the sympathetic nervous system at 90% of incubation, with the majority originating from circulating catecholamines. Data indicates that olive ridley sea turtles share traits of embryonic functional cardiovascular maturation with the American alligator (Alligator mississippiensis) but not the common snapping turtle (Chelydra serpentina).

Temporal stability of an endemic Mexican treefrog.

The demographic characteristics of an amphibian population fluctuate independently over time, mainly in response to the temporal variation of environmental factors, especially precipitation and temperature. These temporal fluctuations may contribute to the size of an amphibian population and could be used to determine the current conservation status of a species. During a five year (2004-2008) period, we studied the relative abundance, sex ratio, and age-sex structure of a population of metamorphosed individuals of the endemic treefrog Hyla eximia in Central Mexico. We also studied the species' relationship with climatic variables such as temperature and precipitation. We found an interannual constant abundance during the study period. However, interannual differences were observed in the population structure by age-sex category (males, females, or juveniles), with decreased abundance of males and juveniles during the rainy months (August-November). The annual abundance of H. eximia was positively correlated with rainfall, but negatively with monthly temperature. We found the sex ratio was male-biased (2:1), except for year 2008. Also, differences in snout-vent length (SVL) were found between years, suggesting changes in recruitment of new individuals. We conclude that variations in abundance, and frequencies by age-sex category, of H. eximia are related to seasonal variations in temperature and precipitation characteristics of temperate zones. However, this temporal stability may suggest that anurans have an unusual capacity to persist even in the face of human-induced habitat change.

Phylogeography reveals routes of colonization of the bark beetle Dendroctonus approximatus Dietz in Mexico.

We used mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) sequence data and allele frequencies at eight microsatellite loci to examine the population genetic structure, estimate the divergence times of distinct lineages, and infer patterns associated with host colonization in populations of the bark beetle Dendroctonus approximatus in Mexico. Two haplotype groups were identified using mtDNA sequences in 71 individuals from 15 populations. The first group was distributed in the Sierra Madre Occidental (SMOc, Western Mexico), with some populations in the Faja Volcánica Transmexicana (Central Mexico), and the second was found in the Sierra Madre Oriental (SMOr, Eastern Mexico), with populations in the Sierra Madre del Sur (Southern Mexico). The estimated split between groups occurred in the late Pleistocene, around 0.195 Mya. Microsatellite allele frequencies revealed high genetic differentiation between pairwise populations, and genetic differentiation values indicated a genetic structure of isolation by distance. Both mtDNA sequence data and microsatellite allele frequencies indicated that D. approximatus had two independent colonization routes in Mexico, one through the SMOc and another along the SMOr. The widespread geographic distribution of D. approximatus in Mexico follows a model of population range expansion of two haplotype groups in which gene flow is restricted by the geographic separation between hosts imposed by physical barriers between populations.