<p>The concept of vocation is central to the Christian tradition and views of life. In the Lutheran tradition vocation is understood as a word describing how man’s view of himself as well as his view of his duties are shaped in relation to God. Although not meant to exclude women, the concept of vocation has been clearly gendered. The references to vocation are manifold, ranging from the realms of individual life choices to life in communities and in the church.</p><p>The purpose of this study is to examine the concept of vocation in the perspective of Scriptural Criticism in order to contribute to an understanding of the ambiguous and shifting usage of the term, and to analyse the relationship between vocation and gender, historically and in relation to the Gospel of Matthew, thus also contributing to the construction of a gender aware theology of vocation. In the study Scriptural Criticism, a model for interpretation developed by Cristina Grenholm and Daniel Patte, in which text, theology, and life are combined in mutual and critical interaction, is used as a theoretical frame and interpretative method. Patriarchal and androcentric patterns are fundamental analytical concepts.</p><p>The study shows that the pattern of vocation changed during the 19th century from being a patriarchal pattern to an androcentric pattern. These patterns are apprehended as theological interpretations that have come to a stop, and thus applied to new contexts without reinterpretation. In common language the word vocation (or calling) is used as a fixed pattern without reinterpretation, and so mediating a life interpretation that is not renewed in relation either to individual life or to life in social community. By rereading vocation in relation to the narratives of the Gospel of Matthew and contemporary views of men’s and women’s shared life conditions, its fixed patterns can be reevaluated and reinterpreted. The connection between patterns of gender and patterns of vocation can be dissolved, so that vocation as a concept loses its association with the enforced subordination of women.</p><p>The study draws attention to the fact that vocation can neither be unequivocally understood as a concept of theology, nor as textually mediated, nor as a life experience. Rather, it is a word that serves as a powerful tool for understanding life, bringing together experiences, narratives, and conceptions of God and the human being. Two patterns of vocation are revealed through the scriptural critical reading of the Gospel of Matthew. These patterns are related to different hierarchical positions, but are not univocally based on gender. The interpreter is underscored to have an important role. The gendered stereotypes of vocation are possible but not necessary to reproduce. In the process of interpretation there are opportunities to reconsider earlier interpreters ways of understanding the relation between vocation and gender. This is a challenging and empowering responsibility.</p>

<p>Evolution is fuelled by independent reproduction events. Yet, the offspring of at least three percent of all bird species postpone dispersal and forego independent reproduction. The Siberian jay, <i>Perisoreus infaustus, </i>is such a species where some<i> </i>offspring are philopatric and remain in their natal territory for up to three years, forming family groups. The main finding of this thesis is that nepotistic anti-predator behaviour displayed by parents provided philopatric offspring benefits, which could be an incentive to stay and forego independent reproduction. Predation, (hawks - 80 % and owls - 15% of deaths observed) is the main cause of mortality. Parents increased their vigilance nepotistically; they were more vigilant against surprise predator attacks, and gave alarm calls when attacked when feeding together with offspring. However, the two parents differed in their behaviour. Mothers gave calls only when together with their offspring, while males also warned unrelated immigrants. Sitting predators were approached and mobbed more intensely by parents in the presence of philopatric offspring. The vocalisation of Siberian jays provides information about predation risk. Specific calls are given for hawks and owls, and calls also varied with hawk behaviour. The nepotistic anti-predator behaviour of parents is a benefit, which the offspring can gain only “at home”, and such behaviour appears to promote offspring to forego dispersal and independent reproduction. This was confirmed in an experimental manipulation; philopatric offspring dispersed when fathers were removed and replaced by a despotic, immigrant stepfather. From a life-history perspective, parents have an incentive to protect their reproductive investment. Nepotistic anti-predator behaviour create a safe haven in the natal territory for philopatric offspring and provides direct fitness benefits. Without such direct fitness benefits offspring may disperse and wait for a breeding opening elsewhere. </p>

Evolution is fuelled by independent reproduction events. Yet, the offspring of at least three percent of all bird species postpone dispersal and forego independent reproduction. The Siberian jay, Perisoreus infaustus, is such a species where some offspring are philopatric and remain in their natal territory for up to three years, forming family groups. The main finding of this thesis is that nepotistic anti-predator behaviour displayed by parents provided philopatric offspring benefits, which could be an incentive to stay and forego independent reproduction. Predation, (hawks - 80 % and owls - 15% of deaths observed) is the main cause of mortality. Parents increased their vigilance nepotistically; they were more vigilant against surprise predator attacks, and gave alarm calls when attacked when feeding together with offspring. However, the two parents differed in their behaviour. Mothers gave calls only when together with their offspring, while males also warned unrelated immigrants. Sitting predators were approached and mobbed more intensely by parents in the presence of philopatric offspring. The vocalisation of Siberian jays provides information about predation risk. Specific calls are given for hawks and owls, and calls also varied with hawk behaviour. The nepotistic anti-predator behaviour of parents is a benefit, which the offspring can gain only “at home”, and such behaviour appears to promote offspring to forego dispersal and independent reproduction. This was confirmed in an experimental manipulation; philopatric offspring dispersed when fathers were removed and replaced by a despotic, immigrant stepfather. From a life-history perspective, parents have an incentive to protect their reproductive investment. Nepotistic anti-predator behaviour create a safe haven in the natal territory for philopatric offspring and provides direct fitness benefits. Without such direct fitness benefits offspring may disperse and wait for a breeding opening elsewhere.

The concept of vocation is central to the Christian tradition and views of life. In the Lutheran tradition vocation is understood as a word describing how man’s view of himself as well as his view of his duties are shaped in relation to God. Although not meant to exclude women, the concept of vocation has been clearly gendered. The references to vocation are manifold, ranging from the realms of individual life choices to life in communities and in the church. The purpose of this study is to examine the concept of vocation in the perspective of Scriptural Criticism in order to contribute to an understanding of the ambiguous and shifting usage of the term, and to analyse the relationship between vocation and gender, historically and in relation to the Gospel of Matthew, thus also contributing to the construction of a gender aware theology of vocation. In the study Scriptural Criticism, a model for interpretation developed by Cristina Grenholm and Daniel Patte, in which text, theology, and life are combined in mutual and critical interaction, is used as a theoretical frame and interpretative method. Patriarchal and androcentric patterns are fundamental analytical concepts. The study shows that the pattern of vocation changed during the 19th century from being a patriarchal pattern to an androcentric pattern. These patterns are apprehended as theological interpretations that have come to a stop, and thus applied to new contexts without reinterpretation. In common language the word vocation (or calling) is used as a fixed pattern without reinterpretation, and so mediating a life interpretation that is not renewed in relation either to individual life or to life in social community. By rereading vocation in relation to the narratives of the Gospel of Matthew and contemporary views of men’s and women’s shared life conditions, its fixed patterns can be reevaluated and reinterpreted. The connection between patterns of gender and patterns of vocation can be dissolved, so that vocation as a concept loses its association with the enforced subordination of women. The study draws attention to the fact that vocation can neither be unequivocally understood as a concept of theology, nor as textually mediated, nor as a life experience. Rather, it is a word that serves as a powerful tool for understanding life, bringing together experiences, narratives, and conceptions of God and the human being. Two patterns of vocation are revealed through the scriptural critical reading of the Gospel of Matthew. These patterns are related to different hierarchical positions, but are not univocally based on gender. The interpreter is underscored to have an important role. The gendered stereotypes of vocation are possible but not necessary to reproduce. In the process of interpretation there are opportunities to reconsider earlier interpreters ways of understanding the relation between vocation and gender. This is a challenging and empowering responsibility.

The aim of this study is to construct as philosophical conceptualization of pedagogical attitude. Founded on Martin Buber’s philosophy of dialogue, the construction suggested in the study takes on a normative character, thus understanding pedagogical attitude as a matter of pedagogical creed. The author proposes a construction where existence is understood as a matter of Calling and Respons(e)ibility. Pedagogical attitude is thus understood in accordance with the notion of paying heed, responsibly responding and calling. As a consequence this conceptualization calls on the teacher to speak authentically, serve, embrace a loving leadership, provoke and dare to take risks. Within the concept of Calling and Respons(e)ibility, “calling” means addressing a particular other, whilst respons(e)ibility is a term chosen to make the concept connote to the response as well as the responsibility taken in relation to a particular calling. The concept of Calling and Respons(e)ibility is understood as closely connected to the religious concept of vocation, although recycled in a secularized meaning, thereby put forth as a matter of realizing the fate of the teacher, the student as well as the field/subject. The concept of Calling and Respons(e)ibility is in the study connected to the notions of “mothering”, obedience and adjustment as well as to the notions of responsibility, fidelity and being enterprising. Using a methodological approach of philosophical conceptualization suggested by Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari, the study sets out to reuse such old theological concepts as vocation, calling, paying heed and responding responsibly in new forms in a pedagogical context, thereby intending to discover, articulate and discern new aspects of that context. By conceptualizing pedagogical attitude on the basis of an existential, normative and relational perspective, using the notion of calling and respons(e)ability, the study aspires to contribute to the ongoing conversation concerning teacher-student-relationship.

Darwinian sexual selection predicts that males with the most extravagant secondary sexual traits suffer elevated mortality. Although correlative evidence has generally not borne this idea out, recent research, including a field cricket study, showed that investment in sexually selected traits is costly to survival. I investigated male survival, ornamentation (song) and mating success in a North American grylline, Gryllus pennsylvanicus, to test the generality of previous work and highlight the importance of ecology differences to resource allocation. As the calling songs of older male G. pennsylvanicus are highly attractive to females, in Chapter 2 I tested whether male age correlated with calling song and found a weak but statistically significant correlation, thus leaving open the possibility that choosy females use an age-based indicator mechanism. In Chapter 3, I tested the condition dependence of male survival and calling effort. In contrast to previous work, I found that high condition males both called more and lived longer than low condition males, although there was no trade-off between survival and calling effort. The substantial condition dependence of calling effort suggests that calling effort is under strong directional selection. In Chapter 4 I tested whether female mating preferences resulted in strong selection on male calling effort. I also tested for the condition dependence of female mating preferences. I found that female choosiness was condition-dependent, but the rank of preferred male songs (preference function) was not. Both low and high condition females preferred high calling effort over low calling effort song. In Chapter 5 I tested for evidence of nonlinear selection on male survival that might explain the nonlinear pattern of male investment in survival seen in Chapter 3 (i.e. male survival leveled-off with increasing condition). I found that socially experienced females, but not virgin and naive females, exerted linear selection on male age. I discuss these and the other results of my thesis in the context of previous work on field crickets and condition-dependent ornamentation. Finally, Appendix A reports results that confirm ancient Chinese cultural knowledge that large headed male crickets are more successful in male-male combat.

Darwinian sexual selection predicts that males with the most extravagant secondary sexual traits suffer elevated mortality. Although correlative evidence has generally not borne this idea out, recent research, including a field cricket study, showed that investment in sexually selected traits is costly to survival. I investigated male survival, ornamentation (song) and mating success in a North American grylline, Gryllus pennsylvanicus, to test the generality of previous work and highlight the importance of ecology differences to resource allocation. As the calling songs of older male G. pennsylvanicus are highly attractive to females, in Chapter 2 I tested whether male age correlated with calling song and found a weak but statistically significant correlation, thus leaving open the possibility that choosy females use an age-based indicator mechanism. In Chapter 3, I tested the condition dependence of male survival and calling effort. In contrast to previous work, I found that high condition males both called more and lived longer than low condition males, although there was no trade-off between survival and calling effort. The substantial condition dependence of calling effort suggests that calling effort is under strong directional selection. In Chapter 4 I tested whether female mating preferences resulted in strong selection on male calling effort. I also tested for the condition dependence of female mating preferences. I found that female choosiness was condition-dependent, but the rank of preferred male songs (preference function) was not. Both low and high condition females preferred high calling effort over low calling effort song. In Chapter 5 I tested for evidence of nonlinear selection on male survival that might explain the nonlinear pattern of male investment in survival seen in Chapter 3 (i.e. male survival leveled-off with increasing condition). I found that socially experienced females, but not virgin and naive females, exerted linear selection on male age. I discuss these and the other results of my thesis in the context of previous work on field crickets and condition-dependent ornamentation. Finally, Appendix A reports results that confirm ancient Chinese cultural knowledge that large headed male crickets are more successful in male-male combat.

Depuis leur émergence autour de 2006, les technologies de séquençage haut débit ont révolutionné la recherche biologique et médicale. Obtenir instantanément une grande quantité de courtes ou longues lectures de presque tout échantillon biologique permet de détecter des variantes génomiques, révéler la composition en espèces d’un métagénome, déchiffrer la biologie du cancer, décoder l'évolution d’espèces vivantes ou disparues, ou mieux comprendre les schémas de la migration humaine et l'histoire humaine en général. La vitesse à laquelle augmente le débit des technologies de séquençage dépasse la croissance des capacités de calcul et de stockage, ce qui crée de nouveaux défis informatiques dans le traitement de données de séquençage haut débit. Dans cette thèse, nous présentons de nouvelles techniques informatiques pour la localisation (mapping) de lectures dans un génome de référence et pour la classification taxonomique. Avec plus d'une centaine d’outils de localisation publiés, ce problème peut être considéré comme entièrement résolu. Cependant, une grande majorité de programmes suivent le même paradigme et trop peu d'attention a été accordée à des approches non-standards. Ici, nous introduisons la localisation dynamique dont nous montrons qu’elle améliore significativement les alignements obtenus, par comparaison avec les approches traditionnelles. La localisation dynamique est basée sur l'exploitation de l'information fournie par les alignements calculés précédemment, afin d’améliorer les alignements des lectures suivantes. Nous faisons une première étude systématique de cette approche et démontrons ses qualités à l'aide de Dynamic Mapping Simulator, une pipeline pour comparer les différents scénarios de la localisation dynamique avec la localisation statique et le “référencement itératif”. Une composante importante de la localisation dynamique est un calculateur du consensus online, c’est-à-dire un programme qui collecte des statistiques des alignements pour guider, à la volée, les mises à jour de la référence. Nous présentons OCOCO, calculateur du consensus online qui maintient des statistiques des positions génomiques individuelles à l’aide de compteurs de bits compacts. Au-delà de son application à la localisation dynamique, OCOCO peut être utilisé comme un calculateur de SNP online dans divers pipelines d'analyse, ce qui permet de prédire des SNP à partir d'un flux sans avoir à enregistrer les alignements sur disque. Classification métagénomique de lectures d’ADN est un autre problème majeur étudié dans la thèse. Etant donné des milliers de génomes de référence placés sur un arbre taxonomique, le problème consiste à affecter rapidement aux nœuds de l'arbre une énorme quantité de lectures NGS, et éventuellement estimer l'abondance relative des espèces concernées. Dans cette thèse, nous proposons des techniques améliorées pour cette tâche. Dans une série d'expériences, nous montrons que les graines espacées améliorent la précision de la classification. Nous présentons Seed-Kraken, extension sur les graines espacées du logiciel populaire Kraken. En outre, nous introduisons une nouvelle stratégie d'indexation basée sur le transformé de Burrows-Wheeler (BWT), qui donne lieu à un indice beaucoup plus compact et plus informatif par rapport à Kraken. Nous présentons une version modifiée du logiciel BWA qui améliore l’index BWT pour la localisation rapide de k-mers / Since their emergence around 2006, Next-Generation Sequencing technologies have been revolutionizing biological and medical research. Obtaining instantly an extensive amount of short or long reads from almost any biological sample enables detecting genomic variants, revealing the composition of species in a metagenome, deciphering cancer biology, decoding the evolution of living or extinct species, or understanding human migration patterns and human history in general. The pace at which the throughput of sequencing technologies is increasing surpasses the growth of storage and computer capacities, which still creates new computational challenges in NGS data processing. In this thesis, we present novel computational techniques for the problems of read mapping and taxonomic classification. With more than a hundred of published mappers, read mapping might be considered fully solved. However, the vast majority of mappers follow the same paradigm and only little attention has been paid to non-standard mapping approaches. Here, we propound the so-called dynamic mapping that we show to significantly improve the resulting alignments compared to traditional mapping approaches. Dynamic mapping is based on exploiting the information from previously computed alignments, helping to improve the mapping of subsequent reads. We provide the first comprehensive overview of this method and demonstrate its qualities using Dynamic Mapping Simulator, a pipeline that compares various dynamic mapping scenarios to static mapping and iterative referencing. An important component of a dynamic mapper is an online consensus caller, i.e., a program collecting alignment statistics and guiding updates of the reference in the online fashion. We provide OCOCO, the first online consensus caller that implements a smart statistics for individual genomic positions using compact bit counters. Beyond its application to dynamic mapping, OCOCO can be employed as an online SNP caller in various analysis pipelines, enabling calling SNPs from a stream without saving the alignments on disk. Metagenomic classification of NGS reads is another major problem studied in the thesis. Having a database of thousands reference genomes placed on a taxonomic tree, the task is to rapidly assign to tree nodes a huge amount of NGS reads, and possibly estimate the relative abundance of involved species. In this thesis, we propose improved computational techniques for this task. In a series of experiments, we show that spaced seeds consistently improve the classification accuracy. We provide Seed-Kraken, a spaced seed extension of Kraken, the most popular classifier at present. Furthermore, we suggest a new indexing strategy based on a BWT-index, obtaining a much smaller and more informative index compared to Kraken. We provide a modified version of BWA that improves the BWT-index for a quick k-mer look-up

Submitted by Alison Vanceto (alison-vanceto@hotmail.com) on 2016-10-04T12:02:05Z No. of bitstreams: 1 DissVBR.pdf: 1898665 bytes, checksum: 77cd0f5baccb8a694beb9e7f230bab15 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Ronildo Prado (ronisp@ufscar.br) on 2016-10-04T17:30:10Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 DissVBR.pdf: 1898665 bytes, checksum: 77cd0f5baccb8a694beb9e7f230bab15 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Ronildo Prado (ronisp@ufscar.br) on 2016-10-04T17:30:20Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 DissVBR.pdf: 1898665 bytes, checksum: 77cd0f5baccb8a694beb9e7f230bab15 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-10-04T17:47:42Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 DissVBR.pdf: 1898665 bytes, checksum: 77cd0f5baccb8a694beb9e7f230bab15 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014-02-28 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) / Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP) / We studied patterns of gene expression in two closely related species of fruit flies of the genus Anastrepha (Diptera: Tephritidea), A. fraterculus and A. obliqua, with the goal of finding candidate genes related to the recent differentiation process between these species. In order to do this, we used the Next-generation sequencing (NGS) with RNA-Seq methodology in head tissues of the two species of flies at different stages of the reproductive life for both sexes. After processing and removal of low quality reads we retained over 140 million paired-end reads. These sequences were assembled into individual transcriptomes for each species and a pooled transcriptome, with 154,787 contigs, representing both species. Based on the results of the assemblies, annotation and mapping we prepared two separate manuscripts, one describing the libraries for each species and a combined analysis and a second that investigate the contigs involved with species differences and their patterns of expression. These data reveal 1991 genes with differential expression in at least one comparison among different reproductive stages. It is noteworthy that we observed twice as many genes with differential expression when contrasting males than with females. Several of these genes were associated to odour, such as Odorant Binding proteins and visgum, suggesting that behavioral changes in food sources, mating choice, or breeding and oviposition sites might be involved with species differences.We also identified two large sets of genes that are differentially expressed between the species, one being underexpressed in A. obliqua and overexpressed in A. fraterculus and the other that had a reverse pattern. We used a differentiation index of SNPs per contig () and pairwise tests of positive selection between the sequences, and analysis of the substitution amino acid type caused by SNPs to identify 7 genes there are candidates to be related to the speciation process between A. fraterculus and A. obliqua. / Investigamos os padrões de expressão gênica em tecidos cefálicos de duas espécies de moscas-das- frutas do gênero Anastrepha (Diptera: Tephritidea), A. fraterculus e A. obliqua, proximamente relacionadas, identificando SNPs com alto grau de diferenciação entre as espécies e realizando análises evolutivas com o objetivo de encontrar genes candidatos relacionados ao recente processo de separação dessas espécies. Para isso, utilizamos as novas tecnologias de sequenciamento em larga escala (NGS) com a metodologia de RNA-Seq em tecidos cefálicos das duas espécies de moscas em diferentes fases da vida reprodutiva dos dois sexos. Após processamento e retirada das sequências com baixa qualidade utilizamos mais de 140 milhões de sequências paired-end para montarmos um transcriptoma conjunto das espécies, com mais de 154 mil contigs, e outros dois separados por espécie. Estes resultados estão apresentados em dois manuscritos distintos, um primeiro que descreve as bibliotecas produzidas para as diferentes espécies e um segundo que investiga padrões de expressão e genes envolvidos na diferenciação das espécies. Estes dados revelaram 1991 genes com expressão diferencial em pelo menos uma comparação de fase de vida reprodutiva entre as espécies, sendo que encontramos duas vezes mais genes com diferença na expressão entre as espécies em machos do que em fêmeas. Diversos destes genes foram associados a genes relacionados ao olfato, como a família gênica das Obps (odorant-binding protein) e o gene visgun, o que pode indicar uma mudança comportamental na preferência por alimento, parceiros ou sítios para cópula e oviposição. Encontramos também dois conjuntos de genes que são diferencialmente expressos entre as espécies, sendo um conjunto super-expresso em A. obliqua e sub-expresso em A. fraterculus e outro conjunto com um padrão revertido. Análises de padrão de seleção nestes genes sugerem sete que apresentam indícios de seleção positiva e ao menos um SNP com altos índices de diferenciação entre as espécies.

Tempestades acompanhadas por diferentes combinações de ventos, chuvas, variações bruscas de temperatura e de radiação solar são manifestações climáticas frequentemente associadas com queda na pressão atmosférica. Para os insetos, especialmente os pequenos insetos, estas condições de mau tempo são desfavoráveis e podem acarretar alta mortalidade na sua população. Neste trabalho foi demonstrado que as mudanças na pressão atmosférica influenciaram várias atividades do comportamento sexual nos insetos em ao menos três ordens, representados por Pseudaletia unipuncta (Haworth) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), Macrosiphum euphorbiae (Thomas) (Hemiptera: Aphididae) e Diabrotica speciosa (Germar) (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae). Os parâmetros comportamentais observados foram: (i) Resposta de atração do macho ao feromônio sexual (para D. speciosa); (ii) comportamento de chamamento das fêmeas (para P. unipuncta e M. euphorbiae); e (iii) comportamento de cópula (para D. speciosa, P. unipuncta e M. euphorbiae). Estes parâmetros, por sua vez, foram analisados sob diferentes condições de pressão atmosférica no Brasil (Bra) e Canadá (Can). Levando-se em conta dados históricos nestes locais, foi definido como condições estáveis de pressão atmosférica variações de ±1,5mbar (Bra) e ±1,0mbar (Can); aumento de pressão variando de +2,0mbar (Bra) e +4,0mbar (Can); e queda de pressão variando de -2,0mbar (Bra) e -4,0mbar (Can), ao longo das seis horas anteriores a cada bioensaio. Os machos de D. speciosa responderam ativamente ao feromônio sexual em condições estáveis e de aumento da pressão atmosférica, porém permanecerem imóveis em condições de queda da pressão atmosférica. As fêmeas de P. unipuncta realizaram comportamento de chamamento sob condições estáveis e aumento da pressão atmosférica, reduzindo sensivelmente este comportamento quando houve queda da pressão atmosférica. As fêmeas de M. euphorbiae apresentaram comportamento de chamamento apenas em condições estáveis de pressão atmosférica, e permaneceram em repouso sob aumento e queda da pressão atmosférica. O comportamento de cópula em P. unipuncta e M. euphorbiae foi realizado preferencialmente sob condições estáveis de pressão atmosférica, e intensamente reduzidos em condições de queda e aumento de pressão atmosférica. Em D. speciosa, apesar dos casais terem realizado a cópula, independentemente das variações observadas de pressão atmosférica, o tempo investido e as sequências comportamentais durante essas cópulas foram encurtadas nas condições de queda da pressão atmosférica. Os resultados aqui apresentados demonstraram que o comportamento sexual dos insetos foi influenciado pelas variações da pressão atmosférica, e aparentemente, a percepção antecipada dessas variações teria um valor adaptativo importante, selecionando os indivíduos mais aptos, permitindo assim sua sobrevivência em razão das mudanças bruscas nas condições atmosféricas. / Storms accompanied by different combinations of wind, rain, sudden changes in temperature and solar radiation are climatic events often associated with decreasing atmospheric pressure. For insects, especially small insects, these weather conditions are unfavorable and can cause high mortality in a population. This study showed that changes in atmospheric pressure affected various activities of the sexual behavior in insects of at least three orders, represented by Pseudaletia unipuncta (Haworth) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), Macrosiphum euphorbiae (Thomas) (Hemiptera: Aphididae) and Diabrotica speciosa (Germar) (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae). The behavior parameters observed were: (i) male response to sex pheromone (for D. speciosa), (ii) calling behavior of females (for P. unipuncta and M. euphorbiae) and mating behavior (for D. speciosa, P. unipuncta and M. euphorbiae). These parameters were analyzed under different atmospheric pressure conditions in Brazil (Bra) and Canada (Can). According to historic data in these locations, the variations in atmospheric pressure were determined as stable when varying ±1,5mbar (Bra) and ±1,0mbar (Can); increasing when varying +2,0mbar (Bra) and +4,0mbar (Can) and decreasing when varying -2,0mbar (Bra) and -4,0mbar (Can), throughout six hours preceding each bioassay. D. speciosa males responded to the sex pheromone in stable and increasing atmospheric pressures, but remained still in decreasing atmospheric pressure. P. unipuncta females called under stable and increasing atmospheric pressures, and reduced its behavior considerably when there was a decrease in atmospheric pressure. M. euphorbiae females called only under stable atmospheric pressure, and remained still under increasing and decreasing atmospheric pressures. The mating behavior in P. unipuncta and M. euphorbiae occurred preferably under stable conditions, and was reduced in increasing and decreasing atmospheric pressures. D. speciosa, despite mating under variations in atmospheric pressure, invested less time and shortened the behavioral sequences under decreasing pressure. The results presented here demonstrated that the sexual behavior of insects was influenced by variations in atmospheric pressure and, apparently, the early perception of these changes may add an important adaptive value to them, since it selects those who respond to these conditions, allowing their survival under changes in climatic conditions.