Trace metals from historical mining sites and past metallurgical activity remain bioavailable to wildlife today.

Throughout history, ancient human societies exploited mineral resources all over the world, even in areas that are now protected and considered to be relatively pristine. Here, we show that past mining still has an impact on wildlife in some French protected areas. We measured cadmium, copper, lead, and zinc concentrations in topsoils and wood mouse kidneys from sites located in the Cévennes and the Morvan.

A case of complete loss of gill parasites in the invasive cichlid Oreochromis mossambicus.

This study investigates the recent evolution of a rich parasite community associated with one of the world's most invasive species, the cichlid fish Oreochromis mossambicus. Populations from the species' native range (Mozambique) are compared to a population from New Caledonia (Wester Pacific), an island where the species was introduced in 1954. The results support the complete local extinction of the gill parasite community in the course of the invasion process.

Successive invasion-mediated interspecific hybridizations and population structure in the endangered cichlid Oreochromis mossambicus.

Hybridization between invasive and native species accounts among the major and pernicious threats to biodiversity. The Mozambique tilapia Oreochromis mossambicus, a widely used freshwater aquaculture species, is especially imperiled by this phenomenon since it is recognized by the IUCN as an endangered taxon due to genetic admixture with O. niloticus an invasive congeneric species.

Modularity as a source of new morphological variation in the mandible of hybrid mice.

Background: Hybridization is often seen as a process dampening phenotypic differences accumulated between diverging evolutionary units. For a complex trait comprising several relatively independent modules, hybridization may however simply generate new phenotypes, by combining into a new mosaic modules inherited from each parental groups and parts intermediate with respect to the parental groups. We tested this hypothesis by studying mandible size and shape in a set of first and second generation hybrids resulting from inbred wild-derived laboratory strains documenting two subspecies of house mice, Musmusculus domesticus and Musmusculus musculus.

Insecticide residues in cotton soils of Burkina Faso and effects of insecticides on fluctuating asymmetry in honey bees (Apis mellifera Linnaeus).

Four insecticides (acetamiprid, cypermethrin, endosulfan and profenofos) are used quarterly in the cotton-growing areas of Burkina Faso, West Africa. These insecticides were investigated in soils collected from traditionally cultivated and new cotton areas. Also, the effects of insecticide exposure on the developmental instability of honey bees, Apis mellifera, were explored.

Mandible shape in hybrid mice.

Hybridisation between closely related species is frequently seen as retarding evolutionary divergence and can also promote it by creating novel phenotypes due to new genetic combinations and developmental interactions. We therefore investigated how hybridisation affects the shape of the mouse mandible, a well-known feature in evo-devo studies. Parental groups corresponded to two strains of the European mouse sub-species Mus musculus domesticus and Mus musculus musculus.

Morphological modularity and assessment of developmental processes within the vole dental row (Microtus arvalis, Arvicolinae, Rodentia).

Knowledge of mammalian tooth formation is increasing, through numerous genetic and developmental studies. The prevalence of teeth in fossil remains has led to an intensive description of evolutionary patterns within and among lineages based on tooth morphology. The extent to which developmental processes have influenced tooth morphologies and therefore the role of these processes in these evolutionary patterns are nonetheless challenging.

DEVELOPMENTAL STABILITY, FITNESS, AND TRAIT SIZE IN LABORATORY HYBRIDS BETWEEN EUROPEAN SUBSPECIES OF THE HOUSE MOUSE.

The effects of hybridization on developmental stability and size of tooth characters were investigated in intersubspecific crosses between random-bred wild strains of the house mouse (Mus musculus domesticus and M. m. musculus).