Nest material preferences in wild hazel dormice : testing predictions from optimal foraging theory.

Obtaining nesting material presents an optimal foraging problem, collection of materials incurs a cost in terms of risk of predation and energy spent and individuals must balance these costs with the benefits of using that material in the nest. The hazel dormouse, is an endangered British mammal in which both sexes build nests. However, whether material used in their construction follows the predictions of optimal foraging theory is unknown.

Apomixis and Hybridization Drives Reticulate Evolution and Phyletic Differentiation in L.: Implications for Conservation.

Hybridization and polyploidy are major forces in the evolution of plant diversity and the study of these processes is of particular interest to understand how novel taxa are formed and how they maintain genetic integrity. is an example of a genus where active diversification and speciation are ongoing and, as such, represents an ideal model to investigate the roles of hybridization, polyploidy and apomixis in a reticulate evolutionary process. To elucidate breeding systems and evolutionary origins of a complex of closely related taxa, we assessed genotypic diversity and population structure within and among taxa, combining data from nuclear DNA microsatellite markers and flow cytometry.

Breeding system and spatial isolation from congeners strongly constrain seed set in an insect-pollinated apomictic tree: Sorbus subcuneata (Rosaceae).

In plants, apomixis results in the production of clonal offspring via seed and can provide reproductive assurance for isolated individuals. However, many apomicts require pollination to develop functional endosperm for successful seed set (pseudogamy) and therefore risk pollination-limitation, particularly in self-incompatible species that require heterospecific pollen. We used microsatellite paternity analysis and hand pollinations to investigate pollen-limitation in Sorbus subcuneata, a threatened endemic tree that co-occurs with its congener, S.