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Social neuroscience is a newly arising scientific discipline devoted to the experimental analysis of bi-directional information flow between social environment of the individual and its nervous system. Research in the domain of social neuroscience is focused both on neurobiological mechanisms underlying social phenomena and processes, and on downward influences of social context on the phenotype of...
Under certain conditions small amounts of DNA can survive for long periods of time and may be used as substrates in the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for the study of phylogeny and population genetics of extinct animals and plants. About 20 years ago, DNA sequences were separately described from the quagga and an ancient Egyptian individual; what made these DNA sequences exceptional was that they...
As the turning point in the history of zoology the author regards the date of publishing the 10th edition of Systema Naturae by Carolus Linnaeus. The pre-Linnaeus zoology in Poland is discussed in three stages. The first mentions of the local fauna can be found in medieval chronicles and in the lists of medicaments (herbaria) dated to the period between the 11th and 15th century. Over the next two...
The evolution of diversity and complexity of avian mating systems can be explained basing on sociobiological assumption that individuals maximize their fitness (selection acts on the level of individuals or genotype but not population) and no behaviour could have evolved for "the good of a species". As a result there is a conflict between sexes and a mating system is the outcome of this...
Application of molecular methods in biology has revolutionized ecology, population genetics and evolutionary biology. For example, the molecular studies revealed complex mating systems and social structures. Analysis of molecular markers revealed the existence of cryptic boundaries such as secondary contact (hybrid zones) among previously isolated populations. Most recently, due to simultaneous study...
Speciation, the formation of species, is a central problem in evolutionary biology. The genetic basis and evolution of reproductive isolation between taxa is a key for understanding speciation. The house mouse Mus musculus is an excellent model for the study of reproductive isolation. Two subspecies, M. m. musculus and M. m. domesticus that diverged from each other approximately between 1,000,000-350,000...
A full (i.e. close to completion) list of fauna of any city, nowhere was assessed, mainly because taxonomic and ecological diversity of invertebrates is beyond practical possibilities to have cooperation in the given area of all specialists, which would be necessary for such a study. The most comprehensive studies of this kind, in comparison to fauna of the region, were carried out in Warsaw (Poland),...
Body mass (size) is a very important biological character, interrelated with key life history traits, such as fertility, age at maturity, reproductive success and mortality. On the physiological level, body mass is also closely associated with key components of energy budgets. Yet, factors moulding within-species variation of body mass and its relations to energy expenditures and life history traits...
The term "saproxylic beetles" refers to coleopterans directly or indirectly associated with dead wood (Table 1). There are approximately 1,500 species of saproxylic beetles in Europe. The present paper reviews this grouping on the basis of literature data and research by the author, with examples of great species diversity in different geographical regions and a discussion of the morphology,...
Different publications cited in this paper proved that orientation cage tests could be used in bird migration studies. This method was commonly applied in bird orientation and navigation mechanism studies, and far less often in the analyses that focused on migration direction differentiation at local/regional scales. The reasons for such a situation could be complicated by very expensive equipment...
The first model of liquid water at atomic resolution was proposed as early as in 1933. Since that time a vast amount of data concerning both microscopic and macroscopic parameters describing hydration phenomena has been collected. Majority of experimental and theoretical studies pointed out that the main driving force of the so called “hydrophobic interactions” is an entropic effect connected with...
The Authors’ critical review of laboratory and field experiments and observations on the effect of Bt maize pollen on butterflies (Lepidoptera) was provoked by two factors: (a) continuous uncritical reference by various groups of public in Europe and especially in Poland to the first report by losey et al. (1999) and ignoring following publications by other US researchers, and (b) recent discussions...
Armeria maritima plants grow on unpolluted sandy soils and on soils strongly polluted by heavy metals. The heavy metal resistant ecotype of this species occurs in Poland on zinc-lead waste heaps in the Olkusz ore-mining region. In plants occurring on such polluted soils the mechanisms of resistance against toxic influence of heavy metals have been developed. In this article the mechanism of heavy...
In many species genetic distances increase with geographic distances, resulting in the “isolation by distance” (IBD) pattern. However, more complex patterns usually are observed in heterogeneous habitats. Geographic obstacles limit gene flow in a discontinuous way and might confound a simple IBD relationship. Moreover, current population structure is not only determined by present-day evolutionary...
Chironomidae (Diptera) live in almost every conceivable freshwater environment but there are also species living in moist soil or vegetation and others that are truly terrestrial. Some of chironomid species are inhabitants of ephemeral water-bodies such as temporary rain-pools, phytotelmata (small aquatic habitats associated with living plants, including water- filled tree-holes), freshly filled ponds...
This paper provides a review of classical and recent studies dealing with the effects of social isolation on ant physiology and behaviour, including the newest findings obtained by our team from Laboratory of Ethology of the Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology in Warsaw. We first discuss several theoretical notions used in the research dealing with that question, such as group effect, mass effect,...
Polyamines: spermidine, spermine as well as their diamine precursor putrescine, are small aliphatic amines ubiquitous in all plant cells. These compounds are regarded as a new class of growth substances. Biological functions of polyamines are attributed to their polycationic character at a physiological pH. Due to the presence of positively charged groups, they are able to bind strongly negatively...
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