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Keywords = ovaria

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13 pages, 1625 KiB  
Article
Post-Reproductive Lifespan in Honey Bee Workers with Varying Life Expectancies
by Karolina Kuszewska
Animals 2025, 15(10), 1402; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani15101402 - 13 May 2025
Viewed by 447
Abstract
This study specifically examines the post-reproductive lifespan and ovarian activation in honeybee workers (Apis mellifera) with differing life expectancies. Drawing on the “grandmother hypothesis”, which postulates that older females enhance the survival and reproductive success of their descendants, we aimed to [...] Read more.
This study specifically examines the post-reproductive lifespan and ovarian activation in honeybee workers (Apis mellifera) with differing life expectancies. Drawing on the “grandmother hypothesis”, which postulates that older females enhance the survival and reproductive success of their descendants, we aimed to determine if similar patterns exist in eusocial insects. We conducted an experiment with newly emerged honeybee workers, dividing them into two groups: an untreated control group and an injured group with shortened lifespans due to thorax puncturing. The workers were monitored in an experimental apiary, and observations regarding ovarian development and hypopharyngeal gland size were recorded at various age intervals. Our results demonstrated a significant difference in lifespan between the control and injured bees, with injured individuals living notably shorter lives. The size of the hypopharyngeal gland, crucial for brood food production, varied significantly with respect to age and treatment, suggesting that physical injuries adversely affected physiological development. More intriguingly, our findings indicated that older honeybee workers displayed reduced ovarian activation, implying a potential reproductive cessation. This phenomenon can be interpreted as a form of menopause, which represents a strategic shift in energy investment from personal reproduction toward contributing to the colony as older individuals age. Full article
(This article belongs to the Section Animal Reproduction)
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16 pages, 2609 KiB  
Article
Closer to Carrying Capacity: Analysis of the Internal Demographic Structure Associated with the Management and Density Dependence of a Controlled Wolf Population in Latvia
by Jurģis Šuba, Agrita Žunna, Guna Bagrade, Gundega Done, Mārtiņš Lūkins, Aivars Ornicāns, Digna Pilāte, Alda Stepanova and Jānis Ozoliņš
Sustainability 2021, 13(17), 9783; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13179783 - 31 Aug 2021
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 3623
Abstract
Large carnivores are essential components of natural ecosystems. In populated areas, their conservation depends on preserving a favorable status in coexistence with humans, which may require the elimination of excess carnivores to minimize public concerns. As the Baltic region currently hosts a thriving [...] Read more.
Large carnivores are essential components of natural ecosystems. In populated areas, their conservation depends on preserving a favorable status in coexistence with humans, which may require the elimination of excess carnivores to minimize public concerns. As the Baltic region currently hosts a thriving wolf population, locally sustainable management of wolves is important for preserving biodiversity at a European scale. In this paper, we provide a dynamic assessment of the Latvian wolf subpopulation from 1998 until 2020. This study is based on age composition and fecundity data from teeth, uteri, and ovaria inspections obtained from samples of legally culled or accidentally killed individuals. The abundance estimates indicated population growth that exceeded the previously predicted carrying capacity. The proportion of juveniles among the culled individuals increased in recent years, but the mean age of culled adults exhibited a stable trend. In presumably nonselective hunting, the juveniles and individuals older than 3 years had greater culling mortality estimates in comparison with other age classes, and the culling rates for adult females of particular age classes were higher than for males of the same age. While creating significant hunting pressure, wolf management in Latvia may have contributed to the population growth by affecting its demographic processes. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Mammal Status: Diversity, Abundance and Dynamics)
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