Selection on tropane alkaloids in native and non-native populations of .

Theories of plant invasion based on enemy release in a new range assume that selection exerted by specialist herbivores on defence traits should be reduced, absent, or even selected against in the new environment. Here, we measured phenotypic selection on atropine and scopolamine concentration of in eight native (Mexico) and 14 non-native (Spain) populations. Native populations produced between 20 and 40 times more alkaloid than non-native populations (atropine: 2.

Natural selection drives chemical resistance of Datura stramonium.

Plant resistance to herbivores involves physical and chemical plant traits that prevent or diminish damage by herbivores, and hence may promote coevolutionary arm-races between interacting species. Although Datura stramonium's concentration of tropane alkaloids is under selection by leaf beetles, it is not known whether chemical defense reduces seed predation by the specialist weevil, Trichobaris soror, and if it is evolving by natural selection. We measured infestation by T.

Adaptive divergence in resistance to herbivores in Datura stramonium.

Defensive traits exhibited by plants vary widely across populations. Heritable phenotypic differentiation is likely to be produced by genetic drift and spatially restricted gene flow between populations. However, spatially variable selection exerted by herbivores may also give rise to differences among populations.

Selection mosaic exerted by specialist and generalist herbivores on chemical and physical defense of Datura stramonium.

Selection exerted by herbivores is a major force driving the evolution of plant defensive characters such as leaf trichomes or secondary metabolites. However, plant defense expression is highly variable among populations and identifying the sources of this variation remains a major challenge. Plant populations are often distributed across broad geographic ranges and are exposed to different herbivore communities, ranging from generalists (that feed on diverse plant species) to specialists (that feed on a restricted group of plants).

Surveillance for yellow Fever virus in non-human primates in southern Brazil, 2001-2011: a tool for prioritizing human populations for vaccination.

In Brazil, epizootics among New World monkey species may indicate circulation of yellow fever (YF) virus and provide early warning of risk to humans. Between 1999 and 2001, the southern Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul initiated surveillance for epizootics of YF in non-human primates to inform vaccination of human populations. Following a YF outbreak, we analyzed epizootic surveillance data and assessed YF vaccine coverage, timeliness of implementation of vaccination in unvaccinated human populations.

[Influence of individual characteristics and working conditions in the level of injury accident at work by registered in Andalusia, Spain, in 2003].

Background: The study of the severity of occupational injuries is very important for the establishment of prevention plans. The aim of this paper is to analyze the distribution of occupational injuries by a) individual factors b) work place characteristics and c) working conditions and to analyze the severity of occupational injuries by this characteristics in men and women in Andalusia.

Methods: Injury data came from the accident registry of the Ministry of Labor and social issues in 2003.