OPUS 4 | Institut für Ökologie, Evolution und Diversität

Ordnung des Fachbereichs Biowissenschaften der Johann Wolfgang Goethe-Universität für den Masterstudiengang Ökologie und Evolution mit dem Abschluss "Master of Science" (M.Sc.) vom 16. Juni 2009 : genehmigt vom Präsidium der Johann Wolfgang Goethe-Universität Frankfurt a. M. am 27.04.2010 (2010)

Flora et Vegetatio Sudano-Sambesica : Volume 11 - 2008 (2008)

Flora et Vegetatio Sudano-Sambesica (2008)

Flora et Vegetatio Sudano-Sambesica : Volume 12 - 2009 (2009)

Flora et Vegetatio Sudano-Sambesica : Volume 13 - 2010 (2010)

Flora et Vegetatio Sudano-Sambesica : Volume 14 - 2011 (2011)

Ordnung des Fachbereichs Biowissenschaften der Johann Wolfgang Goethe für den Masterstudiengang Ökologie und Evolution mit dem Abschluss "Master of Science" (M. Sc.) vom 16. Juni 2009 : genehmigt vom Präsidium der Johann Wolfgang Goethe-Universität Frankfurt a. M. am 27. April 2010 ; hier: Änderungen vom 04. Juni 2012 ; genehmigt vom Präsidium der Johann Wolfgang Goethe-Universität Frankfurt a. M. am 21. August 2012 (2012)

The Evolutionary Paradox of Tooth Wear: Simply Destruction or Inevitable Adaptation? (2013)

Stefano Benazzi Huynh Nhu Nguyen Dieter Schulz Ian R. Grosse Giorgio Gruppioni Jean-Jacques Hublin Ottmar Kullmer

Over the last century, humans from industrialized societies have witnessed a radical increase in some dental diseases. A severe problem concerns the loss of dental materials (enamel and dentine) at the buccal cervical region of the tooth. This “modern-day” pathology, called non-carious cervical lesions (NCCLs), is ubiquitous and worldwide spread, but is very sporadic in modern humans from pre-industrialized societies. Scholars believe that several factors are involved, but the real dynamics behind this pathology are far from being understood. Here we use an engineering approach, finite element analysis (FEA), to suggest that the lack of dental wear, characteristic of industrialized societies, might be a major factor leading to NCCLs. Occlusal loads were applied to high resolution finite element models of lower second premolars (P2) to demonstrate that slightly worn P2s envisage high tensile stresses in the buccal cervical region, but when worn down artificially in the laboratory the pattern of stress distribution changes and the tensile stresses decrease, matching the results obtained in naturally worn P2s. In the modern industrialized world, individuals at advanced ages show very moderate dental wear when compared to past societies, and teeth are exposed to high tensile stresses at the buccal cervical region for decades longer. This is the most likely mechanism explaining enamel loss in the cervical region, and may favor the activity of other disruptive processes such as biocorrosion. Because of the lack of dental abrasion, our masticatory apparatus faces new challenges that can only be understood in an evolutionary perspective.

Divergent Evolution of Male Aggressive Behaviour: Another Reproductive Isolation Barrier in Extremophile Poeciliid Fishes? (2011)

David Bierbach Moritz Klein Vanessa Sassmannshausen Ingo Schlupp Rüdiger Riesch Jakob Parzefall Martin Plath

Reproductive isolation among locally adapted populations may arise when immigrants from foreign habitats are selected against via natural or (inter-)sexual selection (female mate choice). We asked whether also intrasexual selection through male-male competition could promote reproductive isolation among populations of poeciliid fishes that are locally adapted to extreme environmental conditions [i.e., darkness in caves and/or toxic hydrogen sulphide (H(2)S)]. We found strongly reduced aggressiveness in extremophile P. oecilia mexicana, and darkness was the best predictor for the evolutionary reduction of aggressiveness, especially when combined with presence of H(2)S. We demonstrate that reduced aggression directly translates into migrant males being inferior when paired with males from non-sulphidic surface habitats. By contrast, the phylogenetically old sulphur endemic P. sulphuraria from another sulphide spring area showed no overall reduced aggressiveness, possibly indicating evolved mechanisms to better cope with H(2)S.

Predator-induced changes of female mating preferences: innate and experiential effects (2011)

David Bierbach Matthias Schulte Nina Herrmann Michael Tobler Stefan Stadler Christian T. Jung Benjamin Kunkel Rüdiger Riesch Sebastian Klaus Madlen Ziege Jeane Rimber Indy Lenin Arias-Rodriguez Martin Plath

Background: In many species males face a higher predation risk than females because males display elaborate traits that evolved under sexual selection, which may attract not only females but also predators. Females are, therefore, predicted to avoid such conspicuous males under predation risk. The present study was designed to investigate predator-induced changes of female mating preferences in Atlantic mollies (Poecilia mexicana). Males of this species show a pronounced polymorphism in body size and coloration, and females prefer large, colorful males in the absence of predators. Results: In dichotomous choice tests predator-naïve (lab-reared) females altered their initial preference for larger males in the presence of the cichlid Cichlasoma salvini, a natural predator of P. mexicana, and preferred small males instead. This effect was considerably weaker when females were confronted visually with the non-piscivorous cichlid Vieja bifasciata or the introduced non-piscivorous Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus). In contrast, predator experienced (wild-caught) females did not respond to the same extent to the presence of a predator, most likely due to a learned ability to evaluate their predators' motivation to prey. Conclusions: Our study highlights that (a) predatory fish can have a profound influence on the expression of mating preferences of their prey (thus potentially affecting the strength of sexual selection), and females may alter their mate choice behavior strategically to reduce their own exposure to predators. (b) Prey species can evolve visual predator recognition mechanisms and alter their mate choice only when a natural predator is present. (c) Finally, experiential effects can play an important role, and prey species may learn to evaluate the motivational state of their predators. Keywords: Sexual selection; female choice; non-independent mate choice; predator recognition; Poecilia mexicana

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