Interspecific territoriality may be adaptive if territories contain depletable resources that are valuable to both species, but it can also arise as a maladaptive by-product of intraspecific territoriality. In the latter scenario, sympatric species ought to diverge in ways that reduce interspecific fighting. We studied 4 Hetaerina damselfly species that can be found in sympatry in North America...

Abstract Background and aims Genome size varies considerably across the diversity of plant life. Although genome is, by definition, affected genetic presence/absence variants, which are ubiquitous in population sequencing studies, is often treated as an intrinsic property a species. Here, we studied intra- interspecific variation taxonomically complex British eyebrights (Euphrasia, Orobanchacea...

Chaitophorinae aphids are widespread across Eurasia and North America, and include some important agricultural and horticultural pests. So, accurate rapid species identification is very important. Here, we used three mitochondrial genes and one endosymbiont gene to calculate and analyze the genetic distances within different datasets. For species delimitation, two distance-based methods were em...

The genetic structure of the genus Alburnus is not well known and the phylogenetic relationships among its species are uncertain. In the present study, simple sequence repeats (SSRs or microsatellites) were used to evaluate genetic diversity and genetic differentiation between Alburnus mossulensis Heckel, 1843 from Kashgan River in Lorestan province and Alburnus caeruleus Heckel, 1843 from Gama...

There is an urgent need for accurate prediction of climate change impacts on species ranges. Current reliance on bioclimatic envelope approaches ignores important biological processes such as interactions and dispersal. Although much debated, it is unclear how such processes might influence range shifting. Using individual-based modelling we show that interspecific interactions and dispersal ab...

Variations in the geometry of the external flight apparatus of birds are beneficial for different behaviors. Long-distance flight is less costly with more pointed wings and shorter tails; however these traits decrease maneuverability at low speeds. Selection has led to interspecific differences in these and other flight apparatuses in relation to migration distance. If these principles are gene...

Interspecific territoriality may play an important role in structuring ecological communities, but the causes of this widespread form of interference competition remain poorly understood. Here, we investigate the phenotypic, ecological and phylogenetic correlates of interspecific territoriality in wood warblers (Parulidae). Interspecifically territorial species have more recent common ancestors...

Interspecific hybridisation creates new phenotypes within several ornamental plant species including the Campanula genus. We have employed phenotypic and genotypic methods to analyse and evaluate interspecific hybridisation among cultivars of four Campanula species, i.e. C. cochleariifolia, C. isophylla, C. medium and C. formanekiana. Hybrids were analysed using amplified fragment length polymo...

Somatic cell nuclei can be dedifferentiated in ooplasm from another species, and interspecies cloned embryos can be implanted into the uteri of surrogates. However, no full pregnancies have been achieved through interspecific mammalian cloning. Rat blastocysts transferred into mouse uteri provide a unique model for studying the causes of interspecific pregnancy failure. In this study, intraspec...