Entering additional figs generated more seeds per pollinator on female trees and more pollinator offspring on male trees. Offspring sex ratios in subsequently entered figs were often less female-biased than in the first figs they entered, which reduced their immediate value to male trees because only female offspring carry their pollen. Small numbers of large seeds in female figs of epiphytic F. deltoidea may reflect constraints on overall female fig size, because pollinator exploitation depends on mutual mimicry between male and female figs.Understanding the mechanisms underlying spatial variability of exploited fish is critical for the sustainable management of fish stocks. Empirical studies suggest that size-selective fishing can elevate fish population spatial variability (i.e., more heterogeneous distribution) through age truncation, making the population less resilient to changing environment. However, species differ in how their spatial variability responds to age truncation and the underlying mechanisms remain unclear.We hypothesize that age-specific habitat preference, together with environmental carrying capacity and landscape structure, determines the response of population spatial variability to fishing-induced age truncation. To test these hypotheses, we design an individual-based model of an age-structured fish population on a two-dimensional landscape under size-selective fishing. Individual fish reproduces and survives, and moves between habitats according to age-specific habitat preference and density-dependent habitat selection.and theoretical developments in the methodology to quantify age-specific habitat preference of marine fish, and to understand how climatic change influences carrying capacity and landscape continuity.Populations adapt to novel environmental conditions by genetic changes or phenotypic plasticity. Plastic responses are generally faster and can buffer fitness losses under variable conditions. Plasticity is typically modeled as random noise and linear reaction norms that assume simple one-to-one genotype-phenotype maps and no limits to the phenotypic response. Most studies on plasticity have focused on its effect on population viability. However, it is not clear, whether the advantage of plasticity depends solely on environmental fluctuations or also on the genetic and demographic properties (life histories) of populations. Here we present an individual-based model and study the relative importance of adaptive and nonadaptive plasticity for populations of sexual species with different life histories experiencing directional stochastic climate change. Environmental fluctuations were simulated using differentially autocorrelated climatic stochasticity or noise color, and scenarios of directional climate change.ing could cope with environmental fluctuations solely by genetic changes or random plasticity, unless environmental change was too fast.Chance plays a critical but underappreciated role in determining mating success. In many cases, we tend to think of chance as background noise that can be ignored in studies of mating dynamics. When the influence of chance is consistent across contexts, chance can be thought of as background noise; in other cases, however, the impact of chance on mating success can influence our understanding of how mates are acquired and how sexual selection operates. In particular, when the importance of chance covaries with biological or ecological factors in a systematic manner-that is, when chance becomes consistently more or less important under certain conditions-then chance is important to consider if we want to fully understand the operation of mate acquisition and sexual selection. Here, we present a model that explores how chance covaries with factors such as sex ratio, adult population size, and mating regime in determining variation in mating success. We find that in some cases, chance covaries with adult population size and the operational sex ratio to create variation in mating success. We discuss how chance can influence our more general understanding of the operation of mating dynamics and sexual selection.Alpha status may lead to physiological changes that enhance secondary sexual characteristics, which may serve as competitive signals to conspecific males, sexual signals to females, or possibly a combination of both. Here, we report measurements of secondary sexual characteristics in captive dominant and subordinate male tufted capuchin monkeys (Sapajus apella) with varying access to females. An adult male (who had previously been subordinate while housed with other males) was paired with an adult female. This male-female pair was introduced into a room that housed three other male-male pairs with stable hierarchy arrangements. We analyzed weight, body measurements, facial photographs, and hair cortisol before, during, and after introducing a female into the room. While there were no differences in weight or measurements between alphas and subordinates without physical access to the female prior to or during the female's presence, we found that direct access to the female resulted in dramatic changes in facial appearance, body size, and testicular volume in the male who was paired with her. Overall, we found little evidence to suggest that alpha males advertise their status within all-male groups via sexual secondary characteristics. However, direct physical access to females appears to trigger the development of such characteristics in alpha males. It remains of continued interest to identify the endocrine mechanisms responsible for the development, and possible loss, of secondary sexual characteristics.Understanding the assembly processes of symbiont communities, including viromes and microbiomes, is important for improving predictions on symbionts' biogeography and disease ecology. Here, we use phylogenetic, functional, and geographic filters to predict the similarity between symbiont communities, using as a test case the assembly process in viral communities of Mexican bats. We construct generalized linear models to predict viral community similarity, as measured by the Jaccard index, as a function of differences in host phylogeny, host functionality, and spatial co-occurrence, evaluating the models using the Akaike information criterion.  https://www.selleckchem.com/products/baf312-siponimod.html  Two model classes are constructed a "known" model, where virus-host relationships are based only on data reported in Mexico, and a "potential" model, where viral reports of all the Americas are used, but then applied only to bat species that are distributed in Mexico. Although the "known" model shows only weak dependence on any of the filters, the "potential" model highlights the importance of all three filter types-phylogeny, functional traits, and co-occurrence-in the assemblage of viral communities.