@article{Linsenmair1986, author = {Linsenmair, Karl Eduard}, title = {Adaptations of the reed frog Hyperbolius viridiflavus to its arid environment: II. Some aspects of the water economy of H. viridiflavus nitidulus under wet and dry ...}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-78395}, year = {1986}, abstract = {Adaptations to aridity ofthe reedfrog Hyperolius viridiflavus nitidulus, living in different parts of the seasonally very dry and hot West African savanna, are investigated ...}, subject = {Zoologie}, language = {en} } @article{LinsenmairSchmuck1988, author = {Linsenmair, Karl Eduard and Schmuck, R.}, title = {Adaptations of the reed frog Hyperbolius viridiflavus to its arid environment. III. Aspects of nitrogen metabolism and osmuregulation in the reed frog, H. viridiflavus taeniatus, with special reference to the role of iridophores}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-78108}, year = {1988}, abstract = {Reed frogs of the superspecies Hyperolius viridiflavus occur throughout the seasonally very dry and hot African savannas. Despite their small size (300-700 mg), estivating reed frogs do not avoid stressful conditions above ground by burrowing into the soil, but endure the inhospitable climate relatively unprotected, clinging to mostly dry grass sterns. They must have emcient mechanisms to enable them to survive e.g. very high temperatures, low relative hurnidities, and high solar radiation loads. Mechanisms must also have developed to prevent poisoning by the nitrogenous wastes that inevitably result from protein and nucleotide turnover. In contrast to fossorial amphibians, estivating reed frogs do not become torpid. Reduction in metabolism is therefore rather Iimited so that nitrogenous wastes accumulate faster in these frogs than in fossorial amphibians. This severely aggravates the osmotic problems caused by dehydration. During dry periods total plasma osmolarity greatly increases, mainly due to urea accumulation. Of the total urea accumulated over 42 days of experimental water deprivation, 30\% was produced during the first 7 days. In the next 7 days rise in plasma urea content was negligible. This strong initial increase of urea is seen as a byproduct of elevated amino acid catabolism following the onset of dry conditions. Tbe rise in total plasma osmolarity due to urea accumulation, however, is not totally disadvantageous, but enables fast rehydration when water is available for very short periods only. Voiding of urine and feces eeases once evaporative water loss exceeds 10\% of body weight. Tberefore, during continuous water deprivation, nitrogenous end products are not excreted. After 42 days of water deprivation, bladder fluid was substantially depleted, and urea coneentration in the remaining urine (up to 447 mM) was never greater than in plasma fluid. Feces voided at the end of the dry period after water uptake contained only small amounts of nitrogenous end products. DSF (dry season frogs) seemed not to be uricotelic. Instead, up to 35\% of the total nitrogenous wastes produced over 42 days of water deprivation were deposited in an osmotically inert and nontoxic form in iridophore crystals. The increase in skin purine content averaged 150 µg/mg dry weight. If urea had been the only nitrogenous waste product during an estivation period of 42 days, lethal limits of total osmolarity (about 700 mOsm) would have been reached 10-14 days earlier. Thus iridophores are not only involved in colour change and in reducing heat load by radiation remission, but are also important in osmoregulation during dry periods. The seIective advantages of deposition of guanine rather than uric acid are discussed.}, subject = {Biologie}, language = {en} } @article{SchmuckKobeltLinsenmair1988, author = {Schmuck, R. and Kobelt, F. and Linsenmair, Karl Eduard}, title = {Adaptations of the reed frog Hyperbolius viridiflavus (Anura, Hyperbolidae) to its arid environment: V. Iridophores and nitrogen metabolism}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-78094}, year = {1988}, abstract = {Ofall amphibians living in arid habitats, reed frogs (belonging to the super species Hyperolius viridiflavus) are the most peculiar. Froglets are able to tolerate dry periods of up to 35 days or longer immediately after metamorphosis, in climatically exposed positions. They face similar problems to estivating juveniles, i.e. enduranee of long periods of high temperature and low RH with rather limited energy and water reserves. In addition, they must have had to develop meehanisms to prevent poisoning by nitrogenous wastes that rapidly accumulate during dry periods as a metabolie consequenee of maintaining a non-torpid state. During dry periods, plasma osmolarity of H. v. taeniatus froglets strongly increased, mainly through urea accumulation. Urea accumulation was also observed during metamorphic climax. During postmetamorphic growth, chromatophores develop with the density and morphology typical of the adult pigmentary pattern. The dermal iridophore layer, which is still incomplete at this time, is fully developed within 4-8 days after metamorphosis, irrespective of maintenance conditions. These iridophores mainly contain the purines guanine and hypoxanthine. The ability of these purines to reflect light provides an excellent basis for the role of iridophores in temperature regulation. In individuals experiencing dehydration stress, the initial rate of purine synthesis is doubled in eomparison to specimens continuously maintained under wet season conditions. This increase in synthesis rate leads to a rapid increase in the thiekness of the iridophore layer, thereby effectively reducing radiation absorption. Thus, the danger of overheating is diminished during periods of water shortage when evaporative cooling must be avoided. After the development of an iridophore layer of sufficient thickness for effective radiation reflectance, synthesis of iridophore pigments does not cease. Rather, this pathway is further used during the remaining dry season for solving osmotic problems eaused by accumulation of nitrogenous wastes. During prolonged water deprivation, in spite of reduced metabolic rates, purine pigments are produced at the same rate as in wet season conditions. This leads to a higher relative proportion of nitrogen end products being stored in skin pigments under dry season conditions. At the end of an experimental dry season lasting 35 days, up to 38\% of the accrued nitrogen is stored in the form of osmotically inactive purines in thc skin. Thus the osmotic problems caused by evaporative water loss and urea production are greatly reduced.}, subject = {Biologie}, language = {en} } @article{Linsenmair1990, author = {Linsenmair, Karl Eduard}, title = {Tropische Biodiversitat: Befunde und offene Probleme}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-78302}, year = {1990}, abstract = {During the past 50 to over 100 million years communities evolved in the tropics which attained unprecedented levels of biodiversity, strikingly represented by evergreen lowland rain forests offering home to more than 50\% of all the world's extant species. Within only some 30 years human action reduced the area covered with tropical rain forests to about half of its former size, thereby negatively affecting local and global functions of the biosphere and exterminating an unknown number of species. With an exponentially increasing rate we are throwing away our and all future generations' biological heritage. We destroy the most complicated, scientifically most interesting living systems before we have gained any knowledge of their structures ,and dynamics. To understand the particular structures and dynamics of tropical communities means in the first place to understand the causes and consequences of their ten- to more than hundredfold higher alphadiversity (as compared to temperate systems). This problem has a historical dimension and a functional side requiring answers as to the nature of the proximate mechanisms of its maintenance. My review is only concerned with the latter aspect, and its maIn emphasis is on the gaps in our knowledge. Two sets of hypotheses have been developed for explaining the high within-commUnIty diversity. (1) According to the classical concept interspecific niche competition and subsequent niche separation are the main forces determining the structure of the community. These so-called equilibrium models have been contrasted in recent times with (2) non-equilibrium models. These models do not attribute the decisive role to interspecific competition. Strong niche overlaps are presumed to be very common within species-rich communities. Continuous stochastic local disturbances are assumed to prevent the achievement of any long-term equilibrium (climax) state. Being on the right spot at the right time is regarded as most important. Whether oneor a combination of both models provide the best key for understanding the structure of a special section within a community will certainly depend on many properties of the species at debate (mobility, disr.ersal, fertility etc.). For the vast majority of tropical organisms all such information is at present unavailable. The principles governing the structure of communities is just one of the very ,basic open problems. Another very prominent question is how the qualitatively very rich, however quantitatively poor resources are distributed among the members of highly diverse guilds of consumers and decomposers. Does the scarcity rather favour generalists or specialists, are small species overrepresented, are resources more extensively used than in temperate communities? One important property is fairly well established: Populations of most tropical species seem to be very small. Since a) in very many' cases distribution range is obviously very limited, since b) predator pressure is generally assumed to be higher in the tropics and c) recent - perhaps unduely generalized - results claim abundance fluctuations in the tropics fully comparable in their dimensions to those in the temperate zone, the question arises as to how these small populations can persist for seemingly long periods of time and avoid rapid extinction. Additionally treated PoInts concern detritivore communities, plant animal Interactions, key stone groups. Saving biodiversity in general and the tropical species and community richness in particular is one of the most urgent tasks of our generation, and biologists have to play a still more prominent role in this extremely important endeavor than they have in the past decades.}, subject = {Zoologie}, language = {de} } @article{Linsenmair1991, author = {Linsenmair, Karl Eduard}, title = {Allokation elterlicher Investition beim Bienenwolf Philantus triangulum (Hymenoptera: Sphecidae)}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-78191}, year = {1991}, abstract = {No abstract available}, subject = {Zoologie}, language = {de} } @article{KronauerPetersSchoningetal.2011, author = {Kronauer, Daniel J. C. and Peters, Marcell K. and Schoning, Caspar and Boomsma, Jacobus J.}, title = {Hybridization in East African swarm-raiding army ants}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-68798}, year = {2011}, abstract = {Background: Hybridization can have complex effects on evolutionary dynamics in ants because of the combination of haplodiploid sex-determination and eusociality. While hybrid non-reproductive workers have been found in a range of species, examples of gene-flow via hybrid queens and males are rare. We studied hybridization in East African army ants (Dorylus subgenus Anomma) using morphology, mitochondrial DNA sequences, and nuclear microsatellites. Results: While the mitochondrial phylogeny had a strong geographic signal, different species were not recovered as monophyletic. At our main study site at Kakamega Forest, a mitochondrial haplotype was shared between a "Dorylus molestus-like" and a "Dorylus wilverthi-like" form. This pattern is best explained by introgression following hybridization between D. molestus and D. wilverthi. Microsatellite data from workers showed that the two morphological forms correspond to two distinct genetic clusters, with a significant proportion of individuals being classified as hybrids. Conclusions: We conclude that hybridization and gene-flow between the two army ant species D. molestus and D. wilverthi has occurred, and that mating between the two forms continues to regularly produce hybrid workers. Hybridization is particularly surprising in army ants because workers have control over which males are allowed to mate with a young virgin queen inside the colony.}, subject = {Zoologie}, language = {en} }