Effect of Female Reproduction and Mate Choice on Sexual Size Dimorphism in the Northeast Treefrog Hyla ussuriensis (Anura:Hylidae) in China

Sexual size dimorphism(SSD) plays a significant role in understanding the evolution of life history and mating behavior. In this study,we analyzed the morphological data from a treefrog,Hyla ussuriensis,in northeastern China and found that there are significant differences between males and females. Females that are larger in body size increase fecundity as the total number of eggs is positively correlated to female body size. Males are smaller in body size due to the mate choice by females based on the size dimorphism index(SVL mean of female divided by that of male) for the population,which may be an evolutionary stable strategy(ESS). SSD can be influenced not only through mate choice,but also reproductive behavior by analyzing the female reproduction output in the field. Our data are consistent with many previous studies,indicating that fecundity selection and sexual selection may be the common cause for sexual dimorphism in this species. Furthermore,there are no significant morphological differences between mated and unmated frogs of both sexes,which suggests that any frog can obtain a breeding chance when it matures. It further indicates that males may not affect female choice except by their snout-vent length(SVL) and body mass. It is,of course,possible that females adopt a mating strategy to mate with males whose SVL and body mass are smaller than paired females. Our research provides unequivocal evidence for effective female choice and information on the evolution of SSD in the production of anuran pairing patterns.

Gene flow among wild and cultivated common walnut(Juglans regia)trees in the Qinling Mountains revealed by microsatellite markers

Patterns of gene flow and gene introgres sion can be used to assess the risk of genetic pollution of wild forest trees from widespread cultivated trees.A comprehensive understanding of the genetic relationships and levels of gene flow among wild and cultivated common walnut(Juglans regia)has become an urgent issue.Using twelve microsatellite markers,we investigated the genetic diversity and gene flow between cultivated and wild trees of J.regia in the Qinling Mountains,China.A high level of genetic variation was detected in both cultivated and wild trees.The mean number of alleles per locus was 17.5.Observed heterozygosity(HO)and expected heterozygosity(HE)were 0.777 and 0.800,respectively.Pollination of mother trees was not by nearest neighbors,and a paternity of 60.7%of offspring evaluated could not be assigned to a local,sampled tree.Pollen flow from cultivated trees to wild trees was infrequent(5.4%),and selfing rates ranged from zero to 25.0%.Male parents were located from 0 to 1005 m from their female partners,with an average pollination distance of 285.1 m.These results are discussed in light of the cultivated species’diversity,outlining the frequent spontaneous genetic contributions from the wild to the cultivated compartment.In addition,the pollen flow parameters provide useful information about the dynamics of pollen movement within J.regia populations.