BackgroundThe combined influence of life-history strategy and resource dispersion on dispersal evolution of a biological community, and by extension, on community assemblage, has received sparse attention. Highly specialized fig wasp communities are ideal for addressing this question since the life-history strategies that affect their pace of life and the dispersion of their oviposition resources vary. We compared dispersal capacities of the wasp community of a widespread tropical fig, Ficus racemosa, by measuring flight durations, somatic lipid content and resting metabolic rates.ResultsWasp species exhibiting greater flight durations had higher energy reserves and resting metabolic rates. “Fast”-paced species showed higher dispersal capacities reflecting requirements for rapid resource location within short adult lifespans. Longer-lived “slow”-paced species exhibited lower dispersal capacities. Most dispersal traits were negatively related with resource dispersion while their variances were positively related with this variable, suggesting that resource dispersion selects for dispersal capacity. Dispersal traits exhibited a phylogenetic signal.ConclusionsUsing a combination of phylogeny, trait functionality and community features, we explain how dispersal traits may have co-evolved with life-history strategies in fig wasps and influenced a predisposition for dispersal. We speculate how processes influencing dispersal trait expression of community members may affect resource occupancy and community assemblage.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1186/s40462-017-0117-x) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

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Electromagnetic forming (EMF) has many applications in the automobile, structural, and other related areas due to its advantages such as reduced springback, wrinkling, and enhanced formability of deformed parts. Deformation of the workpiece depends on various process parameters such as applied energy level; system parameters such as inductance, capacitance, and resistance; and workpiece geometry such as thickness, and shape. These parameters control the current pulse, magnetic field, and Lorentz force. In the present study, effects of workpiece thickness, applied energy level, and process parameters on the deformation behavior of an AA6061 Al tube were studied. An attempt was also made to correlate discharge energy and process parameters with tube deformation. Finite-element (FE) analysis was performed to validate the experimental results. Various parameters such as the Lorentz force, magnetic field, and current density across the workpiece (tube), which cannot be measured experimentally, were numerically computed and correlated with the resulting nature of tube deformation. Aluminum alloy (AA) 6061 tubes with wall thicknesses of 1, 1.7, and 2.4 mm were deformed using a 4-turn bitter copper coil connected to a 40 kJ capacitor bank. In the present case, the intermediate wall thickness of the workpiece showed a higher efficiency for deformation. Moreover, reasonably good agreement was observed between the experimental and FEsimulated results.

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