Dr. Jürgen Ott visits the Behavioural Ecology Group

On February the 25th, the Behavioural Ecology Group was visited by Dr. Jürgen Ott (see below for details). Jürgen Ott has worked for several years on a wide range of topics, all related to conservation. These include landscape planning, management plans, river restoration, monitoring studies, environmental impact assessment, limnological studies, urban ecology, environmental education and climate change. Mostly, he uses populations of damsel- and dragonflies as flag species. Please feel free to have a look at the abstract of Jürgen Ott’s talk in our group (below). We, the Behavioural Ecology Group, pride ourselves on the rise of our newest research...

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The evolution of female wing pigmentation in dragon- and damselflies (Insecta: Odonata)

Ana Laura Martínez-García, Alex Córdoba-Aguilar y Martín A. Serrano-MenesesIn 1871, Charles Darwin used the theory of sexual selection to explain why males of several animal taxa exhibited extravagant traits. Therefore traits like horns, conspicuous colours, long tails or appendages, protuberances or elongated mandibles were labeled as sexual traits (ST). A notable ST exhibited by adult males of several dragon- and damselfly taxa (odonates) is wing pigmentation. Although the sexual function of such trait is relatively well documented for several taxa (albeit most studies have concentrated on damselflies, particularly in calopterygids), very...

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Distribution and endemicity patterns of Mexican dragon- and damselflies (Insecta: Odonata).

Distribution patters are important because they illustrate the history, in terms of time and space, of living organisms. The importance of the interaction between life, time and space, has been summarised by Léon Croizat: “Earth and life evolve together”. Much can be gained by investigating the distribution patterns of living organisms in nature, because one may find the explanations to the constant repetition of their distributions. Biogeography studies the distribution (in time and space) of living organisms. It also investigates the causes and processes that determine such patterns. In 1820, de Candolle proposed the system of biogeographic...

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VARIATION AND TRAITS RELATED TO THE MATING SYSTEMS OF THE SNOWY PLOVER (Charadrius nivosus)

We tend to think that sexual reproduction is a harmonious process in which males and females cooperate in order to increase the number of their descendants. Nevertheless, this is not always the case. During the reproductive process both males and females may have different reproductive interests; for instance, in some cases males may desert their offspring in order to mate again. This behaviour can be seen as disadvantageous for these males, since it may reduce the probability of survival of its offspring. However, these “disadvantageous” behaviours may be passed on from parents to offspring. The disparity in the reproductive interests between...

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Biogeography of mexican dung beetles

For a long time people thought that living organisms were created in ‘centres of origin’ or creation spots, from which they moved towards the most diverse areas of the planet. In this way, people explained why kangaroos exist only in Australia, why lions are exclusive of Africa or why the highest diversity of pines is found in North America. Nonetheless, we now understand that species originate in a very different way. Charles Darwin, one of the most prominent naturalists, was interested in understanding how species originated. The presence of ostriches in Africa and that of other very similar birds in South America, the rheas, drew his attention....

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