Anopheles funestus is one of the most proficient malaria vectors in the world, mainly because of its remarkable ability to populate a wide range of ecological settings across Africa. Its formidable environmental plasticity has been primarily associated to high amounts of genetic and inversion polymorphisms. However, very little is known about the morphological changes that this ecological adaptation entails. Here, we report on wing morphometric variations in karyotyped specimens of this species collected throughout a wide range of eco-geographical conditions in Cameroon (Central Africa). Our results revealed strong selection on mosquito wing traits. Variation of wing size was dependent on temperature and elevation (p < 0.001), while wing shape did not exhibit a specific environmental pattern. On the other hand, we observed a significant correlation of wing shape variation (p < 0.001), but not size (p > 0.05), with regard to karyotype. This pattern was maintained across different environmental conditions. In conclusion, our findings cast strong evidence that change in morphometric traits are under natural selection and contribute to local adaptation in A. funestus populations. Furthermore, the robust relation between chromosome polymorphisms and wing shape suggests new evolutionary hypotheses about the effect of chromosomal inversions on phenotypic variation in this malaria vector.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.meegid.2011.03.003 | DOI Listing |
Biomimetics (Basel)
January 2025
UniSA STEM, University of South Australia, Mawson Lakes, SA 5095, Australia.
Insects enhance aerodynamic flight control using the dynamic movement of their appendages, aiding in balance, stability, and manoeuvrability. Although biologists have observed these behaviours, the phenomena have not been expressed in a unified mathematical flight dynamics framework. For instance, relevant existing models tend to disregard either the aerodynamic or the inertial effects of the appendages of insects, such as the abdomen, based on the assumption that appendage dynamic effects dominate in comparison to aerodynamic effects, or that appendages are stationary.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWater Res
January 2025
School of Water Conservancy and Transportation, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China; Yellow River Laboratory, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China.
Sediment control is a major concern in sewer management. Early studies focused on the parameters affecting the efficiency of existing dredging facilities, and novel long-term sediment reduction measures have not been developed. Superior sediment reduction performance has been demonstrated for plates folded at 25° placed in a pipe.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBioinspir Biomim
January 2025
Department of Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering, University of Pretoria, 1 Lynnwood Road, Pretoria, 0002, SOUTH AFRICA.
Albatrosses are increasingly drawing attention from the scientific community due to their remarkable flight capabilities. Recent studies suggest that grey-headed albatrosses may be the fastest and most energy-efficient of the albatross species, yet no attempts have been made to replicate their wing design. A key factor in aircraft design is the airfoil, which remains uncharacterized for the grey-headed albatross.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFProc Biol Sci
January 2025
School for Environment and Sustainability, University of Michigan, 440 Church Street, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA.
Recent widespread reductions in body size across species have been linked to increasing temperatures; simultaneous increases in wing length relative to body size have been broadly observed but remain unexplained. Size and shape may change independently of one another, or these morphological shifts may be linked, with body size mediating or directly driving the degree to which shape changes. Using hierarchical Bayesian models and a morphological time series of 27 366 specimens from five North American migratory passerine bird species, we tested the roles that climate and body size have played in shifting wing length allometry over four decades.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAnal Chim Acta
February 2025
Key Laboratory of Optic-electric Sensing and Analytical Chemistry for Life Science, Ministry of Education, Shandong Key Laboratory of Biochemical Analysis, Key Laboratory of Analytical Chemistry for Life Science in Universities of Shandong, College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Qingdao University of Science and Technology, Qingdao, 266042, PR China. Electronic address:
Wearable systems for health monitoring are highly desired in personal diagnostics and precision medicine while challenges remain in constructing such wearable systems with reliability and high performance. Herein, we report a wearable platform for non-invasive monitoring biomarkers in sweat. The device is composed of a butterfly-shaped like microfluidic platform in which responsive photonic crystal hydrogels are embedded in each butterfly wing as sensors.
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